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Random Quote: Someone actually reads this crap? -Brad Woolard
Undoubtedly there’s no better way to make oneself feel really stupid than boating- especially when you have a boat full of distractions.
Just when I started getting over a recent failed launch with the bow chain still attached and then later motoring about with fenders deployed..... this past weekend we resumed motoring after a short dip only for my wife to notice a white rope in the water and asked “what’s that thing doing?”.
I’m sure glad she noticed "that thing" because very soon we all would noticed my anchor line and or cleats shearing off and probably something much more serious too.
I tried hard play that one down over the long holiday weekend. didn't work.
I remember posting a similar thread after a bad weekend of trying to dock and it all worked out.
I drive a truck, operate heavy equipment, got my pilots license but couldn't figure out how to back my boat into a slip..Maybe we are too casual about our casual hobbies.
IMHO it's all about being methodical, knowing what is safe and needs to be done, making a list if you need to and sticking with it. Get in a routine. I used to instruct hands on boat training courses, even for the larger boats at some of the boating time share companies, and we trained people to do certain things in a certain order, and then do the reverse at the end of the day. Keep it simple and stick to it.
Quick summary -
- Check over fluids, lines, safety gear, etc before doing anything
- Generator on, switch power over (if gen equipped)
- Engines on
- Shore power disconnected
- Once everything/everyone is set, start removing lines from least important to most
- Store all lines and fenders out of the way but easily in reach
When returning, do the list backwards. Makes it hard to forget something. This is extremely simplified but you get the idea (not going to post our full training/checklist but this should help).
It sure can be humbling....and dangerous if you're not careful. Best advice I can give is something you probably already know - push those distractions aside and concentrate on the task at hand. On our boat the stereo goes off and the kids go below deck whenever we leave the docks, set the anchor, recover the anchor, come alongside a boat to raft up, leave a raft, or return to the docks. Winds, currents, other boats, etc provide enough distractions. I don't need anymore.
I also like the checklist idea in the above post....I have my mental checklist like we all have but I've been thinking about a written one to keep at the helm because sooner or later I know I'll get complacent and skip a step....and end up paying for it somehow.
Last edited by jeffsuelexi; 09-09-2010 at 10:10 AM.
Your new boater issues are ones more experienced boaters have with people aboard who want to help. That is why 90% of experienced boaters do things themselves.
The key is a constant routine:
1) pre-departure checks (oil, fluids, fuel, equipment, etc)
2) departure check (start engines and re-check, disconnect shore power, remove fenders, untie all ropes)
3) cruise check (engine performance, equipment)
4) pre-return check (lines, fenders & crew in position)
5) return check (line attached, fenders in place, shore power reconnected, engines and equipment off).
Good habits will stick with you just like bad ones, if you start with the same routine and make it a habit it will help you in the long run. I trailer my boat and do a complete walk around from my drivers door all the way back around the the same spot each time I get ready to leave, I do it as I back away from the dock as well. It has saved me some headaches and money, most recently the Armstrong ladder still hanging off the platform in the driveway, no way it would have made out of the neighborhood. I'm a lineman with the power company and good habits are what keep me alive, its what I teach the new guys from day one, just like I was taught. good luck
This is reassuring thread and one more thing I realize is my failure to implement discipline during boarding is leading to the state of chaos. We had 3 generations of “wants” being voiced and addressed as passengers climbed aboard. And, although my wife is a good hand, the kids need to better understand their roles and not get distracted as well. I continually remind them to stop loitering and find a seat if they’re not immediately helping the next person aboard or hauling a line.
That and added dimension of a new boat seems to have resurfaced the learning curve that was long forgotten on the old boat.
.
The OP is correct. My skills at docking are marvelous when there is no one around. If I have a passenger onboard, or there are people at the dock watching, I look like a rookie dufus who doesn't know port from starboard.
__________________ [ Boating photo of the day? boatingpotd.com
Look on the bright side, you will probably never leave the bow chain attached, the fenders down or the anchor deployed. I'm a diver and I actually have vinyl letters attached to the inside of my windshield that says "Flag down, ladder up!". Don't know how many times I got up on plane only to realize the dive flag was flying high above the t top. Got back to the dock once to see nothing but the bracket of the ladder attached to the transom.....forgot to pull it up and it broke it off. My father had a favorite saying for me when I was growing up " no matter how many times I tell you, your going to have to do it on your own to learn" and he was right. Just make a check list and be methodical and you will be fine.
I have owned the same boat for 3 years and still find it somewhat challenging to get it back on the trailer. It is a wide, flat hull and one day I'll slide right up on the trailer and the next day have to back off and start all over. Maybe boating is supposed to humble you?
We have all had those moments when we hope no one's looking. Like mentioned above, get your own routine for launching, departing, anchoring, docking, etc. And stick to it! Part of my routine when anchoring is to put something on the wheel or throttles to trigger my check list. Like if we're swimming I'll hang my shirt on the wheel, serves as a reminder to pull up the ladder and secure the anchor. If we're just anchored and not swimming I'll take the keys out and hang them around the throttles or put a beer cooozie on the throttles.
Hope that was your last little screw up but I doubt it. I had to replace my VHF antenna after snapping it off on a low bridge. Ironically, I had it up to give a buddy a radio check since he had just replaced a broken antenna.
Your new boater issues are ones more experienced boaters have with people aboard who want to help. That is why 90% of experienced boaters do things themselves.
The key is a constant routine:
1) pre-departure checks (oil, fluids, fuel, equipment, etc)
2) departure check (start engines and re-check, disconnect shore power, remove fenders, untie all ropes)
3) cruise check (engine performance, equipment)
4) pre-return check (lines, fenders & crew in position)
5) return check (line attached, fenders in place, shore power reconnected, engines and equipment off).
X2
__________________ 2007 Lowe FM 185
2007 Mercury Verado 150
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Probably better to have left them at home than on the dock. At least they will still be at home when you return, chances are that if it's a public dock, they will not be there when you return.
I went to get in the boat Saturday and noticed that the bow line was never tied to the floating dock. We went for a ride on Friday night and the tide was going out so if the back was tied off the tide would hold the bow in. I know when the tide came in my boat had to swing away from the pier and probably into the boat behind mine but I could not find any damage to either boat.
It happens to the best of us Ive been boating for around 10 years
and thought I had it down, three weeks ago I picked up a 67 19' Johnson
surfer the second time I launched her (last Saturday) I was on my own
and was half way to the dock from the ramp when I realized I had left
the plug out, Panic and three doughnuts in the marina and out on the lake
I went to dump the water and put the plug in on the move.
Boating is humbling 
Boating photo of the day? boatingpotd.com 
