docking seamanship 209
maximum control in close quarters? Use the combination of propeller thrust,
rudder, pivot point, and prop walk.
Ready a roving fender. Assign a crewmember to work a roving fender where
the boat meets the piling during the maneuver.
Align your pivot point to the piling. Approach the slip parallel to a line drawn
between the outer pair of pilings. (Assuming you have a right-handed prop,
this will be much easier if the slip is on your port side.) Stop the boat with the
outer piling on the far side of the slip about 1 or 2 feet away, directly abreast
of your pivot point. Turn your rudder away from the slip and hold it there.
Pivot the boat around the piling. Shift into forward gear just long enough to
start the bow turning, but not long enough to disrupt the alignment of the
piling to the pivot point. Stand facing the stern. Have the bow crew keep
an eye on things up forward. Shift into neutral; then immediately shift
into reverse gear at idle speed. Give a burst of reverse throttle if needed
to maintain the turn or counteract the wind. Shift back into neutral when
forward momentum stops. Repeat the cycle as necessary, slowly working
the stern inside the slip. Pass or grab the spring line (see “Docking and
Undocking with One Spring Line” below) and cleat it with slack. Snub it if
necessary.
Work the boat into the slip. Work the stern back an inch or two during each
forward-reverse pivot cycle. Leave the engine in reverse gear a bit longer
during each successive pivot. Keep the boat moving back a few inches
deeper into the slip each time. When the boat is almost square, use the
wheel or tiller to bring it alongside the fi nger pier.
Aft er demonstrating this technique to the crew that day, I handed the helm
back over to them. Time aft er time, each one made a picture-perfect entry into
the narrow slip. Th at crew left with smiles on their faces that day. And that’s
the way boat handling should be—fun, simple, and repeatable!
SEA-CRET TIP
X When you’re pivoting a boat, the time spent in each gear is
quite short—about 1 second. It might help to count seconds using
a simple repeated phrase such as “one thousand and one”: 1001
(forward)—1001 (neutral)—1001 (reverse)—1001 (neutral)—1001
(forward)—1001 (neutral)—1001 (reverse)—1001 (neutral), etc.