I just finished my second 3-day instruction/charter rental cruise on a
motorboat -- last year with my family on a 42 foot single-engine
trawler with bow thrusters and this year on a 54 foot twin-engine
Bluewater. I feel I have learned quite a bit and the
bookwork/charts/navigation/systems are not a problem but I am left
puzzled regarding a good plan to gain proficiency docking in a variety
of current/wind/dock layout situations. Short of bringing a captain
with me on lots of these trips, what is a reasonable plan and set of
personal limits? Is there docking "simulator"software available to
help? What guidelines do you have for when you feel ready to handle a
given boat? What type of boat would you suggest initially if the goal
is to cruise the intercoastal with a family of 5?

It seems to me that handling the boat in light wind/current situations
is not a problem but weather can always change. I suppose anchoring
until winds calm down is a possibility though perhaps not a practical
one. The best plan seems to be to initially visit only marinas with a
seawall or deadhead layout and not a slip and certainly not a situation
requiring backing into a slip.

Perhaps there is an analogy here to aviation, with which I have much
more experience. If a new pilot were to come to me and propose flying
a large plane on practical family trips soon after getting his license,
I would encourage him to instead gradually build experience in smaller
airplanes. That does not seem to be as common in boating however -- is
it reasonable for a relatively neophyte boater to rent a 40-50 foot
boat as his first venture into cruising? How much experience is
reasonable before taking the boat out alone?

----------------------
Richard Kaplan

www.flyimc.com

wrote in message
ups.com...
I just finished my second 3-day instruction/charter rental cruise on a
motorboat -- last year with my family on a 42 foot single-engine
trawler with bow thrusters and this year on a 54 foot twin-engine
Bluewater. I feel I have learned quite a bit and the
bookwork/charts/navigation/systems are not a problem but I am left
puzzled regarding a good plan to gain proficiency docking in a variety
of current/wind/dock layout situations. Short of bringing a captain
with me on lots of these trips, what is a reasonable plan and set of
personal limits? Is there docking "simulator"software available to
help? What guidelines do you have for when you feel ready to handle a
given boat? What type of boat would you suggest initially if the goal
is to cruise the intercoastal with a family of 5?

It seems to me that handling the boat in light wind/current situations
is not a problem but weather can always change. I suppose anchoring
until winds calm down is a possibility though perhaps not a practical
one. The best plan seems to be to initially visit only marinas with a
seawall or deadhead layout and not a slip and certainly not a situation
requiring backing into a slip.

Perhaps there is an analogy here to aviation, with which I have much
more experience. If a new pilot were to come to me and propose flying
a large plane on practical family trips soon after getting his license,
I would encourage him to instead gradually build experience in smaller
airplanes. That does not seem to be as common in boating however -- is
it reasonable for a relatively neophyte boater to rent a 40-50 foot
boat as his first venture into cruising? How much experience is
reasonable before taking the boat out alone?

----------------------
Richard Kaplan

www.flyimc.com


Richard,

I don't think the situation is much different from skippering a sailboat
and/or a sailboat under power, as far as how you know if you've got enough
experience to try it. You can't really know that in advance, although you
can certainly practice in moderate conditions.

As an example, when I'm teaching MOBs to my sailing students, we start out
in mild conditions, say winds around 15 kts if possible. I teach the MOB
technique, allowing them to practice and sometimes fail in conditions that
aren't going to totally intimidate them. If they do seem intimidated, then I
seek even more moderate conditions. Then, as the lessons progress to the
point where they seem to be getting it, we move into higher wind areas, say
20 kts or less. This usually seperates the sheep from the goats, and if
necessary we move back to the more moderate conditions.

Now, to the question of even higher winds or in your case more difficult
situations... In some sense, conditions where someone really might fall
overboard, say winds over 25 kts, on a run or headed up, can't really be
practiced without truly risking someone's life.. for example, actually
having someone in the water in those conditions or dropping the sails in a
traffic lane or some such... The best I can do is to give my students the
flavor of what it might be like, and give them the tools to stretch
themselves a bit to be able to deal with those more extreme conditions.

I think that's all you can do.. start out in what you're fairly certain are
mild to moderate conditions, then move to more challenging situations. If
you become proficient in the mild condition, you won't have too much trouble
moving to the moderate. If you can handle moderate, then if you have to, you
should be able to deal with more extreme situations. And, the more you
practice, the better you'll get and the more likely that you'll be able to
stretch.

Jonathan