First time ever boating.

[Hivolt]

Originally Posted by Descant

I think we're all glad you had a good time. Certainly, we appreciate that you gave us some feedback on your experiences. What was the reaction of your shipmate? Did you both drive?

Now, just read the catalogs and decide which boat shows you want to attend. Annapolis and Fort Lauderdale are next month.

We did both drive, she would not attempt docking however and I don't blame her, I wasn't exactly in a position to "teach" anything. I learned more about docking in the 3 minutes the kid at the marina was whipping the boat through pretty much every obstacle imaginable to the fuel docks when I returned it than I did in the rest of the time here.

I haven't worked out a good system docking yet, she was not born with good balance and could never jump from the boat to the dock without holding onto something so I've pretty much just been practicing doing it solo which was ok this past week but when the docks are packed and I have to shoe horn into a spot I am going to need to utilize her somehow.

Originally Posted by Island Girl

If you are still on the island, you will see how suddenly the wind can pick up. It was a little breezy then Whoosh... wind, waves and white caps. The worry now is boats hitting bottom when docks and the wave troughs get really low.

Hivolt, you did have a wonderful week weatherwise. And yes, we thought you were a little "insane to rent an island house broad side of basically an ocean having never boated before"!!

We all have lessons learned and gratefully lived to tell the tale.

IG

We left about 11:45. I noticed after the rain stopped it was fairly calm with little to no breeze. I was going to give it an hour or so to dry the dock off a little so I wasn't tracking so much crud onto the boat but then the wind began to pick up so I decided to get a move on as I had 2 trips to the RIA dock to make before bringing the boat back, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer as I had a plenty bumyp ride as it was back to Wolfeboro.

[Descant]

The only ones allowed to jump from the boat to our dock are the cat and the dog. Both have missed the jump ONCE. If you jump and miss, it will only be ONCE. Jumping to the dock is not a good plan. Soon, you'll learn to approach close enough to reach a line around a post or hand a line to somebody on the dock. Glad you had fun.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by Descant

The only ones allowed to jump from the boat to our dock are the cat and the dog. Both have missed the jump ObaCE. If you jump and miss, it will only be ONCE. Jumping to the dock is not a good plan. Soon, you'll learn to approach close enough to reach a line around a post or hand a line to somebody on the dock. Glad you had fun.

Each to their own with what works over time. Going on 39 years either my wife (usually) or I hop onto the dock with both fore and aft lines as the boat kisses the dock. Or if no kiss of the dock then another try. There is almost never anyone to hand a line to and our usual wind from the side makes trying to loop a line around a post from the boat more changeling than "quickly" and simply stepping off with the lines.

We are both agile and often have a side wind wanting to blow us away from the dock so that this has worked here for us and the prior generation.

Other approaches that I have seen for our situation is for the "crew" to use a boat hook to grab a post or a rope loop on a post.

[ursa minor]

Slickcraft, I hear you on the "crosswind landings". Seems like it's always blowing across our "U" dock one way or the other. With the canvas up, it's like landing a small plane some days, start 30 feet upwind and time the drift. The bride is pretty good at timing her landings too.

[Aquadeziac]

Originally Posted by Hivolt

We did both drive, she would not attempt docking however and I don't blame her, I wasn't exactly in a position to "teach" anything. I learned more about docking in the 3 minutes the kid at the marina was whipping the boat through pretty much every obstacle imaginable to the fuel docks when I returned it than I did in the rest of the time here.

I haven't worked out a good system docking yet, she was not born with good balance and could never jump from the boat to the dock without holding onto something so I've pretty much just been practicing doing it solo which was ok this past week but when the docks are packed and I have to shoe horn into a spot I am going to need to utilize her somehow.



We left about 11:45. I noticed after the rain stopped it was fairly calm with little to no breeze. I was going to give it an hour or so to dry the dock off a little so I wasn't tracking so much crud onto the boat but then the wind began to pick up so I decided to get a move on as I had 2 trips to the RIA dock to make before bringing the boat back, I'm glad I didn't wait any longer as I had a plenty bumyp ride as it was back to Wolfeboro.

For future reference when you have your own boat, these are invaluable: http://landingloop.com/index.htm

Welcome to the lake.

[Hivolt]

Originally Posted by Aquadeziac

For future reference when you have your own boat, these are invaluable: http://landingloop.com/index.htm

Welcome to the lake.

What a great invention, thanks for sharing!

[ishoot308]

Docking on the west side of Welch Island can be quite tricky at times. Here's a loop I made for my pontoon boats. Standard 3/8" docking line that I put through flexible tubing. The tubing keeps the loop shape so it can be easily tossed over one of our dock post. I hook the opposite end to the front of the left pontoon (or right depending on dock), once loop is around pole I hit reverse and turn motor towards dock which pulls the boat tight against dock so I can tie off stern.

Dan