Docking Technique

Well, Jim, you remember that old saw, "Never approach a dock (float) any faster than you are willing to crash into it with." or something similar.

I have to admit that, after many boats and probably hundreds of docking dings ... or are those dings on the bow like the notches on a gunslinger's 45?

Anyway, go ahead and get that first nic/scratch over with and then you can relax and enjoy.

John
 
Also, Jim, I kind of feel like you can compare the flat bottomed C-dory design with a light, surfing sail craft. They have such light contact with the water that they handle alot like a jet ski - you let up on the throttle, but the craft keeps on going. the displacement hulls engage more water, and slow more when you let off the throttle. Also, the biggest problem, that you already mentioned, is the lack of a keel upon which to pivot.

So, I try to think of the outboard as the "keel" , the pivot point, and imagine that I am piloting a sailboat from in front of the mast while I am piloting a motorized boat.

Just some crazy ways of looking at it! Good luck, JOhn
 
If nothing else, I am a determined sort. Yesterday, we went out into Budd Inlet and I practiced low speed maneuvering; I'd find a floating branch and practice putting the boat where I wanted alongside it. A couple hours worth. Then back into the marina, where mid-week there were plenty of empty slips on the transient dock. Forward in, aft in, this slip, that slip. Each time I'd ask, "Did I get it close enough that you could get off with a line in hand?" Joan did fend off a time or two, but we didn't whack anything or hit any other boats. In the end, she said I was getting it about 50% of the time. "Batting 500... not bad." She didn't get the baseball reference, after all this is boating; and I think she was grading me more on a school frame of reference (A=90-100%, B=80-90%... well, you can see where this is going :crook ). From my end, I am getting the boat where I want it more often than the first few days. Still somewhat humbling, though.

We had supper and great conversation with Dave (Oldgrowth) and his wife last night - a real cap to our time here. Pulling the boat out later this morning to take her back to the factory for our break-in service and to have a few things addressed. When they turn us loose, we're looking to head north... there are people in boats up there who haven't heard about us yet, so we may be allowed in some of the marinas. :wink:

There was a boat broker showing a family around yesterday while we were in the middle of our "boat billiards"... some concerned looks from the family as they watched our antics... pretty sure I could hear the broker say, "No, no. Boats are easy to steer. Really." :mrgreen: Several others enjoyed the afternoon's entertainment from their cockpits... hey, it woulda been a quiet day around here without us... "Turn the other way. No, the other other way." :disgust

Riiiiight.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
Jim and Joan... Thanks so much for sharing your adventures and antics.

I noticed in your "Big Red" photo that you have a bed cover. A bit back, you mentioned wondering how El and Bill got all their stuff in the boat for their minimalist lifestyle. I once met El and Bill at the intracoastal waterway in Salisaw, OK, when they were preparing to go down the waterway to New Orleans. They have a collapseable top camper shell on the back of the pickup that they use as an "attic" to store whatever things they don't think they will be needing on the next leg of their trip. So, that gives them a bit more than double the normal storage area you'd get with a C-Dory alone.

Have fun and keep us posted on your wanderings! John
 
Hi Dr. John,
We are already using Big Red as our supply store. Traveling with a pet (Molly the catboat cat) means you give up some storage space for their "stuff", so we can really use the extra storage space. Or course, we also brought way more clothes than we need... and we thought we were really paring down. :wink: It's going to take us a while to get to that "minimalist" status. "No, Honey, I don't think you'll need a different pair of shoes for each outfit" 8) Yeah, I'm kidding.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
My middle son,who lives in Boston, says he has been a minimalist for years. 90 % of the time, you will find him wearing a white tee shirt and tan pants. No big color coordination problems for him. All the shirts wadded up in the travel bag are white! John
 
Dr. John --
We have given our camper/truck to a son and his family -- now have a Toyota Tundra with the extra seats (so we still have our 'attic' in the truck to store extra stuff). Oh, and we have fond memories of our cruise down the Arkansas River and meeting you there.
And Jim -- clothes take up the least space -- like Dr. John's son, wear one, one in the wash bag, and one drying -- and white and tan (or for me, tan and tan) is the best color coordination).
And our two cents for docking -- under most conditions, SLOWLY!
 
Thanks, El, I forgot about the "wear, wash, dry" trilogy! Acutally to be fair, my son has started carefully 'rolling' his pants and shirts. He taught in Finland for awhile, then learned in Italy and toured Turkey, France, England, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, etc., all with a soft carry on bag and tan pants and white tee shirts. Maybe some girl will someday convince him to go to button up shirts and other exotic styles - or maybe he will meet a 'tan on tan' girl like you...

Good to hear you got a new vehicle. I was thinking you had about 200,000 miles on that pickup! Have fun, and I hope to meet up with you again sometime when I actually have a boat. John
 
Dr. John --
Almost 300,000 miles on that Ford F-250 diesel and she's still chugging. Son took it over the Colorado Rockies yesterday. Hope to see you when you pick up your new boat. El
 
I had not seen the launching version. That is pretty funny stuff and boating can be an art form if you get really good at it. We are still working on the self launching but we are getting close.

Greg
 
You can 'hear' about how to dock from many. This may or may not help you.

To really know docking, you must understand fundamentals and practice since
it is a learned psychomotor skill. Practice, practice, practice. The more you
practice, the better you'll get.

There are no short cuts unless you really believe any World Champion achieved
this goal by just going out and doing it.

Aye.
Grandma used to say, "To obtain anything worth while, you'll find you have to
work for it."
 
Bess-C":3cn6ogcf said:
It's almost intuitive.
Click to expand...

Not for me. Reverse the helm and reverse the motor at the same time still seems like running with scissors. And the timing has to be right. And if you go to reverse and bump too much throttle it can screw things up. I still have to go over the whole sequence in my mind a few times as I'm approaching the dock.

I usually have no problem and on a recent trip somebody came over to help but I had docked by the time they got there. They said "I see you know what you're doing." Yah, it worked perfect that time. Once docked, I can stop repeating "reverse helm, reverse to idle throttle 6 feet from dock, go to neutral, reach out through the helm window and grab the dock (at least with the CD 16). I imagine it does look cool when it works.

The real secret for learning is probably larger fenders and more of them. But nobody does that.

Mark
 
Not like I am grinding an axe, or anything :shock: :oops: but ....... :oops:

( I know nobody thought I would say this, But,

Twin engines make it easy, always.

So does practice, pre-planning and patience. (It works going slow too)

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

IMGP1872.thumb.jpg
 
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