Embarrassing docking

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

Westview (Powell River) B.C. Wind blowing from the south, right up the entrance to the harbor. High tide. I should have kept going.


After getting around the "pole" there was dock space on the down wind side of the dock. This harbor is tight. As I was turning the bow around into the wind a hugh gust came through blowing us off the dock and I hit my first boat! Lucky for me it was an aluminum, so ASD has the battle damage. Thanks to the guys that jumped out and grabbed a bow line. The next day at low tide I became aware just how close the stern was to the break wall and grinding my props.

 

[menzies]

No property damage...no big deal! We all screw up from time to time.

A few months ago I took my mom over to Bainbridge Island for the night. When we arrived back at Elliott Bay Marina the next day, I pulled into the slip and put a turn on the stern line, then walked forward to secure the bow line. It was a bit of a reach to the line and I asked my mom, still on the boat, to use the bow thruster to move the boat towards the dock. Instead, she shoved the throttle forward! The stern line came off the cleat and the boat surged forward. The rubrail hit a piling and the boat stopped...thankfully, the only damage was a few bent screws securing the rubrail.

The lesson? Never ask a guest to do something unless you've given them explicit instructions. Never assume, even if they've spent a lot of time on the boat, that they know what to do.

Hopefully you were bow in?

 

[Retriever]

Hopefully you were bow in?

Yep, and the boat only had 5 or 10 feet to gain momentum.

 

[dhays]

Greetings,
Mr. dh. If you're really concerned about your docking performance as conveyed in post #1 you probably worry about matching sox as well. Life's too short. Don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things...

Not overly concerned but never hurts to share a mea culpa. As others have pointed out, time on the water will always provide opportunities to practice humility.

 

[Lou_tribal]

... Still have problems parking in our slip. Now I don't care who see's what...

Especially when most of people who may have seen you would not be able to park it better then you have.
As a newbie and as my first boating year I was always worrying about parking it nicely knowing people are looking etc... until the day I saw one of the more experienced boater hit another boat in the bow while trying to turn around to get back in a slip... since then I am thinking that I am not better but neither not worse than anybody else. We all do silly things or mistake one day or another, just be happy there was no damage and enjoy.

 

[porman]

What is kind off funny but sad at the same time, is the people who camp out at boat slips with their sandwiches and Thermos to watch the fun.

Beach Blvd slip here in Jax has a whole population of them!

I guess we are in NASCAR country, where everyone is just watching for the crash!

Our marina is located right next to a launch ramp. Our boat slip has a perfect view of the ramp. I have to admit that I sometimes watch the antics that go on. I've seen boats slide right off trailers onto the ground, boats launched still attached to the trailer, boats pulled out of the water with the engine still running, boats launched with no lines attached and no one on board. I did miss the truck that went under water when the owner forgot to put it in park. My friends told me about that one.

 

[Crusty Chief]

Really? Funny you never mentioned those to me.

That's why I refer to them as Crusty Stunts! Kinda like the second wife, something's are better left alone.

 

[Alaskan Sea-Duction]

That's why I refer to them as Crusty Stunts! Kinda like the second wife, something's are better left alone.

Oh I see! They must have been really really bad....

 

[Poach]

I had mine going into Point Hudson (Port Townsend) early one morning--schedule driven of course. At the time I was running a 50' flushdeck (name withheld on request) with twin GMs. The winds were south blowing 20+ and I was going to my assigned spot on C dock, a finger pier running north/south. No big, I intended to go in stern first so that I was starboard side-to. I commenced my turn and got broadside to the wind, and that's when the fun began. Over the next eternity, many magic words were uttered, boat hooks alternately fended off or pulled on, lines were tossed and released, engines alternatively screaming in vain efforts to maintain control. The gods were watching (and undoubtedly rolling in laughter) I hit nothing, damaged nothing, scared every boat owner in the marina and eventually got it temporarily side-tied to another moored vessel. Single malt came in right handy as soon as we were secured. Of course, the wind laid down as predicted about 2 hours later and I was able to move the 100 feet over to the finger pier.

I have one other marina disaster to self-report, unrelated to docking. I was pumping out the holding tank across from the dock from the fueling station about 10' away. I did the uh-oh while pulling the hose out of the deck fitting, and showered the boater across the dock. Haven't been back there since.

 

[BandB]

Our marina is located right next to a launch ramp. Our boat slip has a perfect view of the ramp. I have to admit that I sometimes watch the antics that go on. I've seen boats slide right off trailers onto the ground, boats launched still attached to the trailer, boats pulled out of the water with the engine still running, boats launched with no lines attached and no one on board. I did miss the truck that went under water when the owner forgot to put it in park. My friends told me about that one.

