If you can dock a 692 footer like the Empress of the Seas with a
couple of joy sticks, why not an 80 footer?

http://img115.imageshack.us/img115/7...oystickve1.jpg

================================================== ========



On Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:03:40 +0000, Larry wrote:

"mmc" wrote in news:48b194b4$0$19387
:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8alNx...eature=related



You just can't beat professional pilotage...(c;

An 80-something monster came INSIDE the face dock to tie up to the
inside of it for the night. We were all enjoying some libation in the
Amel's cockpit with some cheeze balls someone had brought aboard.

I thought this guy was kinda BIG to be in such a confined space. The
tide was about 3 knots going out, making a bigger hazard for him to
overcome.

He idled the engines, then backed her down just a little to stop his
forward motion right in the middle of the "channel" between the long
face dock and all the finger piers mere mortals with some money dock
their pride and joys.

Before the boat even came to a stop, multiple whining noises from the
below decks electric thrusters started and as she still drifted towards
her night's berth, her captain rotated her on her central axis as if she
had a vertical shaft down her stack. After she passed perpendicular to
the current vector, he reversed his engines at idle and adjusted their
forward thrust to bring her into a standstill in the current. As that
got closer to reality, both thrusters easily parked her against the
inside of the face dock with about a foot to spare on both ends to the
big yachts fore and aft of her....a perfect landing with no motion at
all....as there was no room for error. They didn't hand the dock hands
the lines until after she was "parked", her main engines still
maintaining position against the current and her thrusters holding her
against the dock.....


It just isn't fair......dammit.

A kid could park that beast with a half day's instructions.


it just isn't fair at all.....

Oh, sorry, I forgot to mention he did all this with a WIRELESS HANDHELD
BOX WHILE STANDING ON THE RAIL TOWARDS THE DOCK! It had a joystick on
it that controlled not only the bow and stern thrusters, but the main
diesel monsters in the bilge and their transmissions.

At least he couldn't....YET....put the dock slot into the computer as a
waypoint and just go have a beer.