Preview: How to Dock a Boat – Single Screw Inboard

41 Responses So Far to “How to Dock a Boat – Single Screw Inboard”

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  Ann M Gifford says:

  Thirty plus years ago, after a long day with our 2 kids,two and four years old, we pulled in to Menemsha on Martha’s Vineyard on our ‘new to us’ Valiant 40. After making a try at a slip (between 2 pilings, bow to dock and getting wedged because slip was too narrow i extricated w/o damage thanks to stainless rub rails. The wider slip was near entrance where flood tide was pretty strong on the beam. My wife was reluctant and I placed her on the bow w a dock line (hoping the tourist ashore could take a line and snug it before the tide set us askew among the pilings. I was ready w line to lassoo the piling from the cockpit knowing I had to come in faster than prudent to compensate for current. The kids were promised ice cream if they were good.
  All went well, the tourist took and snugged the line, I got the piling and the old Perkins belched smoke as we stopped inches from the bow hitting the dock.
  I saw the tourist offer my wife what I assumed was a congrat so when she came aft I pressed her to tell me. First she said ‘I don’t think you want to know’. Thinking: how could this not be good? I pressed again. Her reply: he said ‘your father really knows how to run that boat’.😩😩

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  Eugene Bellows says:

  Great video and a master at the helm

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  Larry Symons says:

  Very helpful. Good, usable, practical, instruction. Thank you.

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  Lonnie Thibault says:

  I am a senior and figured out long ago the best way to learn is to watch it done by a seasoned person who has a solid knowledge of the task.
  THANK YOU
  O.C.H.

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  Ronald Ruona says:

  Please create a video for handling a sailboat in docking situations with a lee wind. I have a
  32ft Morgan and am almost always by myself, where the bow is away from the dock before
  I can get back to the helm.

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  Lawrence Evans says:

  Great video and advice. Ol sea captain said to me. “If you are going to hit something, no problem, just hit it slow”

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    Geoff Kerr says:

    As a baby Coast Guard Officer learning to drive ships I vividly remember the Master Chief instructor telling me ” Mr Kerr, if you need reverse you are going too fast.”

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  Doug Duffield says:

  Very nice video will try this on my Dyer 29. I wood like to see more video on thes downeast power boats.

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  larry olson says:

  This is a good basic video and a great review. Would sure like to see more single inboard handling videos. Add some when there’s more boats around, like a boat next to you with no finger dock. And backing into a slip. Now add some wind. And how about maneuvering with strong wind and current?

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  Ken Cole says:

  Great video Maynard. Thanks so much. What make and size is the boat in the video? She’s a downeast beauty.

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    Alex Gans says:

    She was designed by Tad Roberts and built by Peter Kass at John’s Bay Boatyard in South Bristol, ME. Here are some links to more info and photos:

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      Alex Gans says:

      https://wlb3.smugmug.com/Maine/JBBC

      http://www.tadroberts.ca/services/new-design/power/johnsbayboat40

      http://www.johnsbayboat.com

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  Colin Mombourquette says:

  Some great tips that I will try out with my Alberg 29 full-keel sailboat this year. She has great steerage going forward but any wind easily pushes the bow around when going in reverse. I’m especially keen on trying out backing into the slip when returning and also using a spring line when backing into the slip. Thank you very much for the great video.

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  William McCullom says:

  Looking forward to my second year with my Hampton by Dick Pulsifer, I should have seen this video a year ago. I have to back into a tight slip and have given many spectators something to chuckle about – this will help tremendously.

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  Gerald Davies says:

  Brilliant video thank you so much.
  I would love to see similar videos using smaller boats with a single outboard.

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    Dustin Urban says:

    Hi Gerald,
    Have you checked out our new Outboard Powerboat Handling series? Have a look if not: https://www.offcenterharbor.com/?p=16806

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  James Cornwell says:

  Along with a great many sailors, I dare say, backing my modified full keel sailboat into her slip is daunting. So I mostly chicken out and lie bow-in. Stern-in would be better for many reasons and I’d like to learn how to do it. Please add this maneuver to a future video!

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  Steven Timmings says:

  How about doing the same for a single screw outboard, twenty feet or less. I’m a newby at this, and I’ve already had a few too many tense moments.

  Thanks, Steve

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    Steve Stone says:

    Hi Steve. You read our minds. We have a series on outboard boat handling in the planning stages.

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  Craig Tyrie says:

  OCH, Maynard…Have only 3 summers experience on a 22′ Eastern and I’m 71. Your video gives me a whole lot to work on this summer! Perhaps I can cut down on the bumps and scrapes! Thanks!

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  Hank Kennedy says:

  Maynard,
  A very good beginner’s guide. Perhaps you could do another piece on dealing with significant current around the dock. Then one on contrary wind/current docking. I learned my boat handling the hard way- “the school of hard knocks’. And some were pretty hard. {:^) Even though I have been boating since the ’50’s in 12 foot row boats up to 120 foot tugboats docking ships, I still can pick up a tip or two now and then.

