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