First Big Boat, First Big Step

My wife and I have been in possesion of our new to us OA 40 for about a month now, our first big boat. 40', twin FL 120's and 22,500 lbs. dry weight is a world apart from our 24' outboard powered day sailor. Our broker referred us to an excellent captain under whom we now have about 15 hours of guidance, performing mostly close quarter maneuvering. After our last outing we all felt it was time for my wife and I to take it out on our own.


Our slip is a tight fit for our boat, plus we board from the swim step so it requires docking stern in. We intended to take the boat out a week ago but the winds were too strong for our comfort level. Yesterdays conditions were perfect so we made a game plan and gave it a go.


Our goal was just to dock the boat. We would pull out of our slip, turn up the fairway, spin 180 degrees in the fairway, return to our slip and back her in. I missed the first three attempts but finally nailed it on the fourth and docked it four more times without a miss before heading out for a short cruise.


The wind had picked up considerably when we returned. It took me three attempts to figure out how to deal with it and again on the fourth try I finally slipped her in. No crashes, no damage, no drama, by all means a success! Very pleased.

Nice, congratulations and glad to hear you got the hang of it.


When we first got our boat my wife did not want to leave the dock for any reason. Took her awhile but now we can't wait to go for a cruise all the time!


Post pics of your OA.

Congrats on your new boat and newly acquired skills. Remember if there are no photos, it didn’t happen...

Photos coming after we re-name her.

Nice, Kingston. As your wife's confidence in your abilities to maneuver the boat grows, how about getting her involved actively by practicing warping in. Example, a line from an adjoining piling to your bow capstan. Maneuver on one engine only, so you control the stern and she controls the bow. Accomplishes being able to confidently dock in heavy winds (without a bow thruster) and also if one engine dies.

I did this with my wife (back when girlfriend) and it really helped. Unfortunately she still gets seasick

Good for you guys. It will only get easier as you get to know how the boat will respond to your commands in different situations.

Sort of in the same boat, so to speak. Our Pilgrim 40 is my first boat of this size and first power boat other than small runabouts years ago; been sailing until now, largest being a 30' ketch. Have had 'Serena' out a few times but still a tad intimidated around the dock when the wind is up. Deckhand (wife) has some physical limitations which adds to docking challenge at times, but: practice, practice, practice!
Joe

I think you may have your specs wrong. A 40 foot O.A. almost certainly weighs more than 22,000 #, Especially sporting twin F.L.s. My gut says at least 30,000 empty and dry and add another few thousand for fuel, water and "stuff". So in effect, your docking practice just got better, you are handling a significantly heavier boat than you thought. Congratulations !!

pete

Congratulations on the new boat and on the decision to get some help learning new skills. Practice and learning makes for confidence and confidence makes the whole experience better and more fun.

Pete Meisinger said:

I think you may have your specs wrong. A 40 foot O.A. almost certainly weighs more than 22,000 #, Especially sporting twin F.L.s. My gut says at least 30,000 empty and dry and add another few thousand for fuel, water and "stuff". So in effect, your docking practice just got better, you are handling a significantly heavier boat than you thought. Congratulations !!

pete

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An OA 42 Sedan is 23000 lbs and the
420 Sundeck is 27000. Possibly not far off.

OP: Good job sir. I know the feeling. Its very nerve wracking to come and go in a bigger boat that is new to you
I've had my new boat since late April and Im still learning!

Congrats on the new boat, Kingston! Looking forward to seeing pictures of her.

I applaud your decision to seek out hands-on training with a local captain and to practice your docking skills. So few people do that. Many let ego and false pride get in the way, write a check, turn the key, and take off with little or no training at all. We've all seen and nearly been run down by them. Good on ya!

Looking forward to hearing of your future adventures.

John

Awesome! You are bringing up fond and scary memories of when my wife and I started boating. Sweaty palms...it gets easier as you practice. Congrats.

Congratulations


You seem to have already learned one of the lessons some have trouble with--if things aren't right, abort and start over.

I appreciate all the encouragement! Even though our insurance (Boat US) did not require us to do so, crazy huh, not hiring a captain wasn't an option as far as we were concerned. When we started he said we'd have the boat dancing in no time, and he is absolutely delivering. In the end he will have saved us years of trial and error, not to mention training us to become competent boat handlers. We have big plans, ie; shoulder to shoulder full time cruising and this will get us there much sooner than muddling through on our own. Easily the best money spent on the boat.



