Safe docking hints and tips
To help take out the angst you may encounter when docking your boat, try some of the hints and tips below to help when pulling into a pontoon or side on marina berth and remember to practice as much as you can.
Safe docking
Safe docking
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Ensure your fenders are in place well before you arrive at the berth, with bow and stern ropes in place.
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When possible, always approach the pontoon on an angle. This allows you to target where you want to berth.
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Approach the pontoon, marina or wharf slowly and preferably into the breeze and/or into the tidal flow.
- On approach, place the boat into neutral and coast. If losing your angle or going off direction, intermittently place the boat into gear with a short shot forward or back to retain your direction.
- As you approach now is the time to not get anxious. Continue with the turn of the vessel, be confident that the boat under power will continue to turn.
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Fortunately, boats in motion have momentum: once in motion, they tend to continue in motion, and once turning, they tend to continue to turn. Practice will dictate when you need to continue to turn, as your conditions and boat will dictate. This is where you need to especially practice to get used to your specific conditions.
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The boat will turn but may need a short shot of throttle, with the wheel hard over. The thing that keeps it turning, and that keeps it sliding sideways toward the dock, is momentum.
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Your crew needs to have the ropes in their hands and wait until the boat comes to a stop before jumping onto the berth.
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If the wind or tide is on your bow, attach that rope first. If onto your stern, attach the stern rope first.
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Once the bow and stern lines are in place, then set your springers.
