Boating

fiberglass repair guy for any
accidents that occur, a fact
that should make me feel
better than it does.) Pearsall
does his best, though, to
avoid any situation that
might require those services.
One by one, he guides
us through how to take the
boat from neutral and bump
it into gear — no use of the
throttle yet. Then, without
using the throttle, each
person steers the boat from
MarineMax’s marina to the
adjacent canal. This method
of bumping a boat in and
out of gear is more than
enough to approach a slip
and dock your boat there,
Pearsall says.
“You don’t drive a boat
to dock, you nudge it there,”
he says. “You can’t be in a
hurry. Patience is a great
quality to have.”
The first thing most
drivers do, he says, is they
throw the boat into gear and
push the throttle forward.
But it’s hard to slow down or
correct turns on water, and
giving the boat too much
gas is a good way to ram it
into the dock — something
you don’t want to do when
you’re pulling up for a
burger and a beer during a
good day on the water.
“Driving a boat is like
driving a car on a huge,
floating piece of ice,”
Pearsall says.
When it’s my turn to
drive, Pearsall’s comparison
feels accurate. Driving the
boat from the canal and
making a right turn into
MarineMax’s marina, I have
to anticipate the turn far
in advance. When I make
the right turn, the degree to
which I spin the wheel right
feels exaggerated. The boat
turns right. In a car, the turn
would look like a wide
fishtail in slow motion.
At this point, when I’m
ready to make my approach,

Pearsall’s coaching really

kicks into gear. He tells

me to aim the boat’s bow

toward the center of where

I want the boat to dock and

to come to the dock at about

a 45-degree angle — all the

time bumping the boat in

and out of gear rather than

using the throttle. When I’m

close enough — about half

a boat length away, which

feels almost too close to me

— Pearsall tells me to spin

the wheel in the opposite

direction of the dock.

Any time I lose sufficient

momentum, Pearsall tells me

to bump it back into gear.

Now, here’s the

counterintuitive part: Once

I’m close enough to the dock,

Pearsall tells me to swing the

wheel back toward the dock

and bump the engine into

reverse. Like parallel parking

a car, bumping the engine

into reverse pulls the nose of

the boat alongside the curb

— or in this case, the dock.

My first try, I end a little

too far from the dock. But

no bother; Pearsall says the

boat will drift close enough.

I’m relieved. Better to be too

far from the dock on my first

try than to get far too close.

Playing in Traffi c

After each woman has

cycled through docking the

boat at least once, we head

“YOU DON’T DRIVE A BOAT TO DOCK, YOU

NUDGE IT THERE. YOU CAN’T BE IN A HURRY.

PATIENCE IS A GREAT QUALITY TO HAVE.”

BOATINGMAG.COM APRIL 2016 81