Does my docking need improvement?

That's really a difficult docking scenario; turning a double-deck, sail-in-the-wind, dinner boat broadside to a hefty wind and current, then backing down blind. Even if he had thrusters, it would still be a handful given the conditions.

Only thing he really did wrong was making his cut too early, but he recovered OK. Would hate to be on that upper deck when it fills with exhaust though. Hope the cap sees this video so he hears the delight of the guy filming. Sounded like he was almost hoping for a major screwup

I cannot believe anyone would think that there was ANYTHING successful about that docking, except for the fact that I did not see anyone killed. The "Captain" and I use that term loosly is definatly in over his head and should have NEVER put himself in the position of being out there in the first place with passengers. Wow

You may have missed that flag on the right of the screen. He had an easy 20kts. blowing on his beam and no thruster. I've run the same type converted crewboat. It doesn't like things crossing its bow above or below the water when it's going slow. Those props are about 80' back. Won't say it was clean, but it could have been much worse. He did however cut too soon.

Whaddya mean "he cut too soon"? That barge caromed off those docks just where I thought he would!

That was pitiful. Trying to back to the slip from that far away with a crosswind is a newbie type of move.
I would have approached the slip at a 90' angle, going forward, into the wind just a boat length away from it, spun the boat around with the bow just upwind of the slip and backed it in quickly while the bow momentum and the wind are neutralizing each other. There are probably some other ways to "sail it in". I wold be curious to see how some of the guys on this forum would approach it.

It would still not be easy but the way he set himself up u already knew that would not be pretty.

Yes, way too far out. And he cut in aiming for the slip instead of the upwind slip, but I think you caught that Loren.

He docked like that "everytime"!? Why?

Was he the owner of the boat? If he wasn't, I can't believe the owner of the vessel would allow that to go on each time he docked. The repeated engine abuse alone would be grounds for termination.

The Santanas were blowing out of the north, that only happens a few days out of the year there. It makes it interesting, but he handled it completely incompetently. He wasn't even trying to walk it, and he could have held it up a heck of a lot better than he did. Looked like it had a pair of 12-149s from the smoke screen, but he didn't really have a clue as to handling a boat. Even not knowing how to handle the boat, he could have still done this quite easily. Stern into the wind, bring the quarter gently to the dock with the stern stuck 2/3rds way across and into the hole. Take a line from the P/stern bit to the bit on the end of the dock, helm to stbd, starboard 1/3 reverse, port clutch ahead, warp off and see how she swings. Increase both throttles favoring reverse to get the bow pivoting into the wind, and use the helm to regulate the pressure you're putting on the fulcrum. As the bow swings up when you're still about 20* low but swinging up smartly, match thrusts to take the tension off the line for safe removal and start bringing her back.

Come in at a 90, hit a dock cleat from stern/stbd side, spin it & have the crew walk the secured line up the stbd side while loose cleating it several times along the way so it can be used as a spring.
I've done it many times & it all happens quick. He started it off all wrong trying to back down from sutch a distance.
Messy, very messy!

Starting that far out by itself isn't the mistake, it's what he did with that distance that was. If he would have used the distance to get his helm and throttles tuned to keep the boat walking into the wind while backing up, then he would have been able to back right into the slip, but he didn't know how to set the controls for walking.

Your absolutely right! Tough boat to work with all that windage though. I would have tried the closer approach but any way you do it, not a cake walk by any means.

I thought the boat was on fire at first.

Jeezus...

Proof positive that judiciously applied brute strength CAN make up for a lack of skill.

My slip at Sailfish is similar when we have a strong incoming tide except I've got boats across from me about 90 feet from piling to piling. I'll have a four knot current on my nose and upwind on the port side so I have to get the bow moving to port by swinging her in. I'm the first slip in so I can't line up at a 90 like all the other boats can, so I line up outside and back her in starting outside. I also have a concrete piling on the stbd side that I cannot pivot off, or even touch really. Backing in without using the rudders makes it twice as tough as the boat walks and swings quite nicely using them.

Lol

I was stationed on the USCGC Mustang in Seward Alaska in the late 80's
She runs 2 Paxman Valenta 16 cyl diesels that tend to smoke at idle

We were anchored 5 iles form the city in Ressurection Bay, Midnight, derad of winter ( which means dark) And we got a call from the harbor master that a boat had been reported on fire (lots of smoke) in the bay.

It was us, idling the engines to keep them warm. Those engines smoked from day one. We used to set off all the smoke detectors in the area when we would fire them up prior to getting underway. (and they were even on hotstarts)