Marine Products Specialist Shares Boat Docking Tips
Your Marine Products Specialist Shares How to Dock Your Boat
Raritan Engineering Company your marine products specialists would like to share with you these topics we thought would be of interest to you this month regarding boat docking tips.
Your marine products experts know that we can’t cover everything about boat docking in one sitting, but I think you’ll be surprised at how many of the basic principles of close quarters maneuvering are embodied in the example docking which I will be discussing shortly.
That brings up another important point. Learning to marine dock is done on the water, in our boats, not by reading about it here. Book learning and good teaching are important, (I would say crucial), and allow us to focus our minds more quickly and clearly than just by using the trial and error method.
Port-side-to — a docking dissected
For the present purposes, I’m going to assume calm marine conditions, and not factor in the effects of wind. Wind is probably the hardest thing to contend with, when docking a boat.
What’s your angle?
Your marine ice makers experts know that the first thing to notice is that this boater is coming in at an angle. This makes it much easier to aim for a particular spot, and to bring the boat in close to the dock without scraping.
You can find more information as well as get assistance on marine ice makers and on boat docking tips at Raritan Engineering.
Marine Products Professional Sees the Importance of Learning to Dock Your Boat
Coasting and the power turn
Secondly, think about what throttle setting you would use at the beginning of the approach. However, coasting is when “steerage”, the ability to steer, is at its minimum, because either i) there is no discharge current from the propeller to amplify the effect of the rudder, or ii) with inboard/outboards, most of the steering “authority” simply vanishes when the transmission is in neutral.
Keep up the momentum
The next thing the boater will do, as the dock draws nearer, is to start to turn the boat. However, this is also about the time that he or she wants to decelerate to a stop, in reverse gear. While slowing down, the vessel may be hard to steer.
Fortunately, boats in motion have momentum: once in motion, they tend to continue in motion, and once turning, they tend to continue to turn. This sometimes confounds the less skilled skipper, and yet momentum is exactly what to use when all other steering options fail, even for products purchasing experts. At just what point to turn, and how hard and for how long, I cannot say.
A walk in the dock
One final thing: it is very common for propellers to thrust asymmetrically, more on one side than the other, and in some boats the effect is often especially strong in reverse gear. The proper marine products are also needed to enjoy your traveling.
It’s because of this effect that we are discussing specifically port-side-to docking. Right hand propellers walk the stern to port, in reverse (a minority of propellers are “left hand” – for them, this whole discussion is a mirror image).
Conclusion
There is no conclusion to boat docking or in buying the right products. I have yet to hear the final word, and I’ve probably discussed and studied it more than most. Even if this port-side-to docking were all there was to know (and it’s not, it’s just the barest beginning), one could still spend a lifetime honing and refining the skills and techniques it requires.
So don’t forget these helpful points on learning how to dock your boat. 1) Know your angle; 2) know how to handle coasting and the power turn; 3) keep up the momentum; and 4) the walk in the dock.
Raritan Engineering has more information on marine products, marine ice makers, marine parts depot, and boat docking tips.
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