How to Dock a Boat With Two Motors

Docking a boat is an exercise in careful planning and finesse at the controls. Many factors go into docking a boat, including wind, type of boat, size of the dock and boat traffic. When docking a boat, these factors must be taken into consideration. Docking a boat with two motors is generally more difficult than docking a boat with a single motor, since most twin-engine boats are larger and carry more momentum with any given movement. Additionally, dual-engine boats generally use a different set of control mechanisms for turning than do single-engine boats.

Instructions

    • 1

      Practice maneuvering your boat on its axis away from a dock. Learn the controls used for maneuvering at slow speeds: the throttle and the shift. The throttle controls the speed of your engines and the shift controls the direction (forward or reverse) of propeller spin. Forward on your port (left) engine and reverse on your starboard (right) engine will produce a left turn upon the axis of the boat.

    • 2

      Approach the dock at near-idle engine speeds using only the throttle and shift controls. Moving the rudder will not have an appreciable effect at low speeds. Begin the approach at an exact perpendicular (90-degree) angle to the dock, the forward end of the boat facing the dock. Maneuver forward until the nose of the boat is touching the dock.

    • 3

      At engine idle, use more starboard gearing than port gearing to maneuver the boat clockwise, shifting the port side of the boat toward the dock. Think of the maneuver as parallel parking, where you do not want to move forward past a certain point nor backward past a certain point. The boat will need to slide into the space you have envisioned with little perceptible forward or backward drift.

    • 4

      If conditions are windy, use the wind to your advantage and dock the boat into the wind. This allows you to move slowly without wind pushing you dangerously toward a dock at high speeds.

    • 5

      Once contact has been made with the dock, use ropes to secure the boat to the dock. You may need to tie the boat to the dock or your ropes may already have loops that can be attached to the dock cleats.