You’ve Been Sailing for 20 Years. Why Is Docking Still a Disaster?
I’ve met sailors who can navigate offshore, trim sails beautifully, and handle just about anything the ocean throws at them. But ask them to put the boat into a slip, and suddenly it’s a full-blown emergency! People are screaming. Someone’s running around with a fender. Another with a boat hook. The skipper is shouting instructions nobody understands. The crew is scrambling to grab something—anything—to keep the boat from crashing into the dock.. and somehow, this is considered normal.
Why?
Recently, a sailing student told me about her father-in-law, who’s been sailing for over 40 years. Apparently, every time he docks the boat, it’s complete anarchy.
Another told me that when they were teens, and the boat was remotely close to the dock, the dad would yell “JUMP”! Are you kidding me? That is so dangerous. And I thought, why on earth is that still happening?
Experience Doesn’t Always Mean You’re Good at Something
There’s a big difference between doing something for 20 years and being good at it. I’m constantly amazed at the people who’ve told me “I’ve been doing this for years” and yet they sucked at whatever “this” was. You can spend 20 years practicing good habits. Or you can spend 20 years repeating the same crappy ones. Docking is one of those skills where experience alone doesn’t necessarily make you better. If you’ve been approaching every slip too fast, making last-second corrections, and relying on your crew to save the day, you may have simply become very experienced at docking badly. And if your crew dreads coming back to the marina, that’s probably telling you something.
I recently had a guy who had owned his boat for 19 years tell me he just doesn’t understand why docking goes so badly. A couple of hours with me showing him tiny adjustments to his approach and he can’t believe the difference it has made!
Docking Should Be Boring
I mean that in the best possible way.
A good docking maneuver shouldn’t be exciting. Nobody should be screaming. Nobody should be jumping onto the dock. And nobody should be using their arms or legs as human fenders. When I am getting ready to dock, and I have experienced sailors on board, they always ask me “what can I do” and my answer is always the same… “applaud”. And they do! Because the nightmare version of docking is mostly all they have seen.
You approach slowly (not so slow that you lose steering), understand what the boat is likely to do, make your corrections, and bring her into the slip (or alongside). Done.
Of course, not every docking goes perfectly. I’ve been doing this for years, and I still occasionally have to abandon an approach and try again. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. In fact, recognizing that an approach isn’t working and starting over is often the smartest thing you can do, at least on a monohull.
The goal isn’t to get there as fast as possible. The goal is to get the boat secured without damaging anything—or anybody.
Slow Is Pro
One of the biggest mistakes I see is way too much speed. People get nervous about losing control of the boat, so they carry more speed than they need. Then they realize they’re coming in too hot, and everything becomes frantic.
Now, I’m not suggesting you drift helplessly toward the dock with no steerage. Every boat is different, and sometimes wind or current requires a little more momentum. But there’s a huge difference between using enough speed to maintain control and charging into a slip hoping you can stop in time. Remember, you’re docking a sailboat. You’re not trying to land an airplane on an aircraft carrier.
Have a Plan Before You Get There
Before approaching the dock, I want to know a couple of things, like where’s the wind coming from? Is there any current?
Your Crew Is Not There to Rescue Your Docking
This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I see skippers approaching a dock while their crew runs around trying to compensate for whatever the person at the helm is doing poorly (again). Someone’s grabbing a piling. Someone else is desperately trying to get a line around a cleat. Another person is pushing off a neighboring boat. Meanwhile, the skipper is shouting louder and louder.
That’s not teamwork. That’s chaos. That’s unnecessary. A well-executed docking maneuver should require very little from the crew. Ideally, the skipper puts the boat where it needs to be, and the crew steps off, uneventfully and secures it.
And if you’re docking with your spouse or significant other, here’s another thought:
Your marriage shouldn’t be tested every time you come home from sailing.
There’s No Shame in Taking a Docking Lesson
This is the part that surprises me.
People will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on a sailboat, thousands more on electronics and upgrades, and countless weekends sailing.
But suggest they spend a couple of hours working on docking skills, and suddenly they don’t think they need help.
Why? I recently coached a neighboring boat into his slip, while I was standing on the dock. When they tied up, the wife said her husband needed lessons. Her husband scoffed at the idea, but you know the saying, “if momma ain’t happy, nobody’s happy”, so he called me. We worked together for about half a day and now he docks like a boss!
Nobody was born knowing how to maneuver a 20,000-pound sailboat in a tight marina. It’s like driving on ice. And the handling characteristics of one boat can be completely different from another. Prop walk, rudder response, windage, keel configuration, and engine placement all matter.
Sometimes all it takes is having someone aboard who understands boat handling and can explain why the boat behaves the way it does.
A couple of hours of focused practice can change the entire experience.
Not just for the skipper, but for everybody aboard.
Let’s Make Docking Boring Again
I love sailing. I love teaching sailing. And I particularly enjoy watching someone go from being nervous about handling their boat to confidently putting it exactly where they want it.
There’s something incredibly satisfying about that.
If docking your boat regularly involves yelling, panic, or someone saying, “I am NEVER doing that again,” maybe it’s time to change the routine.
You don’t need another 20 years of “experience”.
You might just need to tweak your approach.
I’m Captain Jeff Vegas, a USCG 100-Ton Master Captain and award-winning sailing instructor based in San Diego. I offer private, hands-on sailing instruction aboard your own boat, including docking and close-quarters maneuvering.
Let’s make docking the least exciting part of your next sailing adventure.
Fair Winds,
Captain Jeff Vegas
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