approaching a dock

[skiyaker]

Guys- I looked at my hour meter and I have only 55 hrs on my OBV- so I'm still a novice so bear with me. Tomorrow I'm going out to test the OBV and new perfect pass but that warm air coming from all your southerners is going to make things a little difficult at the ramp.

What are your suggestions for approaching a dock when there is a brisk wind blowing from starboard to port and you have only yourself and your wife. Generally I would simply position the boat upwind from the dock and let the wind blow me toward it- but this means I'm trying to steer/throttle the boat at the driver's seat with the dock coming up on the port side. Plus- as you know- every time I reverse the boat the stern swings to starboard and then the boat ends up perpendicular to the dock and if it's blowing toward shore at all... well you see how I ended up swimming at the boat ramp last year.

It seems like last year I had more success approaching from the downwind side and tossing some dock lines but if you have any nifty tricks let me know. My biggest fear is when the boat ends up perpendicular to the dock with a wind partially blowing toward shore. Please note that the piers/docks I'm talking about are those short little ones at the boat ramps made for fishing boats. And if none of this makes any sense I'll try to draw some diagrams or something! Thanks!

[Razzman]

Here's how i do it with stiff breezes which we always seem to have blowing starboard to port in the afternoons. First take down the boards and stow the bimini. They act like sails and will hinder any smooth docking in a breeze. Have dock lines attached to your front & rear cleats ready to tie up and dock fenders hanging at the ready. One thing to point out, i use the bungee dock lines. Not only do they hook up fast but the keep the boat secure real well for the short term.

All our docks are the small style as well. Simply approach the dock on the starboard side at a 20-25 degree angle very slowly, just bump the throttle to keep steerage. When about 3-4' off the dock with nose, put it in reverse and the stern will swing alonside the dock, have your passenger jump off and tie up with the prepped lines.

[c.rix]

razz nailed it If I can play the wind I will but man its tricky sometimes

Last summer we had a stiff 25 mph wind blowing straight down our 7 mile long lake and I was in the boat with my girlfriend, after blowing the lift 2 times I lifted the lift 3 inchs and drove the boat on like onto the trailer man that sucks

Oh I forgot there is a channel at our end and if you get blow too far your into man killing stumps

[Razzman]

Btw once you master that technique you'll find it applies in just about any situation. You can spin the boat virtually in it's own space to escape a crowded ramp or dock and perform tricky manuvers around obstacles. One of my favs is to use it to unload passengers onto another boat platform to platform.

Funny story. Once after launching my wife parked the truck/trailer and came down to the dock and waited for me at the end. Well there were two weekend warriors in I/O's at the end of the dock on each side unloading hordes of crap and such. Both boats were protruding from the end of the dock making it impossible to parallel the dock. My wife's talking to one guy and he yells out "be about five minutes buddy"!

Oh hell no so i turn a circle to port and when about 6' off the dock and the stern at about 30 degrees i smartly back the platform to within 1' and she jumps on and off we go. Both these guys were standing there with their mouths wide open and shaking their heads LOL! What really killed me is when backing in they were scrambling to keep me from hitting them and the wife said "don't worry he won't hit you" while both their boats were banging off the dock! LOL!

[ausbill32]

I just took my LSV out for the first time last weekend and went through your same situation although, I have tons of experience with my last Supra 21v. There is always a ton of chop, wind, and water current where I boat.

I have my driver back the trailer into the water a little less than normal, about 1 inch below the rear fender (pending water lake level). That is what mostly does the trick. Then, I point the nose of the boat toward the starboard (right) guide pole on the trailer. As I get about 10 feet from the trailer, I let off the gas so the boat drifts and corrects it's self to the center, then I gas it right on. I keep on/off the gas until the nose of the boat is clipped onto the trailer to keep it straight. Once I've clipped the nose to the trailer, I'll have the driver back the trailer down the rest of the way into the water meanwhile, I'm gasing it on the trailer. If you don't have guide poles on your trailer I highly recommend them! As the driver pulls the boat out of the water; I sit on the swim deck and using the guide pull, I push the boat left or right to get it centered on the trailer.

I never use ropes or anything to guide the boat on or tie to the dock because it's to choppy and the boat would get beat up. Some times I screw up and misjudge the chop or some moron off loads right as I'm loading and causes more wake, at which point, I just have to gas it on. Once you commit though, take it home! Trying to back up makes it worse or you could hit someone else next to you who is impatient. What helps me the most though is not having the trailer all the way in the water so I can get the front 1/2 the boat on the trailer and secured meanwhile, I keep on the gas to keep the rear stable. Even after 5 years of driving different v-drives I still get a butterfly in my stomach when loading.

[skiyaker]

Thanks for the great advice- the other point this brings up is the division of labor between husband and wife. The time we really got into trouble my wife was driving the boat and I was standing on the dock- I think this might be the year I teach her to back up the trailer.

[Razzman]

Thanks for the great advice- the other point this brings up is the division of labor between husband and wife. The time we really got into trouble my wife was driving the boat and I was standing on the dock- I think this might be the year I teach her to back up the trailer.

Yup, my wife's been backing the rig up for two years now and it makes it a ton easier & quicker loading.

[squeeg333]

Ah yes, the old 'fall out of the boat and break my ankle while my wife has no idea how to drive the truck with trailer attached' story. Never gets old!

[wolfeman131]

my Moomba was the 1st in-board for us and only the 2nd boat for us. My wife & I use the "division of labor" others have mentioned. We found this to be a huge help.

