Don't try it with a breeze!! Lol, sorry, wish I could help more. I used to have a single I/o that I sterned in, but hated every second of it because without perfect conditions or ready dock hands, it can be a real pain! Mine was fairly tall and heavy, too, which didn't help much. The boat I have now has twin screws and docking is my favorite part of the trip now!! Good luck to you!

Shaun
Sent from my Droid X

 

slow short bursts in reverse
dont steer while in reverse...point prop in direction first then put in gear
dont rush
never go any faster than the speed you want to hit something
practice
compensate for wind
practice

 

They do back up better to starboard side then port side. I have current to deal with so I back into the current and turn in from the drivers side (starboard) downstream. It gives me the best visability and everything deerock said is true!...Mike.

 

Deerock is right on. I ran a 28 foot single engine boat for years. We had a concrete floating dock with no pillings or anything to bump off of. The docs were short so all you had was anchor pulpits to look at, very intimidating on windy days. I found the best technique was to use short burst like Deerock mentioned and make sure you turn your wheel all they way to port or starboard as needed prior to applying thrust. You will find your self frantically turning your wheel to do this, but it provides the most control.

 

I'll follow what everyone else says. I find it easier to back in to the end of the dock on an angle, and have my wife, or whoever step off with the stern line, then we just walk it in the rest of the way.

 

Even better, I have a very strong brother in law who is able to man handle the boat as I reach the pilings and he muscles me right into position. When he isnt on the boat then its keeping fingers and toes crossed and hope my slip neighbors are out for the day.

 

I did this with my '86 250 for years. Everyone here is giving you sound advise. The most valuable piece though has been never go any faster than the speed you want to hit something
!

I'll add that if there's any cross wind approach your slip with the bow downwind and the boat perpendicular to your slip. Slightly pass the slip and then back up into the wind while turning sharply into the slip. Many folks try and get there boats all lined up with the slip and then start backing into it. That won't work in wind and/or current.

Also, don't watch both sides of the slip. You know your boat will fit so back in while concentrating on getting close to the most visible part of the dock.

 

I agree with the short bursts. Go as slow as you can to start and you will get better. Then the wind will come up and you will get better at judging the wind and the boat. I have two boats both with twin engines. I can't tell you how many times I have come in on one engine. Most recently with my 400EC, I docked it, then pulled it out and then moved it to the haul out area all on the starboard engine. Oh yeah, and the wind was no help at all.
Practice and take your time.

 

Good advice from everyone. Actually, it could be worse, you could be trying to back in a single inboard, which is an even higher level of difficulty. Any way, agree with slow, steer before using power, short bursts, and practice. You just get used to doing it if you do it enough. One of the hardest things is to be patient and go slow, most of the time the boat will respond how you want, but it will seem painfully slow, and you will be tempted to apply more power to speed it up, which can make it worse. One thing I found that helps me is a bought a new steering wheel with a knob on it, which helps me turn the wheel quickly and keep track of how far I have turned it. If you do not want to replace the steering wheel, you can buy a knob, if you do not mind how it looks. Good luck.

 

Practice....Practice.....Practice........Practice when winds/currents are NOT ideal as this is the only way you will get comfortable.....

 

Always back into the current. Go slow, I don't care how many times you have to adjust. I would rather take a few extra minutes than hit the dock. And as everyone says the more practice you get, the better you become. There is nothing like having the dock hands say, wow, I've seen several captians today hit the dock, but you brought her in perfect!!

 

Practice, is the only way.
I had a single outdrive 27 for 10 years.
(Make sure people are watching from the dock....somehow that makes it harder?)

I will add to all the sound info above:

I like to start very close to the slip at a 90 degree angle and pivot the boat in.
Trying to back in straight from any distance will not work too well.
You will always loose the bow to the wind or current so, use it.
The wind direction will tell you which way to start the procedure.
Also, the boat will not stay in position for more than a few seconds.
Have fenders in place and all lines ready.
(I used to have a bow line run back to an aft cleat so, stepping off I had control of the bow)
It is different every time!
Enjoy,
Mark.

 

I like to start very close to the slip at a 90 degree angle and pivot the boat in.
Trying to back in straight from any distance will not work too well.
You will always loose the bow to the wind or current so, use it.
The wind direction will tell you which way to start the procedure.
Also, the boat will not stay in position for more than a few seconds.
Have fenders in place and all lines ready.
(I used to have a bow line run back to an aft cleat so, stepping off I had control of the bow)
It is different every time!

All of the above is sooooo true.

I will echo what everyone else has said about short bursts and practice. Backing into a slip is an orchestra of forward and reverse maneuvers. You can spin a single screw on it's axis with a series of reverse/forward maneuvers. Start in neutral and turn hard to port and bump into reverse gear long enough to get some motion, bump to neutral, turn hard to starboard and bump to forward gear, bump to neutral, hard to port, repeat.

Here's my routine with the finger pier on my port side: I pull up perpendicular to my slip about 5' out. I bring the boat to a stop with the pier about mid-ship. Crank hard to port and bump into reverse then back to neutral. This pulls the stern in. Crank hard to starboard while in neutral and bump to forward then back to neutral. This pushes the stern toward the dock and pushes the bow to starboard. Crank to port and bump into reverse. Repeat until I am lined up and pull straight back.

Practice, practice, practice.

 

Rip some gelcoat off and you'll learn much faster!

 

Thanks for the tips, I am going to wait for a few weeks & try it - Hardly anyone will be left at teh marina and I know the harbor master well so he will let me "borrow" a slip to practice on. I don't need to worry about current but the wind is always a factor.

LK

 

Backing my single 290 into my slip, in the wind is a royal pain. Have an abort plan and recognize a bad approach early. Do not hesitate to abort and try again....several times if needed. A good captain will not try to force a bad approach.

