Maneuvering Under Power and Docking | Online Course

Momentum & Control

• Understanding sailboat gear and throttle controls
• How momentum affects docking and close-quarters maneuvering
• On-water momentum exercises to build control

Maneuvering Techniques

• Forward handling in tight spaces
• Reversing into slips with precision
• Anchoring under power

Prop Walk Mastery

• Experiencing prop walk and how it works
• Factors that influence prop walk (P-Factor, wash-lift effect)
• Using prop walk to your advantage and recovering when it “bests” you

Bow, Stern & Thruster Control

• Moving the aft and bow with precision
• Effective use of bow thrusters

Spring Line Skills

• Force alignment and moment balance
• Using rudder force with spring lines
• Springing on and springing in
• Spring line exercises & designing maneuvers

Docking Scenarios

• Leaving the dock: end ties and slips
• Returning to the dock: slips, ferrying, and end ties
• Advanced Mediterranean mooring: standard, with anchor, and long-line ashore

Advanced Boat Types

• Catamaran maneuvering: twin engines, rudder control, “cat play,” and advanced techniques
• Dual-rudder monohull handling: unique challenges and docking maneuvers

...Therefore, the charter base requires that a pilot come out to your boat in a speedboat, jump on board, bring the boat through the reef, and park it in the slip at the marina for you. I spent some time observing this very talented Rastafarian expertly maneuver my chartered boat into the slip. It was a maneuvering job with which I was very impressed. Why? Well, just days before I had knocked the BBQ off the back of the 46 ft sailboat because I could not maneuver the boat in a tight marina with 20 knots of side wind just as it was getting dark. I was trying to back up to a concrete wall and simultaneously lasso pilings as they went past to hold the front of the boat in place and not hit the wall. As captain, I was seeing very quickly that my open water experience was not paying off and was about to cost me, the charter company, and the insurance company a lot of money.

 

I remember a year later maneuvering a Beneteau 50 ft sailboat into the marina in the beautiful port of Bonifacio, Corsica. Our slip was right next to the sidewalk restaurant loaded with tourists, so it was imperative to my ego to get it right. Well, I did but actually, I still think it was really more luck than anything else. As we sat on the back of the boat celebrating a no-damage docking, we watched a crew expertly maneuver their boat backward down a row of slips, turn right angles then back their boat into a tight slip, stopping perfectly. We all cheered and clapped as it was very impressive. I vowed right then and there to learn the skill.

One year later, I was smiling as I maneuvered a 50-foot sailboat in a very tight harbor in Kos, Greece. You can always tell how you are doing in a busy port. If you're doing well, everyone on the other boats will be watching and will continue to drink their Gin. If you're doing badly, they are all putting down their drinks and putting fenders over the side. In Greece, everyone relaxed with their Gin!

When I created the fractional ownership industry for sailors a few years later, it was obvious that a course like this needed to be developed. As a result, several thousand students have taken this course. Through 27 practical exercises, this Maneuvering Under Power course will teach you how to practice and master the skill of placing the boat wherever you want, every time in all wind conditions, with confidence. The lesson is arranged so that you can first read the material and begin to understand the theory. Each chapter also has associated practical exercises that you absolutely must perform and repeat to become an expert. The exercises are designed to get you extremely comfortable with maneuvering your boat.

Upon completion, you'll see the NauticEd Maneuvering Under Power and Docking Online Course added to your NauticEd Sailing Resume. I'm also confident that you'll be so comfortable with maneuvering and backing your boat in a tight marina that you'll never have onlookers put down their drinks and pick up a fender. You'll feel great, and even if you mess it up a bit, you'll know exactly how to do it better next time. If you're hesitant about the mere $39 cost of this course, just think of the cost and embarrassment of one - just one ding into another boat. When you take this course, we guarantee you'll have less intimidation when maneuvering your boat and you'll significantly reduce damage to your and other people's boats.

No one ever has, but if you don't think you received $39 worth of potential damage-saving value, simply contact us and we'll happily refund your investment.

In the conclusion chapter, we show you how you can access all the exercises on your mobile device and take them with you to the boat. It leads you through all the exercises you should perform on the water to learn how to maneuver and dock your sailboat under power.

Finally, I can not stress enough how important it is to engage in the optional Virtual Reality module. As with any practical skill, practicing your skills over and over is the only way to become competent. Instructions for VR are inside the course.

Please enjoy our Maneuvering a Sailboat Under Power Course (and no damage docking) brought to you by Captain Grant Headifen.