Suggestions for a newbee

[Stu Jackson]

Of course, docking skills will be gained at the

end of every sailNOTSpend one of your very first days doing NOTHING but docking.Your return on investment will be peace of mind, to say nothing of ability.

 

[Moody Buccaneer]

Um ... isn't that ...

"Spend one of your very first days doing NOTHING but docking.Your return on investment will be peace of mind, to say nothing of ability."Hmm .... practicing docking? Isn't that about as un-manly as learning to read a map instead of waiting until you are lost before asking for directions?

 

[Anchor Down]

No Argument, Stu

Docking skills will indeed be learned at the end of every daysail. That can't be avoided, unless you're stupid and determined not to learn.But I have no argument against getting in extra practice.Jeff

 

[kaizen]

Trailerable to fin keel

Craig,Don't worry about a thing, just have fun.I too moved up this year from a trailer/sailor to a deep fin keel for the same reason. My previous boat, a MacGregor 26S water ballasted boat is a tad smaller than a 30 feet 10,000 lb fin keeled cruiser+racer. Scary at first when you change from a tiny outboard to a diesel with prop walks and docking on the starboard side added in as bonus.I got some sound advise from a guy in our yacht club: (1) Join a user group like this forum. You obviously did that. (2) Go out on a calm day and just motor around to get the hang of it.What got me into sailing was a chartered trip 10+ years ago from San Diego to Avalon at Catalina Island on a Macgregor many years ago. I loved every minutes of it. I bought my own boat when I return to Canada. We have been sailing ever since.A few bits of leasons learn:(1) Don't baby the diesel. They love to run hard. 2500 - 3000 rpm is the groove.(2) Don't do slow reverse trying to "slow down" at the slip. Prop walk will drive you crazy. Just give it a full blast of reverse trust and go neutral. The boat won't swing, just stop. Scary at first but it works. Again practice in open water.(3) When backing out, don't slooooowly go reverse. She'll just go side way on you. Again, do a full blast reverse and then neutral to let her glide.I put on a few horror shows for other members in the club before I learned these.AlexKarma - CS30

 

[Vern]

Read these forum posts

Go through these forum posts at least twice a week. That includes big boats, small boats, as many different manufacturers forums as can be located, etc. It's amazing how much info can be obtained from these posts. I speak from experience.

 

[Ross]

One other backing trick that works,

With the rudder hard over if you go full throttle forward for about 4 seconds then to neutral, the stern will kick to the side before the boat starts to make way. allow the stern to drift sideways and go full throttle astern just until you get a little way with the rudder centered.

 

[Fred]

Don't be afraid to back off and try docking

a second time. Yes you will provide entertainment for your friends and neighbors. It's worth it not to dent or scratch your boat or somebody elses.Rig a breast line (line from the middle of the boat - on a stanchoin base or sheet block if there's no cleat) with a fender fore and aft of it. If you throw this line to someone on the dock and they pull on it (they almost always do) it will not mess up your steering. Also valuable for short handed docking. One line gets the boat stabilized at the dock, then you take you time and tie the ends. I learned this from an old fisherman. He said "If you can get the middle of the boat tied up, the ends are usually at the dock too."Know what the wind and current are doing before you dock. If you're not sure, stop the boat out where you have a bit of room to maneuver and see which way she drifts.If you can, dock facing the boat into the wind or current or both. Sometimes the breeze will blow you sideways. If you can, dock so the breeze blows you toward the dock. This can make you look very good indeed. Let the wind do the work. When there is no breeze or current dock slowly and learn how your boat handles.Same for anchoring. If it's a lot of work to pull the anchor and set it again on a sunny afternoon, it will be a lot more work in the middle of the night when the wind picks up.After you set your anchor or tie a line to a cleat, look at it and think "If the breeze picks up, am I happy with this?"When you are at home and the wind picks up, be able to visualise each line and how it's tied. The difference between real estate and boats; When you come home to your house, you don't look first to see if it's still there. With the boat it's always a relief jut to see that she's still floating and attached to the dock.

 

[mpaxman]

Another great way of learning

I have found I learn a lot by walking around the marinas and looking closely at how others do things, what equipment they have, etc. As you meet other boaters, ask questions, almost all those you meet will love to talk about their boat and experiences fixing, maintaining, enjoying. It's such great comraderie that it becomes worthwhile to spend time at the boat even when your not going out for a sail. And more than half the time, it seems, when I ask a question about almost anything, the next thing I know I'm being invited onboard to show me something.