Docking Your Vessel

As the saying goes, “Never approach the pier any faster than you’re willing to hit it.” After all, even the slightest misstep can send your beautiful boat straight into the side of the dock, causing serious damage.

Always approach the dock slowly to ensure even if you accidentally ram the dock, the damage won’t be too severe.

That being said…

While you should never approach the dock too quickly, you never want to approach the dock too slowly either. After all, you need to give your boat enough juice to overcome and counter common issues like current, wind, and momentum. If you don’t give enough juice to the boat, another factor will take over and potentially send your vessel straight into the dock.

Even if you’ve backed into your slip hundreds of times before, you should always look before you dock. Mooring lines can easily fall off a piling and into the water and if the current has stretched it out across your path (and subsequently into a propeller), you won’t be able to dock (and damage is almost guaranteed).

It can be tempting to touch the wheel, even if you have twin inboards. But by leaving the wheel centered, you’ll maintain more control and be able to use the engines to effectively guide you in to the slip.

Remember, touching the wheel will turn the engines and should the prop-wash hit a cockeyed rudder, the boat will take a path you didn’t quite intend!

This is especially important if you have a small boat because it can make it excessively hard to dock!

Bimini tops and Isinglass enclosures in heavy winds can quickly send powerboats out of control whereas lazy sail management can have similar effects on a sailboat (so furl those sails!).

You never want to shut down the engines, even if the boat is in the slip! After all, you never know when or if a crewmember will drop his or her line(s) or if a pilling will slip out of reach. By keeping the powerplants on, you can maneuver as you see fit.

In fact, it can be a great idea for sailboats, single-screw inboards, and other boats that are limited in their maneuverability. If at any time you believe your approach isn’t going as planned, circle back and try again (you’ll be glad you did).

You can’t just hang the fenders over the side to dock. In fact, you must also evaluate where the boat will kiss a piling and how you can best orient the fenders to ensure they never get caught under the pier or swing above it.

By positioning them properly, you can practically guarantee damage-free docking (which is no small feat, after all!).

If you’re operating a single-engine boat, you should never turn the wheel during or after applying power. Instead, you should always turn the wheel before applying power to ensure you don’t move quickly forward or backward before you’re ready to.

You don’t want to build up too much momentum before you begin to move. Instead, you should apply short bursts of power to ensure you remain in control of your vessel at all times.