As for weight, all the docs I have say 22,500 dry weight so that's what I'm going with. When I get it on a lift that can tell me the weight I'll be sure to check. Either way it's a big boat from my perspective.

Congratulations on the new boat. Great decision to do some training. I’ve not done that in the past, as my experience with boats gradually increased in size, but I think if I was going to go to twins from a single, I certainly would.

So you you at the Port of Kingston? (You may have answered this before but I have a terrible memory).

So you you at the Port of Kingston? (You may have answered this before but I have a terrible memory).[/QUOTE]


We live in Kingston and keep the boat in Poulsbo, really liking it there. Starting to plan some short trips and a stopover in Gig Harbor is on our bucket list. Any recommendations for anchoring?

Well a great boat and a great area to cruise. As for the "Easily the best money spent on the boat..." yet!

Some in the West Coast forum suggested a cruise next late spring to Desolation and I made some suggestions for Vancouver and surrounding areas. People jumped in to say they were interested but we all know those plans can change on a dime. But perhaps you might want to join in as if you and one or two other boats come up it will take the intimidation of Georgia Strait out of the equation.

If the event actually occurs, I will bring my boat down from Comox and join up in Vancouver to head back up with the group.

MV Wanderlust said:

Congrats on the new boat, Kingston! Looking forward to seeing pictures of her.

I applaud your decision to seek out hands-on training with a local captain and to practice your docking skills. So few people do that. Many let ego and false pride get in the way, write a check, turn the key, and take off with little or no training at all. We've all seen and nearly been run down by them. Good on ya!

Looking forward to hearing of your future adventures.

John

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Wifey B: I also applaud he took four tries. Only fools never back away and try again. He's doing it the right way all along. I remember my very first in 2001. Now I married a dude who was born operating a boat and now I realize that a 26 or 30' bowrider is small and easy. But he was soooooooooo good at it and here I was trying my first times. Oh yeah, I was cocky, I've got this, anything you can do I can do better. You should hear me trash talk on a basketball court. But inside I was "holy %$#@ don't let me mess this up." I mean I knew he'd be fine if I did but I wanted to be as good as him at it. Me, first try, him having docked thousands of times. Heck, I backed away and started again today when another boat was doing who knows what trying to move from one slip to another at the marina. I just parked it a hundred yards off or so and let him have his fun. Could I have blasted on in and docked fine? Prolly so but why. The other guy was having enough trouble without me in the equation and I could easily and patiently wait.

Now, on coastal and larger boats, I credit all I know to the incredible captains who trained us. We had tons of lake experience but we approached it like total newbies and they taught us right. Told them to be tough on us and they were.

You know you can also practice docking skills away from the dock, just build an imaginary one in your head and do it. Get use to how the wind and current influence things and how your boat handles.

Kingston Mariner said:

So you you at the Port of Kingston? (You may have answered this before but I have a terrible memory).

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We live in Kingston and keep the boat in Poulsbo, really liking it there. Starting to plan some short trips and a stopover in Gig Harbor is on our bucket list. Any recommendations for anchoring?[/QUOTE]


We are headed to Poulsbo right now. If you feel like it, come on by and say hello. We will be at the Port of Poulsbo docks, likely backed into one of their 30’ slips. Poulsbo is a great place for us to visit.

Gig Harbor is a good spot to anchor. You can anchor most anywhere in the middle of the harbor, just leave enough room for boats to transit along either shore. A good place to be is off of Jersich (sp?) Park. You can dinghy to the dock there and walk up to town. The Tides Tavern has great food and they have a dock out front so it is another fun place to go. The Harbor is a fun, busy, but generally quiet place to be. The entrance is narrow and can be a nail biter at low tide, but there is enough water to get in and out.

rsn48 said:

Well a great boat and a great area to cruise. As for the "Easily the best money spent on the boat..." yet!

Some in the West Coast forum suggested a cruise next late spring to Desolation and I made some suggestions for Vancouver and surrounding areas. People jumped in to say they were interested but we all know those plans can change on a dime. But perhaps you might want to join in as if you and one or two other boats come up it will take the intimidation of Georgia Strait out of the equation.

If the event actually occurs, I will bring my boat down from Comox and join up in Vancouver to head back up with the group.

