Parallel Parking

RollerCoastr

RollerCoastr

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2007
3,884
Cedar Point, OH / Miami, FL / MacRay Harbor, MI
Boat Info
1997 400DA
340HP 7.4 Mercruiser Bluewaters
Garmin 741, 742, 8212, 24HD, Intellian I2
Engines
1999 280BR
Twin 250HP Merc 350 Alpha Ones
This wkd I watched at least a dozen boats pull up to dock alongside a pier. They went past the spot they wanted to be in, and then tried to back in like they were driving a car. It didn't end well for any of them. Sloppy docking is nothing new, and watching it from the cockpit is one of my favorite pastimes, but this seems to be a new trend - like someone is out there telling new boaters to "park it like a car".

OR, maybe there's a new technique that I don't know about and I'm the one looking like a fool.... :grin:
 
i'm a fairly new boater. what's the chance you experienced captains would take the time to outline the best techniques for different docking situations? i have found myself parking like a car at times.
i have twin screws and a bow thruster, so i can get docked, but it's sloppy at times :(
my first choice is to back in, get one corner at the dock so wife can get that rear point tied, then use bow thruster to swing front to dock as she's now on the dock and then reaches for bow line.
 
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Bow in first. If you are docking on your starboard side, crank your wheel all of the way to port then use your engines to get you moving sideways. If there is someone on the dock to catch a line, present the bow with a line to them then maneuver the aft end to the dock. If things get a bit difficult, simply have them cleat the bow line and pivot off of it. Pretty simple, especially with CATs!
 
I always go in bow first, have someone throw spring line on the dock and then use the line if needed to pivot the transom towards the dock.
 
This must be the Monday morning joke. You mean to tell me a boat DOESN'T drive just like a car!

Now where the hell is that brake pedal???

MM
 
Bow in first but with a thruster just pull next to the empty slot and side maneuver in. Isn't that way you have one? Check youtube for thruster and prop maneuvering. There are tons of Zeus and Penta videos to watch.
 
MonacoMike said:
This must be the Monday morning joke. You mean to tell me a boat DOESN'T drive just like a car!

Now where the hell is that brake pedal???

MM
Click to expand...

How may times I got to say this: Throw a kid overboard with the dock line and have him pull you in. (Large boats require more than one kid.)
 
OldSkool said:
Bow in first but with a thruster just pull next to the empty slot and side maneuver in. Isn't that way you have one? Check youtube for thruster and prop maneuvering. There are tons of Zeus and Penta videos to watch.
Click to expand...

Oh, just point the joystick toward the dock and it just happens...

MM
 
OldSkool said:
How may times I got to say this: Throw a kid overboard with the dock line and have him pull you in. (Large boats require more than one kid.)
Click to expand...

That's careless and irresponsible advice! You forgot to mention that at least one kid should always be kept aboard to use as a fender. After all, bones heal themselves, but gelcoat repair is expensive.
 
Richie89 said:
i'm a fairly new boater. what's the chance you experienced captains would take the time to outline the best techniques for different docking situations? i have found myself parking like a car at times.
i have twin screws and a bow thruster, so i can get docked, but it's sloppy at times :(
my first choice is to back in, get one corner at the dock so wife can get that rear point tied, then use bow thruster to swing front to dock as she's now on the boat and then reaches for bow line.
Click to expand...

I was generally making fun of boaters with twin inboards and no thruster. With the directed thrust of your B3's and a thruster, most of the inboard "rules" don't apply to you. Even so, I recommend that you get into the habit of coming in bow-first if only because the stern-first method makes you rely on the thruster. (which sooner or later will decide to not work when you need it to)
 
We are new to twin engines as well. When we first picked up our 320 we took a few sessions with a Captain. This was the best money we've invested on your new way of life thus far. Case and point. We are located on a river which has one hell of a current compounded by the direction of the tide. This past weekend we headed over to the gas dock and the tide was coming in pretty strong. we approached the gas dock on our starboard side. There was already a boat tied up at the dock fueling. I put the bow at about 1 o'clock towards the dock and used small amounts of alternating thrust to hold us in position. The current brought us in to the dock with the best of ease. When we were a few feet away I bumped the port in reverse and the starboard into forward and the fenders just kissed the dock. Now getting back to our slip tends to be a bit harder. We see our neighbors overshoot the aisle all the time and have to re-approach. I use the same "ferrying" technique to get back to our aisle depending on the current we either position our bow or our stern in the current and ferry her into our aisle where the current is much less and from there its easy to pull into our slip.
 
Irie308 said:
We are new to twin engines as well. When we first picked up our 320 we took a few sessions with a Captain. This was the best money we've invested on your new way of life thus far. Case and point. We are located on a river which has one hell of a current compounded by the direction of the tide. This past weekend we headed over to the gas dock and the tide was coming in pretty strong. we approached the gas dock on our starboard side. There was already a boat tied up at the dock fueling. I put the bow at about 1 o'clock towards the dock and used small amounts of alternating thrust to hold us in position. The current brought us in to the dock with the best of ease. When we were a few feet away I bumped the port in reverse and the starboard into forward and the fenders just kissed the dock. Now getting back to our slip tends to be a bit harder. We see our neighbors overshoot the aisle all the time and have to re-approach. I use the same "ferrying" technique to get back to our aisle depending on the current we either position our bow or our stern in the current and ferry her into our aisle where the current is much less and from there its easy to pull into our slip.
Click to expand...
I forgot to add that we too have a bow thruster and I get it ready for each approach in case we needed it due to a gust of wind or current and I have yet to use it. It does however come in handy when we are untying from the dock and the wind is pushing us to our neighbor
 
Isn't this the way you are supposed to do it ?

