How Not to Dock

[mddickens]

I'm new to boating but have been flying since 1981...I would love to have all of the labor (and boat) saving devices I could afford aboard my boat, just as I quickly adopted the use of GPS on my plane when it became available (replacing LORAN). This didn't mean I forgot how to use a chart or how to take cross-fixes from VORs. If I had a bow thruster, I'd use it whenever I wanted to. I think you would want to periodically not use it and/or practice without it to prepare for that time when it quit on you (just like the eventuality of the GPS receiver quitting). If you can afford a labor-saving device and it adds to safety, by all means use it and ignore the "real men" in their "real boats", but be prepared to deal with situations where it fails.

My $0.02 FWIW

 

[320Bob]

A guy at my marina with a twin stern drive Formula 37.5 could have definitely use a bow thruster yesterday. I went over to help him with lines as he was bringing the boat in to his slip. First the guy came up the fairway pretty fast and then slammed it into reverse. Second his back-in approach was too steep so he had to use the piling to swing around. Third he ran his swim platform into his dock wheel which then slid of into the corner of the dock post putting a noticable ding in it. I might have been able to catch his stern before hitting the dock post but I really did not want to body check a 9 or 10 ton boat. I am a new boater, and certain would not go on a lecture tour as to the proper way to dock a boat, but even with my less than 50 hours of boating experience, I can dock a boat better than this clown.

Here is a guy that definitely needs a bow thruster and in my own case I could have used one when I was at the fuel dock 3 weeks ago with a very strong current pushing me into the dock.

 

[TheLucille]

Damn Bayliner owners.

 

[TheLucille]

I'll never fault someone for using a piling to pivot around. That's what they are there for, and much better than bouncing off of or pivoting off someone's boat, as one member here once suggested as SOP.

And rub rails... that's what they're for! The stainless inserts over vinyl are not just for flash, they're also the most effective rub rails... besides a bunch of old tires

I hate when people build a dock that requires carefully placed fenders to prevent you from scratching the hell out of your hull. Some properly-spaced 2x4's, 4x4's or 4x6's vertical on the side of the dock is the right way to handle 99% of recreational boat traffic!

 

[320Bob]

I'll never fault someone for using a piling to pivot around. That's what they are there for, and much better than bouncing off of or pivoting off someone's boat, as one member here once suggested as SOP.

Pivoting around a piling would have been fine if it would have been done closer to his stern but it was not which is why he hit the dock. It was dead calm so I'm not sure he intended to use the piling as a pivot.

 

[320Bob]

Maybe it's a formula thing then. We have here locally, a jolly 'ol fellow we'll call, Captain Crunch. He bought a brand new 40 PC with IPS for his very first boat. I don't know exactly how he managed it, but even with IPS, he beat the crap out of the boat in two seasons. Now, when we see him, we run for cover. (fish too) Good ol' Capt. Crunch....god love him, is totally oblivious to his plight and happily smashes into anything and everything with a big smile on his face.

Then my dockmate Captain Clank must be his cousin!:smt043

Your comment about it being a Formula thing may hold some truth. When he was shifting as he was backing into the slip, the trannys "clanked" and really sounded cheezy.