Docking for a Beginner please help

[Berber Boy]

I have a MACM 2008 with an Evinrude Etec 60 with a 3 bladed SS prop. I have consistently tried some of the suggestions in this thread. The last was last week with a sharp crosswind where I increased my speed with CB 25% and rudders down but the Reverse thrust does not seem to be very effective compared with my previous boat. Coming in very slow under light conditions i can kiss the dock nearly everytime but with a crosswind the reversing does not seem to hold the boat well enough or quick enough. Would a higher thrust prop give better control even though it would sacrifice some speeed. Appreciate any help i could get.

BB

[restless]

I'm feeling quite interested in a prop-guard or thrustmaster add on to the outboard.. gives better control and protects the prop and people in water and stuff.. probly better n cheaper than another prop. I've not had experience of one yet so can't really say. Theory looks good though...

In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice;
In practice, there is.

[Catigale]

Most beginners approach a dock too slowly imho. I know the tendency is to think the slower I go, the least damage I will do, but slow means no control. Add a current or crosswind, and at slow speed you have no control.

When you get more experienced you will approach at a good clip (3-4 knots), and learn how to dump that speed just before the dock, either with reverse thrust or by turning up into the wind/current.

The most important part of approaching at speed is to not be afraid to dust off the approach, go around, and try again!!

[NiceAft]

When you get more experienced you will approach at a good clip (3-4 knots), and learn how to dump that speed just before the dock, either with reverse thrust or by turning up into the wind/current.

I agree with Stephen, but because of the high freeboard, there are times when nothing helps. That's when either help from someone on the dock, or a guttsy manuver is required. By the way, If possible, I back into a slip. I find it much easier to control Nice Aft.

Ray

[Québec 1]

This season was the first season I backed in to my slip every time. I can't see why I did otherwise in he past especially with the tides and winds we face out here in the mighty St Laurence River. Next year i am not slipping my boat. I plan on keeping it by the house and taking a week or 2 at a time in different lakes and rivers through out the season.
Q1

[NiceAft]

Next year i am not slipping my boat. I plan on keeping it by the house and taking a week or 2 at a time in different lakes and rivers through out the season.
Q1

Just when you get right, you stop

Ray

[Québec 1]

Next year i am not slipping my boat. I plan on keeping it by the house and taking a week or 2 at a time in different lakes and rivers through out the season.
Q1

Just when you get right, you stop

Ray

Being slipped is now considered boring and besides I want to do the Rideau Canal! besides I can get a visiting mooring at the marina 3 minutes from here for a few bucks a day or stay at the down town marina for 58 $ a day. I also want to try lake sailing ...u know ..no 17 foot tides and stuff. Who cares ....I have a 26M there are no rules and I don't need a marina .
http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/dawson/ ... de0809-en/
Q1

[Hamin' X]

Marina! We don't need no stinking marinas!

~Rich

[NiceAft]

Nice video.

In 1976 I was in Kingston to watch some sailing events for the Montreal Olympics. All we saw were the boats leaving the marina and coming back. It turned out that all of the events were held far out on Lake Ontario. All we saw was the outline on the horizon of what I think was a Canadian corvette (it looked too small to be a destroyer).

Ray

[jschrade]

WIth ballast, the daggerboard down and the rudders down the 26M can be steered if it is barely moving. Idle is too fast, I put the in forward idle to get a little thrust and then put in back in neutral and coast into the slip. Once in the slip, reverse idles is all that is needed to stop it. If the wind or current is just too much, backing in will typically be your best choice and uses all the Mac properties to your advantage. So if the nose wants to blow downwind, you should probably just it.

It's sort of like the steering on the Mac. If you over do it, the boat steers wildly.

Approaching at high speeds is not safe and jumping off the boat when it kisses the dock is not safe. There are lots of videos on how to dock your boat in various conditions and these are very good to get you thinking. Make sure that you have a boat hook or two on deck. These can be really helpful when you "miss" or to just hold the boat to the dock while your crew safely "steps" to the dock and ties up.

There are some great tools that can make docking much easier and less stressful:

http://www.landingloop.com/
http://shurhold.com/marine/shurhold-sys ... ock-a-reni

To me, the Shurhold dock-a-reni makes the most sense as it is cheap and takes up no extra space. It is a small price to pay for safety.

Jim

[NiceAft]

If the wind or current is just too much, backing in will typically be your best choice and uses all the Mac properties to your advantage. So if the nose wants to blow downwind, you should probably just it.

Jim,

There are times when it just does not work. If the wind is blowing you away from a slip/dock, a captain is in trouble!

If you run a bow line down the length of the boat and loosely attach it to a stanchion, you can grab it quickly. This offers a modicum of control at the dock/slip. I have had this happen to me several times, and it does not take too much wind create a bad situation. You have to act quickly to prevent such a situation from becoming worse. When the wind is pushing a fully balasted Mac away from you at an extreme acute angle, it takes muscle to control that boat. The closer it gets to obtuse, the harder it is to get that boat back. I have had some close calls.

If you have a great wind for sailing, with a Mac, that same wind can make it hull to safely dock

Ray

[jschrade]

Yep, that's where one of the tools like the landing loop or the like will make it much safer as it lets you get a line connected to shore for leverage.

If there is one thing that matters, it is getting a line to windward secured. Then you can motor along side.

I am thinking of running a line the length of the dock (rather than the boat as I use it's life lines) to grab with a boat hook. This would give me very effective control of the boat till I secure the fore and aft lines. Pulling it over the stantions and hooking on some stantion cleats should be about perfect. Blowing into the dock is no problem as I have fenders till I get all the lines up.

Jim

[c130king]

If you have a great wind for sailing, with a Mac, that same wind can make it hull to safely dock

I'll buy two of that. Especially when single-handing. That's why I like my current marina...it is very wind protected.

I did my biggest crunch trying to back into a very narrow slip with a relatively narrow fairway...with fairly high winds in an unprotected marina. Wind was really pushing my nose around and I goosed the throttle for a little more backing speed which I hoped would swing my nose where I wanted it to go...it didn't...ended up slamming against a large metal dock pole and left a scar on my rub rail joint.

Oh well. There are those that have and those that will.

Jim

[Harry van der Meer]

I did my biggest crunch trying to back into a very narrow slip with a relatively narrow fairway...with fairly high winds in an unprotected marina. Wind was really pushing my nose around and I goosed the throttle for a little more backing speed which I hoped would swing my nose where I wanted it to go...it didn't...ended up slamming against a large metal dock pole and left a scar on my rub rail joint.

This is why sailors are (or should be) humble.

After 2 seasons of pulling out of my slip without any problems, this past Sunday things went wrong. I backed out as usual, but a stiff crosswind slammed me into an other boat and dock pole before I knew what happened. Luckily no damage to the other boat but a nice gauge in mine. Come to find out that I forgot to let the centerboard down. After some fantastic sailing, I made a nice glide into my slip upon return even though we still had a good cross wind. All the fins down and keep the boat moving did the trick. This tought me never to be confident that I have this manoevre down-pat. Humble again.

[Catigale]

Harry - I would never make a mistake like that - you should turn in your license immediately....