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Don't know if we will be ready for a trip of that magnitude by then but we'll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the invite

Kingston Mariner said:

Don't know if we will be ready for a trip of that magnitude by then but we'll definitely keep it in mind. Thanks for the invite

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I’ve never done a group cruise (my wife is shy of crowds and uncomfortable with small-talk with folks she doesn’t know). However, it would be fun way to explore and face new experiences with a bunch of boaters familiar with the area. You know that if you have questions or run into issues there would be plenty of friends around to give a hand.

dhays said:

We live in Kingston and keep the boat in Poulsbo, really liking it there. Starting to plan some short trips and a stopover in Gig Harbor is on our bucket list. Any recommendations for anchoring?

Click to expand...

We are headed to Poulsbo right now. If you feel like it, come on by and say hello. We will be at the Port of Poulsbo docks, likely backed into one of their 30’ slips. Poulsbo is a great place for us to visit.

Gig Harbor is a good spot to anchor. You can anchor most anywhere in the middle of the harbor, just leave enough room for boats to transit along either shore. A good place to be is off of Jersich (sp?) Park. You can dinghy to the dock there and walk up to town. The Tides Tavern has great food and they have a dock out front so it is another fun place to go. The Harbor is a fun, busy, but generally quiet place to be. The entrance is narrow and can be a nail biter at low tide, but there is enough water to get in and out.[/QUOTE]


Good to know GH is a good spot. We'll probably do a Sunday over-nighter, hopefully most of the weekenders will have cleared out by then like they do in Poulsbo. Thanks for the info.


Will definitely look for you today and/or tomorrow. You will probably be right across the fairway from us. We are in D29, the un-gated commercial dock below the Brass Kraken pub.



There is a NP43PH in the marina here that as we paddled by the other day I told my wife that might be our next boat. Good for me she loves this boating thing as much or maybe more than I do!

In a group cruise, most of the time you aren't together but join up for a happy hour. Tell your wife I'm an introvert as well, so is my wife, so we get it.

rsn48 said:

In a group cruise, most of the time you aren't together but join up for a happy hour. Tell your wife I'm an introvert as well, so is my wife, so we get it.

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I'm about halfway on the introvert/extrovert scale, but I find that I'm more likely to talk to folks at the marina than almost anywhere else. Lots of common interests!

rsn48 said:

In a group cruise, most of the time you aren't together but join up for a happy hour. Tell your wife I'm an introvert as well, so is my wife, so we get it.

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Last Summer we got an invite from AlaskaProf and his wife for drinks on their boat in Ganges. It took some real sweet talking but she agreed eventually. Turns out that she really enjoyed both Bill and his wife and had a wonderful time.

dhays said:

I’ve never done a group cruise (my wife is shy of crowds and uncomfortable with small-talk with folks she doesn’t know). However, it would be fun way to explore and face new experiences with a bunch of boaters familiar with the area. You know that if you have questions or run into issues there would be plenty of friends around to give a hand.

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We would certainly enjoy tagging along!

Half the dock used to come out to "watch the show" when I came back to the slip with my first boat. Nice job!

We would certainly enjoy tagging along!

Bob, I had to search out other posts from you to see where you were located. I was trying to figure out how you were going to join us from Cuba. Blaine on the other hand is but a hop skip and a jump..lol.

Congrats.

Hope you enjoy your new boat!

When we took possession of our new to is boat almost two years ago we practiced docking in our slip many times with May 2nd and 3rd attempts. The person who’s slip was next to ours and witnessed many of the aborted attempts made the comment, which still rings true today. ‘No one will remember a docking that you took many attempts at, but everyone will remember a collision with the dock ‘

Kingston Mariner said:

My wife and I have been in possesion of our new to us OA 40 for about a month now, our first big boat. 40', twin FL 120's and 22,500 lbs. dry weight is a world apart from our 24' outboard powered day sailor. Our broker referred us to an excellent captain under whom we now have about 15 hours of guidance, performing mostly close quarter maneuvering. After our last outing we all felt it was time for my wife and I to take it out on our own.


Our slip is a tight fit for our boat, plus we board from the swim step so it requires docking stern in. We intended to take the boat out a week ago but the winds were too strong for our comfort level. Yesterdays conditions were perfect so we made a game plan and gave it a go.


Our goal was just to dock the boat. We would pull out of our slip, turn up the fairway, spin 180 degrees in the fairway, return to our slip and back her in. I missed the first three attempts but finally nailed it on the fourth and docked it four more times without a miss before heading out for a short cruise.


The wind had picked up considerably when we returned. It took me three attempts to figure out how to deal with it and again on the fourth try I finally slipped her in. No crashes, no damage, no drama, by all means a success! Very pleased.

Click to expand...