"Rob" wrote in message
...
Is it just me or does everybody get knots in there gut every time they
have
to dock?

Only when I am not confident that everything will go right. In other words,
I get the knots most of the time.


I Have had boats up to 22 feet for a long time, but end of August I bought
a
32 footer, with twin inboard outboard engines. WOW it sure a lot tougher
than I expected.

The hardest boat to handle is a single inboard. The easiest, at least for
me, are twin inboards. Twin I/Os or twin Outboards are somewhere in
between, probably closer to the easier side.


I dock in a boat house, which you would think would be relatively
easy..Wrong trying to keep it straight and steady I find quite difficult.

The first thing you want to do is learn how your boat handles. Does the
boat turn better one direction than the other? How about in reverse? If
the wind is blowing directly on your side, does the bow swing down wind, or
would the stern? How about in a side current?


I've heard some people say "don't touch the wheel"
others say "idle speed only"

Using the wheel to your advantage can certainly help, if you use it
correctly. If it gets to be more than you can keep track of, it might be
better to leave it centered and just steer with the engines. On an I/O,
leaving the engines centered will make the "one in forward, one in reverse"
much more predictable to swing the bow around. Turning the engines will
allow you to move the stern the direction you want it. Having the wheel
turned the wrong way when you attempt either can mess you up.

As for idle speed: I say "it depends, but slower is usually better". I have
a 36' Carver with twin 350 Hp Crusader engines. Boat weighs about 19,000
pounds. Idle speed on a 350 Hp engine provides enough thrust to do any
docking manuevers I want. I recently purchased a 55' houseboat with twin 50
Hp outboards. This boat also weighs about 19,000 pounds, but it is much
longer. Idle speed on a 50 Hp engine does diddly squat for moving that bow
into a slight breeze.

My best advice is to not rely on the engines to stop your motion. I see
people approach their slip at a fairly high rate, and then use lots of
reverse to avoid ramming the dock. That can work okay, until the day your
engine dies as you shift for reverse.


any pointers to help regain my confidence would be very much appreciated,
please remember I have an I/O twins.

I alter my technique based on what there is to bump into, and what needs
to be avoided. If you are going into a single finger slip and there is a
boat in the other half, it is really important to avoid that boat. On the
other hand, if it is a double fingered slip that has dock wheels at the end,
ease up to the wheels and roll on in.

You mentioned that you dock in a boat house. Does that mean there are
vertical posts at the entrance that are holding up the roof? Is there a
current to deal with? What direction does the wind normally blow?

I keep my boat in tidal waters, which means that I have a current to deal
with that changes with the tide. The prevailing wind blows into my slip at
about a 45 degree angle. My slip is covered, which means I have posts to
deal with and/or use. If the wind and the current are flowing the same
direction, I can use them to my advantage and ease right into the slip. I
approach into the wind/current, about a half a boat length from the dock.
As my bow reaches my own slip, I am going dead slow. The wind is trying to
blow me into the dock, so I turn into the slip and use a moment of forward.
The wind and thrust turn the bow towards the open slip, the stern moves away
from the dock. Dead slow, let the wind push. A little more forward,
letting the stern push away from the dock. Wind pushes you in, thrust
kicks the stern out.

It is generally unwise to approach your slip straight on unless then wind is
blowing directly from the dock out. It is hard to get the boat to move
sideways the way you want it to. It is much more forgiving to turn into the
slip.

One motto that I work by is: If I am going to hit the dock, I am only going
to hit it once! Sometimes I can get the boat into the slip without
touching. Sometimes I screw up and bump the dock a little harder than I
wanted to. Once I make contact with the dock, I keep it! If the wind blows
your bow into the post at the corner, let it stay there, don't let your crew
push your bow back out. Use it as a pivot point and move the stern around
so that you can get the rest of the way in.

Sometimes, the best you can do is a controlled crash. Minimize the damage.
At slow speeds, a small mistake results in small consequences. At higher
speeds, small mistakes have higher consequences. Don't use people as
fenders. Brief your crew that you don't want any heroics.


Rod McInnis