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd344/wolfeman131/31CC4X33E2L__SS500_.jpg


all of $25 at WalMart

[MrsZ]

The backup trick is an excelent tool with an inboard! I also agree that the division of labor is key. But the WINNER of the labor divisional has got to be Little Kaneboats putting the boat on the trailer. Even I was impressed with her! Need to start training Little Z to do that too.

[Razzman]

my Moomba was the 1st in-board for us and only the 2nd boat for us. My wife & I use the "division of labor" others have mentioned. We found this to be a huge help.

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd344/wolfeman131/31CC4X33E2L__SS500_.jpg


all of $25 at WalMart

I'll expand that a bit farther, what i carry onboard ... oar/boathook combo.

[DOCDRS]

Another trick for newbies backing up a trailer, especially when you have to go back along ways straight, is to hold your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and then you just turn it the way you want the trailer to go

[c.rix]

Another trick for newbies backing up a trailer, especially when you have to go back along ways straight, is to hold your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and then you just turn it the way you want the trailer to go

yes sir thats how my dad taught me 12 years ago when I was 15

[kaneboats]

Another trick for newbies backing up a trailer, especially when you have to go back along ways straight, is to hold your hand on the bottom of the steering wheel and then you just turn it the way you want the trailer to go

I've heard this about 10 different times but it always messes me up. 1. Whether my hand is on top or not right is right to me and left is port. 2. I guess if you are looking out the rear window it could be true. But, nobody ever says that.

[zabooda]

I have low freeboard so if there are large waves at the docks I need to stay on plane until right before the dock and do a power stop. I usually come straight into the wind to keep the waves out of the boat even on a plane and do a 90 degree turn on an engine shutdown and reverse it to stop the momentum. I've only had to do that a few times when caught in the weather and fortunately everyone was off the water.

[skiyaker]

all great tips guys- thanks. I do like the "hand at the bottom of the wheel" trick and good point kane that it only works if you're looking out of the back window. I'm gonna see if I can teach the wifely unit to back the boat in using this trick.

It's just tough because until last year it was always my dad and I launching the boat since it was his boat. So he would drive the truck and myself the boat- and somehow I thought it would be easier to teach my wife (who is a great woman in case she's reading this) to drive the boat instead of back a trailer. For some reason I can't stand the dude with the wife who sits in the boat while he backs the boat in, gets in the boat, drives it off the trailer and over to the dock, ties it to the dock, gets out of the boat and goes back over to the truck while the boat is taking up the only loading space, drives the truck to go park, hits the outhouse, then goes back to the boat- I especially can't stand this when I'm the guy with the family in the boat floating around waiting to let to unload and there's a storm rolling in and there's no dock space. With the old party deck 21 it wasn't an issue- you could drive the thing up on the rocks to unload- the Moomba not so much!

[kaneboats]

I've been that guy as my wife wouldn't even go in water over her head when I met her. Now my 15 y/o daughter drives right on the trailer. Soon she'll be backing the trailer too. Wife actually will go park the trailer when we launch sometimes too. Have to get her up to speed before the daughter goes to college though.

[DOCDRS]

does not matter whether you are looking out the mirror or out over your shoulder , you move your hand in the direction you want the trailer to go, rather that the reverse if your hand is on the top of the wheel

[iwakeboard]

The wind/current doesn't bother me too much approaching the dock, it frustrates me to death sometimes when I'm putting it on the trailer though. My 24 doesn't like navigating in small places so I have to get a good approach going or I'll make a scene haha

[kaneboats]

Been trying to teach my daughter that you have to have power to steer so come in very slowly, then speed up onto the trailer. If you come in too fast and you are trying to slow down and steer you really better know what you're doing-- you should see zegm drive an inboard. He'll scare you but you can see 30 years of experience when he docks.

[gus 08 mobius lsv]

glad to see i'm not the only one who has had issues i only have 35 hours on my first boat and my only other experience was my cousins i/o so it was a huge adjustment to me to get use to. everytime i pull up to a dock i get a little nervous. started to get the hang of it better towards the end of summer gonna be like starting over now this year. thanks for all the great advise.

[Razzman]

Here's a training technique that was shown to me years ago and that i've used helping others. Anchor two buoys in a location where you'll be fairly undisturbed for awhile. Space them apart slightly wider than the length of your boat. Pretend it's the dock and nose up to but don't hit the lead buoy and swing in between them without hitting either. Do it in calm, windy and choppy conditions and when you can master this you'll have no issues at the dock at all. Add two more to form an X and back in and out of them to master obstacles. It's a great training aid and fun as well without worry of damage.

Anybody can and will eventually get the trailer loading but docking takes practice and can get you out of all kinds of situations.

[kaneboats]

Keep a knife on board when you do this.

[Razzman]

Keep a knife on board when you do this.

Ya know it's funny that i never thought of that or had an issue with it either! Hmmm ... can't figure that one out. :confused: :D Wait, oh yea I should have quantified that with use twine to anchor the buoy, may bad ... forgot that part

[skiyaker]

Well guess I passed the test today; South wind 20mph with 30mph gusts on a lake that runs basically north/south and ramp on the east shore. I backed the trailer mostly down the ramp and let the wifely unit put it the rest of the way in. Managed to pick her up at the dock and had a great day on the lake- 74 degrees in Indiana in March is a treat! Had to do the "dock the boat, go get the trailer, back trailer in, go get the boat, and load 'er on" thing but man in that crosswind it was a challenge. Managed to get the nose between the post and still love the self righting trailer!

Above all else- FELT GREAT TO BE OUT!!!

[kaneboats]

Congrats! Glad you got the chance. Gotta love the guide poles and trailer bunks. Just put it between there an it'll straighten you right out. Power on and forget winching. I love it.