Docking a sailboat can bring out your worst or your best. Some new sailors feel great fear and trepidation when approaching the dock, while some old hands delight in showing off for the inevitable onlookers. But docking is like any other sailing skill: learn how to dock your sailboat the right way, pay attention to your boat and the wind, and soon enough it will be second nature.
Or don’t pay attention to these things and risk an embarrassing crash—or worse.
Follow these steps:
- Approach the dock slowly at a shallow angle with the boat completely under your control, as shown in this photo. If you have a choice, it’s easiest to come to the dock with the bow into the wind or current, whichever is stronger, letting it slow you as you approach. Never trust reverse gear to stop you in time if the boat is moving too fast.
- Long before you get close to the dock, have your fenders tied in place on the lifelines, the bow dock line secured forward on the anchor cleat, and the stern line attached at an aft cleat.
- Warning: Never put body parts between the boat and the dock! Even a small boat in motion has a lot of momentum and can cause serious injuries.
- Step—Don’t Leap—Onto the Dock. Once the boat is alongside the dock stopped or barely moving, step down onto the dock with the ends of both dock lines. It’s good to get in the habit of doing this yourself in case no one else is around to take your dock lines.
- Toss the Dock Lines to a Helper? Often someone on the dock will offer to take your dock lines as you pull up. Let them help, but then do the tie-up yourself to make sure the boat stays secure. All too often a helpful person simply “wraps” the line around the cleat in a way that may slip off later. Learn to do it the right way yourself and you’ll always know your boat will be there when you return.