I do go relatively slow but when it's windy / current it is a balance between too slow and no control. I have fenders tied every where in my slip, especially the fronts of the fingers where you may accidentally strike your stern.

 

I have fenders tied every where in my slip, especially the fronts of the fingers where you may accidentally strike your stern.

I have an inflatable dock wheel at the end of my dock. It's nice when you need to use the corner to help pivot...

 

Nothing more than practice. Take is slow and easy as others have mentioned.
I always pull in stern first. I pull up to the slip, see how much the wind or tide is affecting me. I then compensate and make my move to align and back down. I want to make sure whatever I do the movement of the boat is going into whatever wind or tide movements there are. Once to do this a few times you will quickly see how your boat responds. Just go practice several times over and over. After 30 minutes of doing this you'll feel much more comfortable.

 

LK - thanks a lot for starting this thread, I've really gotten a lot out of it! I'm ready to go try some of these recommendations tomorrow.

 

I had a boat years ago with a single inboard and my current boat has twin I/O's, but they both turn in the same directions so it handles more like a single I/O. Basically little to no control when backing in to a slip.
It's not always pretty, but this is how I usually get in.
I approach the slip just outside the poles with the slip along my side (whichever one is appropriate). Then I turn my wheel hard to the side the slip is on and bump the contols in and out of gear.
As another poster mentioned, I also find it easier to just concentrate on one side of the slip and try to get as close to it as possible because I know that the other side will be fine.
Forget about tying to back straight in over any distance. You'll almost never be able to control the boat in reverse for that long. The bow will be all over the place.
Go as slow as possible, but don't be afraid to use a little throttle to fight wind or current.
Always make sure you have the lines ready to go because once you're in you need to lock in what you got.
My main goal is to get the swim platform between the poles and then pull it in the rest of the way with lines if possible.
I also find that narrower slips seem to be better than ones that are real wide because the poles on the narrower slip help to keep the boat straight until I have it all tied up.
Most importantly! Don't listen to the people on the dock shouting out directions to you. Some of the most vocal are probabkly skippers of twin engine boats with a counter rotating prop. They don't usually understand that your boat is a completely different animal.

 

what great posts!

 

There are plenty of pilots on the board and so I am surprised that none have stated the obvious rules that apply to both boats and planes...1) know how the boat responds to control inputs, 2) observe the conditions and how they affect the boat (and know its operating envelope) 3) understand how 2 effects 1, and 4) MOST IMPORTANTLY.."stay ahead of the boat" - you want your control inputs to relate to where you want the boat to go or anticipate it will go - as soon as your control inputs are to "correct" what is happening then the boat has caught up to you, or is or could get ahead of you.

These rules can be summed up using the single word used by most others...PRACTISE!!

If you figure out the above for your boat, then you can reverse dock in most conditions.

 

one more point....many have said go very (dead) slow...this is good advice but it is a relative term...relative to 1) and 2) in my post above. The speed of the boat will affect the effectiveness of steering and the effect of conditions on the boat. Speed must be relative to conditions...if you try to go "dead slow" in any kind of wind or current then the wind or current will be in control of the boat and not the operator. Unless the wind and/or current are such that they will take the boat into dock with the boat neutral then you will have to "drive" the boat in against their affect.

 

We stern park our 240 DA. When there is no wind it's a breeze (no pun intended), but when there is wind it's difficult.

First we always have someone near the swim platform with a grab pole ready to grab our finger pier. Our slip has a 30' finger, so that definitely helps. Our neighbor is about 5-7' away so we have some wiggle room. Unfortunately the current and wind always blows us towards our neighbor.

Second we pull past the slip and then back in using the engine to pull us towards our finger. We do this at about a 45 degree angle. Once we get somewhat in we forward correct and turn the wheel to bring the bow to the finger.

If you have someone near the stern have them grab a line and step off as soon as possible. We often walk the boat to its final position if conditions are too windy.

It takes a TON of practice.

Good luck!

 

Rip some gelcoat off and you'll learn much faster!

Thats soooo true. :smt021

 

Backing a single engine boat into a slip when there's a wind or current means you should back upwind or against the current, bumping the shifter in and out of gear, until the stern is aligned with the slip, then turn the helm and bump it in and out of gear to get back in. Depending on how much current or wind you're fighting, this may have to be done at a faster speed than what you normally would and be ready to put it into forward gear when you get all the way in to stop your momentum. Backing toward the windward corner of the slip helps.

 

This is all great stuff. Our 260 is stern first. I didn't see anyone mention that it helps to know where your pivot point is.

I've not been turning the wheel before putting in reverse and going neutral before turning again and going back into reverse. Can yall explain why to take her out of gear while steering in reverse?

 

I've not been turning the wheel before putting in reverse and going neutral before turning again and going back into reverse. Can yall explain why to take her out of gear while steering in reverse?

It's not just while in reverse. You can limit the speed of the boat much better if you learn how to bump it in and out of gear and be in gear only momentarilly. To do that successfully with I/O's (by that I mean staying out of gear much more than being in gear) you should turn the lower unit the direction you want the stern to go, then give it a bump into gear to make the change of direction happen. If you try to turn the wheel while you're in gear it's likely that you will be in gear way too long to effectively control your speed.

Even with my boat when I'm bumping it in and out of gear to back into the slip I might only be in gear for a fraction of a second to make minor direction changes. Any longer than that and I'd be moving too fast for my comfort level.

 

One of the most dangerous practices I regularly observe is someone standing on the swim platform while the boat is being "positioned".
There is a spinning prop 3 ft below them and the operator is distracted.Stay in the boat if at all possible.