  Hank

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  Doug Hylan says:

  Great video! With a little knowledge and practice, there would be lots fewer bow thrusters sold. A few comments:

  Every boat will handle differently, depending on the relation of the above water windage and underwater geometry. The bow would not blow off at all in GRAYLING because of her deep forefoot, relatively low bow and significant windage from her aft pilothouse. Conversely, in a boat with a cut away forefoot and a high bow, you need to be very careful inching into the wind in a crowded anchorage.

  Some of these techniques will not work well with a sailboat, particularly one with a traditional underbody. The balanced rudder common on powerboats has a big effect in diverting the prop wash when the helm is hard over. Also, sailboats typically have a much smaller prop, a vastly lower horsepower to weight ratio, and often a different distribution of windage.

  Stern walking can vary dramatically from boat to boat, sometimes for inscrutable reasons. Whether the stern tends to walk to port or starboard depends on the hand of the prop. A considerate designer will put the helm station on the side that the stern tends to walk to — makes docking easier. GRAYLING displays virtually no stern walk when backed down, but some boats will have such a pronounced walk that it is almost impossible to make them back and fill in one direction.

  The key to looking good to the dockside critics is practice. Know what you boat will, and will not do before you head into a tight situation. Practice coming up to an empty mooring ball, both in forward and reverse, pretending it is a dock. Do it fairly early in the morning, after the fishermen have left and before the yachtsmen are up, so you won’t have too many spectators. Learn to keep a eye on the current. Watch the fishermen come up to the dock and see what can be done is a single screw boat (no bow thruster) with lots of practice, a complete knowledge of your craft, and an absolute faith in reverse.

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    Steve Stone says:

    Wow. Love your writing/thinking Doug. Helps me think of more boat-handling videos.

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  Joe Guttentag says:

  Many thanks Going to take my computer on the boat to practice. But first, I have a 23 1/2 Padebco with a 150hp outboard. Will the instructions in your video apply to my outboard?

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  edward demarco says:

  Excellent i tried the spinning on the axis and it worked!

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  David Tew says:

  My mistake, The model is Peter Kass’s, ‘adjusted’ by Tad Roberts.

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  David Tew says:

  Neal’s a lucky man to have a Peter Kass boat.They are ‘some special’ and do indeed handle predictably. I believe the lobsterboat hull shape, rudder placement, big wheel and flat underbody aft are specificaily designed to feature that characteriastic.

  Here’s a smaller version of one of Peter Kass’s boats, designed by Tad Roberts:

  http://www.tadroberts.ca/services/new-design/power/johnsbayboat32

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    David Tew says:

    And now, Minkie is for sale.

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  Anne Bridgman says:

  Maynard and Minkie – you make it look easy. This video has opened our minds to some new ideas about getting the boat to do what we’d like her to do. I’m with you on the practice aspect. There sure are multiple forces to be considering all at once, and to have some of these considerations become automatic is helpful. Thanks for adding to our bag of tricks.

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  randall saunders says:

  Ummmm….Can we see more of Minkie please?

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    David Tew says:

    See her listing at http://www.oysterharborsmarine.com

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  nathan cantwell says:

  Backing into the wind… Good concept. As a novice I was trying to put a boat into a slip with a twenty knot unfavorable wind direction. My instinct said back her in after failing several times. Finally did a Hail Mary and stuck it. Wish I had backed her up the fairway and used my instinct. Thanks, and also thanks for admitting that a skilled person can make small failures look like boat handler genius .

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  Tony Esposito says:

  Great Video. I will show to my Flotilla mates who need to learn how to handle their boats. I love this kind of boat handling.

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  BRIAN SNOW says:

  Terrific video, Maynard! My husband learned a few things here…..and thought I should watch it, too! I am amazed with the concept of “backing up into the wind”. What a grand piece of information…….thank you!

  We have a 28′, 5 ton wooden sailboat and are going to put a larger engine in her this year. 10 horses just don’t do it when we really need that prop!

  Monica Snow

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  Bill Van Reich says:

  Maynard, thanks for a great lesson. Hope I can handle the challenges as well as you exemplified.

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  edward demarco says:

  ill give this ago! cool

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  Art Plewka says:

  That was an eye opener! However, my time on the water is spent in a sailboat. I can’t wait to experiment with some of these techniques this summer. In the meantime maybe a follow up video for sailboat maneuvering under power would be worth considering.

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  Clyde Davis says:

  OCH, all your work is excellent, and for me sorely needed. Queene Foster cemented the rig choice for my Oughtred J II in progress. This video is another revolution in my thinking; except that where there was already mast and sail in the instance of Queene’s yawl, here there was vacuum. Big thanks guys!

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  Geoff Kerr says:

  Maynard brings to mind a vivid lesson learned while I was a baby Coast Guard officer learning to dock ships. The Master Chief Bosun’s Mate (salty!) pronounced the following: “Mr Kerr, if you need reverse you were going too fast! Someday you’ll call for it and it won’t be there…”

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    David Tew says:

    So right! The version I was taught was “Never approach a dock at a speed you wouldn’t care to collide at.” It’s shown itself to be a good policy… and proven more times than I care to admit (!)

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  William Sorensen says:

  Maynard, thank you for making boat handling remarkably simple. As I replay my mental “video” of my self taught techniques, it brings a chuckle. As a captain/caretaker of a 40 ft cruising sailboat using your suggestions, I could have been a super star.