Charlie Morgan wrote:



Does the motor mount allow the Yamaha to turn? If so, you may find it useful to
use the motor in reverse to pull the stern towards the dock. If you have a high
thrust model Yamaha, it will do this effectively.

Yes, I can turn the engine 45 degrees to either side of mid-ships. It is the high

thrust Yamaha, but most propellors do not work efficiently in reverse. Never
the less, I think I can overcome the current somewhat with the engine. The
current is not extremely fast (about 2 to 3 knots), but enough to get you into
trouble if you don't line things up properly. Some days the current is way down
and entering the slip is no problem. Somehow the engine has to stop the forward
momentum of the boat, and at the same time keep the stern from swinging down
stream. Maybe pointing the engine at 45 degrees upstream and giving it reverse
power of the right amount and at the right time, would do the trick. I have no
idea
how the power boats with fixed inboards can handle this problem. Most of them
appear too small to have double drive shafts that could be used to turn the boat.

I have searched many books like Chapman and none of them covers a stituation
where you have a forced narrow approach with a current or strong wind on the
beam.
If this were a situation of a dock which is open on one side, it would allow more
maneuvering
room to approach and/or recover.



I also find it useful, when short handed, to put the emphasis on securing the
boat from a midpoint, rather than the ends, initially. I simply have a dockline
with the loop over a cabintop winch, which is not quite the center of the boat,
but close enough. If someone can step off the boat with the other end in their
hand and simple hold their ground with that line,

This slip has a high pier that we access via a boarding ladder, so stepping off
is not that simple.

or tie it off, it will hold
the boat close enough that neither the bow nor stern can get too far away.

Again, I have to have a reasonable way on to enter this slip with the current
flowing. This makes it extremely difficult for someone to grab a piling on the
dock and manage to stop the momentum of the boat.

That
gives the other person time to take care of properly securing the other lines.

CWM



I know all you folks are trying hard to find a solution, and I appreciate the
efforts.
Any of us who have done extensive cruising have encountered docking problems
before. My biggest challenge was taking my boat down the Mississippi River,
which has currents over 6 knots, in places. Somehow I managed to keep from
damaging my boat. There was the time we couldn't tie up at Cape Girardeau, Mo.
on
that trip because when I turned the boat around against the current, my 6 hp Sea
Gull engine could not overcome the current, and we slowly drifted past the town.

Sherwin