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.




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.