I think I've witnessed most every possible issue but launching ramps still win by far with the most. Failure to put the drain plugs back in smaller boats is the most common. Vehicles in the water is not uncommon. Then there's the launch the boat off the trailer very nicely, just no one is holding a line so boat floats off on it's own. Quite a few cars off the side of the ramp and stuck in the mud too. Then back onto the trailers, a lot who drive on quickly and with no issues 99% of the time but off to the side and flip over or on past the winch stand and into the back of the vehicle. The only one I've personally been a part of there was launching without drain plug. In smaller fishing boats was no problem, just take off and plane them and the water goes out, then stick the plug in from the inside.

Docking a single engine pontoon boat has to be the most difficult. With enough wind, there's just no way to do it really well.

No one injured, it's not too bad. Boat not injured it's not even an accident. On smaller boats, I always depended on being able to put them into reverse to stop the forward progress. A bit of a hard landing when one choked off in the process. On jets, maintaining plenty of power and then reversing hard is essential.

I've had many times of making several runs to the dock as I'm never embarrassed to try again. And I've had a couple of times I asked for a different dock or slip because I knew if I got in without trouble, I'd just have to deal with getting out.

 

[Islanddreamer]

I'm with 'ya. My level of error is usually in direct proportion to the number of other boaters present. Go big or go home.

 

[johnma]

about 6 weeks ago we were taking a trip to the Chesapeake for a couple of days. three guests were coming with us. I did my pre start up checks on both the engine and genny. turned on and checked all electronics; started the genny, checked water flow. shifted from shore power. unhooked the power cord went up to the fly bridge. my guests untied all lines and I put the boat in reverse. nothing happened? wtf!!! remembered to do everything but start the main.
My "guests" are also boat owners and they have promised to never let me live it down. So far they have been good to their word.
John

 

[Luke-44]

...As a newbie and as my first boating year I was always worrying about parking it nicely knowing people are looking etc... until the day I saw one of the more experienced boater hit another boat in the bow while trying to turn around to get back in a slip... since then I am thinking that I am not better but neither not worse than anybody else...

As an also new owner who takes possession next spring I can't tell you how much this posting has reassured me that I may be OK and will get through this. Fear of your first docking attempt, your first lock, - nobody tells you about that as a newbie.

 

[Peter B]

Dave, this should make you feel better. (I didn't even need a dock for this comedy of errors.)
Of the many lessons I learned on this fiasco, number one for me was that being in a hurry just compounds the likelihood of mistakes. Two was: things can go wrong quickly. And three was: never tell my wife about my stoopid boating tricks.

And four is never, ever, pick up anything from in the water that has been there for a while and might take a strain while you are holding it, without tough gloves on. Don't ask how I know...

And, yes, I, on one occasion early on, did wonder why we were not backing out of the berth as we should, only to find the line from the away from the finger side of the bow to the walkway cleat was still attached.

 

[SoWhat]

I have one other marina disaster to self-report, unrelated to docking. I was pumping out the holding tank across from the dock from the fueling station about 10' away. I did the uh-oh while pulling the hose out of the deck fitting, and showered the boater across the dock. Haven't been back there since.

I'm not fueling up anywhere near Seattle!

My head seemed a little balky one day, figured it might be something in the joker valve so I just pumped harder, still a lot of resistance so I pumped harder yet... Finally decided it wasn't the joker valve, maybe a clogged vent, so I took the vent hose off to check, well the holding tank was well pressurized at that point and the vent was like a fire hose that quickly covered the interior of the boat and me with the contents of the holding tank.

I put in an electric head and a new vent.

 

[SoWhat]

Given the wind I used a both a port and starboard bow line, two springs and a stern breast line to keep us secure overnight.

Did the exact same thing. Put an extra port bow line out due to high winds. Several days later backing out discovered my reverse gear was toast. Max rpm's in reverse, nothing, put it in forward, OK, back to reverse, nothing, instant dive to ER to check linkage, looked solid, finally looked up, noticed port bow line quietly doing it's job. Wife shaking her head.

 

[Donna]

I just slam into a piling or two!

 

[menzies]

I just slam into a piling or two!

That's what sturdy rub-rails are for!

 

[bilge53]

If it's going to go South just shout as loudly as possible "Hey y'all, watch this!" Almost like you planned it.