You think you are fast at docking. Think Again!

Docking like that is sure impressive, but I wouldn't do it unless my steak or my girl were getting cold. These are obviously fellas who have never had a gear cable break on them. When I teach new boaters I drill 3 words into their heads,i.e. "SLOW IS CHEAP". Sooner or later we all screw up or nature or mechanicals screw up for us. Let it happen slow.
P.S. Maneuvering at high speed is easier than slow since it requires only power and very little finese. Oh yeah, and a big wallet when you screw up.

It is 1963 and the family onboard the wooden eighteen-footer is returning from a day of reef fishing with enough snapper & grunts for dinner. The 60 HP Graymarine single inboard is straining against the outgoing tide of Hillsboro Inlet. They only dredged occasionally back then resulting in shoaling that caused the current to really rip through, especially as one approached the narrows at the now long-gone swing bridge.

At 4:00 on a Saturday afternoon, a lot of boats lined up for the bridge opening, including the old charter boats like "Bolo", "Helen S", and maybe half a dozen more whose slips were positioned just inside the bridge and perpendicular to the massive flow of all that water.

It was a real treat to watch those captains come through, line up the pilings, and then, using fistfuls of throttle, race astern and stop with just inches separating transoms from the bulkhead. I recall folks on the dock hurriedly backing up to avoid getting wet. The really experienced skippers would put their boats in without touching a piling until they were stopped and the current then jammed the gunwales up against a dolphin or two.

Pretty entertaining, alright, watching the real pros pull it off.

If I were docking a Feadship between two other Feadships, maybe I would do it that slow....

I wouldn't be standing on the dock behind them when that competition is going on. Impressive.

AMG Does Utopia have a narrow enough beam?

Wet one

My favourite was watching the Aga Khan's yacht 'Shergar' going stern-to in Porto Chervo, Sardinia.
Always a big crowd of rubberneckers on hand but the skipper had it down so well, 6 foot from the dock he used to bang ahead with the KaMeWa jet drive and put a wall of water up. A funny as hell picture of loads of bedraggled tourists pitter-pattered off in soggy gear. Now thats a Supersoaker. Lol

Yes Codger, Utopia is narrow, but still expensive...

My landlord in Monaco had a 60 m Feadship and a 40 m Cantieri di Pisa. The captain running the Pisa used to dock next to the Feadship at a pace similar to this video. Another captain on a 43 m Feadship were almost as fast docking next to a 50 m Feadship most of the time. But most captains are not so good, or brave.... It is fun to see the best anyway.

The responses to this video surprised me to the point where I had to look at profiles.
Any captain worth his salt should be able to put a boat into a slip at near any speed he chooses or needs. Sometimes current or wind requires a scary amount of muscle. Personally I've been in situations that required entering a slip at full speed reverse followed by full speed forward to keep from putting the boat into the parking lot, and I have no doubt that I impressed the hell out of any spectators.
Granted those moments make me feel alive and I can't say I mind showing off, but they also scare the hell out of me. I've switched gears at least 5 times in my career (that I can remember) and found the gear not there due to the linkage slipping off the clip, a cable breaking, an engine stalling or a tranny letting go. Luckily for me only once was in a critical situation and even in that I was able to avoid much damage, but I've seen it happen inside slips between other boats. It ain't pretty.
Guess I'm just an old chicken, but I'll stick with the philosophy of "Use ALL the power you need, but ONLY the power you need."
P.S. Some of the boats that impressed you with the high power dockings are pretty big. I'm guessing those captains dock those boats what, maybe 20 times a year? How much would a miscalculation or mechanical hiccup cost with a multi-million dollar toy do you think?
BTW: this is no put down to the responders. I too love speed, love power and am not adverse to a fair amount of risk in my life (OK, I'm pretty much an adrenaline junkie), but not at innocents risk or expense.

OK, these two captains may be two of the best in the biz, for them it is no bigger deal than for Michael Schumacher to handle a Ferrari. Off course there is always a risk and they are prepared for this. They have the right guys at the anchors and with the fenders and the Pisa captain used to go out and in three times a day during season...

So of course I wouldn´t recommend it, just told about what people in Monaco was entertained with sometimes.

Hi,

So what's ya point fast or slow is up to the Captain so what's the big deal?

Here is a question that's sure to get some toys thrown out of the cot:

How big does a boat have to be before you can be considered a captain- in the US first, then elsewhere next.

Carl, Maybe you would be kind enough to organise a poll that wouldn't upset all the armchair sailors here, then after the poll result maybe we can find out officially

point/counterpoint

Just wanted to let you know that I'm not trying to put anyone down for being impressed. Heck, I am too. I'm just afraid of young captains and boaters getting the wrong idea and showing off before they have the skills to back it up. I see it every day around here with the kids in the marinas (and on the roads).
This forum is a great opportunity to have fun, be entertained, make friends and learn. Hope I didn't put anyone on the defensive. Just wanted to get the counterpoint out there.
As for how big a boat has to be before you're considered a captain (sorry girls, but) size doesn't matter. It comes with the license, employment and job or rank. However, being a captain doesn't mean you know didly about running a boat or anything else except maybe taking tests.

Fishing boats

Remember this video is of fishing boats on a fishing quay. Dings and scratches are really not that high on the skippers list. Comeing in at 4am, cold and wet after 3 weeks out, the last thing thats on your mind is flashy berthing moves.
In a marina full of owners of very exspencive yachts, one tries not to come
crashing in like a bull in a china shop. Smooth is the word.

Some of the worst moves I've ever seen have been in Monaco, sorry AMG.

You are welcome, I was overlooking Port Hercule for 10 years so I have also seen some of the worst...

I think the size of the boat has less to do with it than the size of the crew. I'm just a bus driver until it comes to managing the people that make everything else happen.

Unless you're driving a 130 Westport in a big breeze. I ran hull #1 and was forced to pull in at 5 kts on more than one occassion.

Hi Ken,

My question was not directed at you and fellow well known professionals, it has long been taken for granted that Skippers are just as you describe and we below decks are just dis placed janitors- bummer is the MCA don't seem to understand these basic things though.

I recently had a dinner guest who said they saw me as the Gordon Ramsey of yachting I said that I admit I can cook but my concern is could the real Gordon Ramsey actually fix the cooker when it craps out mid party.

These videos sure showed some impressive driving, but on the other hand it looked a bit reckless the way they were using full power for each maneuver.

Perhaps needed in a gale or with a strong current, but just to be the "fastest" to dock..? What is the point?
Like a contest on who can swallow a filet mignon in the shortest time...Or who can park their car in a garage faster than the other guy?

At any rate, hat of to the "expert drivers" but not sure of the purpose..

With cars, such competitions has run since at least 50 years, (for trucks as well). Here we had a young girl winning last year. You have the same for small aircrafts too, even if there has been discussions how good (bad) it is for your landing gear...

With boats we used to see it when all the trawlers were coming in and wanted to be the first to sell their catch at the highest bid, at least during summer and tourist season. I have not been in those ports in recent years so it might have changed...

http://tinyurl.com/6xh6jg

(^^ it's a link to autoblog, but the censoring settings of this board edited one of the words in the link.)

It seems silly, but it's also popular in some circles.

1965 GTO brand new, 4 kids aboard, 110mph down Potunk Ln. to the T. Brake, crank wheel, downshift, keep floored, pop shift. Sat in front of light pole for what seemed like minutes till tires grabbed, back up Potunk Ln. @ 110mph. Great memory (as passenger). Looking back I don't think it was so smart.