One of those dockings

[pepmyster]

Hi. Ever have one of those dockings that you hope no one filming? Coming back from a great leisure day on the water , coming back into our slip, the wind keep changing direction. Not a pretty sight, 2nd attempt was a success. I have to learn to be more aggressive when the wind wants to take you. Fly Bridges are great but are wind catchers for sure, they can make you look like an newbie in a hurry. Embarrassing, but, not damage, no foul.

[Midnightsun]

It's situations like this where thrusters save the day or at least remove most of the pucker factor. Look at it this way, the good news is you are not posting on how to repair fibreglass.

While I got you, i was surprised to learn our marina is not accepting transients due to the virus, is this the case with yours and others? We do anchor most of the time but when weather gets nasty we do like to grab a dock somewhere so good to know. Heard through other boater they closed the Brockville Islands for the entire season.

[pepmyster]

Brockville islands I heard were closed and only for Brockville residents. Pecks , were we are, are accepting transients. I am learning to control under scary situations and yes, the bow thruster is a great help, but, when the wind is too strong, it can’t help. Glad you weren’t there to see that....,

[g36]

i always like to look like i know what im doing too. i dont have thrusters. your definetly right about getting blown around. flybridges and aft cabins make great sailboats.

[pepmyster]

No kidding!! Just soooooo embarrassing when things go sideways.......

[Midnightsun]

I have winds pretty much under control however I have quite a few years of experience, too many to post. Read the winds and anticipate, you should be able to visualise exactly what those winds will do and position/approach accordingly, throttle/shift must be automatic, no thinking about which lever and how far.

That being said I launched my boat last Thursday when winds were really bad, so bad many cancelled their launch and travel plans. The guy who launches the boats asked me if I still wanted in to which I said yes and he replied I figured so, then again he knows me. The marina mechanic came to say hello once I was tied up and he said to me "You are a brave man, I would never have launched a kite like that in these winds". Piece of cake.

[RGrew176]

Winds are definitely a challenge with a sedan, especially an aft cabin model. My 3007 is so light that just about any wind can cause a problem. I have gotten better in windy conditions as practice makes perfect. With the twin engines I put my rudders in the neutral position and only use forward and reverse to move into a slip.

Where I am at my marina I need to make 4 90* turns to get into my slip. When its windy it is a bit of a challenge.

[bud37]

Qr Bbpost No kidding!! Just soooooo embarrassing when things go sideways.......

Have you checked u tube yet ??? .

When it was really windy, we used to put the boat on the service dock or the like and come back after dark when the wind went down and put it in the slip then.

Actually when we first got this particular boat, we brought it home thru all the locks, all was great, no problem until the chute, two feet from the blue line it decided to plaster itself against the wall.....a little wind but there is an anticipator that controls the engine rpm on shifting that seemed to have a fit.....nothing I could do except wipe off the blue paint in a hurry..... .......it now has a thruster......

[mjmason1]

Winds are definitely an issue with bridge boats. For some reason the winds are from the wrong direction this year, so sometimes my bow likes to wander. That's why I have so many fenders on the side away from the dock. If I lose the bow it protects the boat next to me. I do wish I had a bow thruster.

[km1125]

Wind coming in from port side, use more starboard engine. Wind coming in from starboard, use more port.

Once you make your pivot to the slip, as you're going into the slip, use this as a guide. You can use just one engine to get into the slip, as that engine will push the boat into the wind. If the bow is pivoting too much, you can either use a little rudder to correct or just bump that engine into reverse just briefly to pull the stern over too, then back to fwd.