[video=youtube_share;8alNxLjCBJc]http://youtu.be/8alNxLjCBJc[/video]
 
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Richie89 said:
i'm a fairly new boater. what's the chance you experienced captains would take the time to outline the best techniques for different docking situations? i have found myself parking like a car at times.
i have twin screws and a bow thruster, so i can get docked, but it's sloppy at times :(
my first choice is to back in, get one corner at the dock so wife can get that rear point tied, then use bow thruster to swing front to dock as she's now on the boat and then reaches for bow line.
Click to expand...

Richie, your problem isn't the twins and the bow thruster, it's that you are too easily distracted by your bow ornament!! :smt043

When we come into a dock I come in at about a 45* angle, nice and slow, and just before the bow touches the dock I put the opposite engine in reverse with just a tiny bit of throttle. That slows the forward motion and also pulls the stern into the dock. It's one thing to write about it, but what a guy really needs to do is practice, practice, practice. The wind and/or current will change your docking every time. If you learn to read the wind and currents and know how to use them to your advantage it makes you look like a real hero.

We always back into our slip. And we almost always have a breeze blowing (10kt-15kt) from the SW that makes it interesting. Saturday after our long charity cruise I knew I had 15 people in the cockpit just waiting for me to take a chunk out of the dock. That upped the anxiety level just a bit. The 20kt wind didn't help my anxiety level much either! I just took it nice and slow, backed the boat upwind to the point where the stern was just about to enter the slip, then used the shifters in combination with each other to ease the boat back and directly into the slip without touching either side.

That led to a collective sigh from all aboard, a round of cheers and a few jeers and a round of applause. There's nothing like practicing doing something enough times that you feel confident that you can do it under most any circumstance....and do it well.
 
Gofirstclass said:
Richie, your problem isn't the twins and the bow thruster, it's that you are too easily distracted by your bow ornament!! :smt043
Click to expand...

yeah, probably so ... can't figure out how to fix that problem.
but, i'm gonna practice more bow first docking. i am seeing that i'm relying too much on the bow thruster
 
I will typically bring the bow as close as I can get it to the next boat forward and have someone get 2 wraps around the closest piling. I will then put the outboard engine in reverse and wait for the slack to be taken up. if the bow begins pointing back towards the dock, I will put the inboard engine in and out of gear to try to swing the boat back parallel. Goosing the throttle on the outboard side helps when the wind is blowing.

If I am alone, it is stern in first almost always. Once you have a line to spring against and know you can't hit the neighboring boats it is much easier. I want to borrow my friends boat to try the Capt'n Ron thing though.
 
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Richie.

My brother in law runs a 58 enclosed flybridge. The wind can be a ***** with it. The first time I was with him docking it in a wind, there was about 8 of us on the boat, he gave no instructions what he wanted anyone to do, and it was a mess, he said some very choice words.

The next day there was only the two of us, and we had to run to the fuel wharf and back. I had a think about it as I was going to be on the ropes.

Basically I grabbed a long docking line, hooked up the front cleat and ran it along the side all the way down to the aft obviously on the side we intended to dock. Also hooked the aft rope up.

When we came along side the dock, I connected up the aft rope, and had the bow rope with me, if the wind connected at all. I could quickly throw the rope around a dock cleat. Importantly saves m the hassle of trying to lean over and grab the bow rope.

I do the same thing now with mine, I have twin I/O's no thruster, and my bow ornament is about the same size as yours so I have to Meade it as easy for her as possible.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
The basic principles for boat handling are consistent and apply to all boats, however every maneuver is different even at the same location because wind and current can be different. The trick is to factor the wind and current into your docking and make them work for you. Try to work with them whenever possible. Also every boat is different and you have to know your boat, how quickly it stops, how much thrust, or how long in gear to get it moving or turning, and where the longitudinal center of rotation is on the boat, that is the center of the circle on the boat if it is turning on the spot. Also the same boat with different propellers will handle differently, I find 4 blade propellers are better for maneuvering than 3 blades and larger diameter props give more transverse thrust (twisting) than smaller props. With the 320 on windy days I had to give more throttle in the maneuver, and sometimes really work those engines to get her in tight spaces. Bow or stern in depends on the space, the weather, how much help you have, and how experienced your help is. A well and timely placed dock line can make you look like a hero, and the opposite also applies.
 
Emagine said:
The basic principles for boat handling are consistent and apply to all boats, however every maneuver is different even at the same location because wind and current can be different. The trick is to factor the wind and current into your docking and make them work for you. Try to work with them whenever possible. Also every boat is different and you have to know your boat, how quickly it stops, how much thrust, or how long in gear to get it moving or turning, and where the longitudinal center of rotation is on the boat, that is the center of the circle on the boat if it is turning on the spot. Also the same boat with different propellers will handle differently, I find 4 blade propellers are better for maneuvering than 3 blades and larger diameter props give more transverse thrust (twisting) than smaller props. With the 320 on windy days I had to give more throttle in the maneuver, and sometimes really work those engines to get her in tight spaces. Bow or stern in depends on the space, the weather, how much help you have, and how experienced your help is. A well and timely placed dock line can make you look like a hero, and the opposite also applies.
Click to expand...
These are words to live by. When you come in, you need to think about how you would do it by yourself. You need to be comfortable with how the boat responds to your inputs.
 
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