Boating and weather advice

[Descant]

Originally Posted by XCR-700

WOW, both options sound tough to me.

I dont care for running to either end of the boat when docking, and I have never liked backing into a dock,,,

If I am docking by myself I usually have a line ready on my starboard midship cleat reach out from the helm and once I can get it around a post, the boat will usually stay put more than long enough to get out and get the bow and stern lines tied off.

But then I dont dock on the Broads in rough weather, so I tip my hat to you both.

Thanks for sharing your technique(s).

Your center cleat plan is perfect. I've had extra cleats added when the mfg failed to provide such. For me, Stay with the boat. If you're single handed and you drop the line or fall on your jump and the boat blows away, what's your Plan B ? It's like throwing a life ring without an attached line. If you miss, you can't retrieve it for another throw.
Initially, people will tell you "neutral is your friend" drift into the dock gently. Fine, if there is no wind or current. If there is wind and current, you need every tool, so shift, throttle and wheel coordination have to all function together. Hull shape factors in too. A traditional hull can be moved nearly sideways. Not so much a boat with a deep keel and single engine. A tritoon is like three keels. Great for stability, harder to move sideways.
BTW, backing into a slip (Med style docking), you're usually protected with pilings, etc, but you see many boaters hanging fenders on both sides of the boat before they start. If you want to back in, say at Meredith or Wolfeboro, the key is to back past the desired space and then dock going forward as you normally would. I've said this before: you don't back up a boat. It is much easier to think of it as driving the boat forward, stern first.

In our next episode, we'll talk about How to overcome helpful crew and dock bystanders. "To Taze or not to Taze?"