TACOMA, Wash. — When it comes to operating a boat on open water, Carefree Boat Club's Erik Rhyne says it's always a fluid situation.
"So there is no brake pedal," he pointed out. "You can't just stop. You are part of the input to the boat. But so is the current. So is the wind. So are the waves."
In the same way take offs and landings are the trickiest part of flying, undocking and docking are the most challenging part of boating. Evening's Saint Bryan is the student and his approach heading into Narrows Marina needs to be recalibrated.
"This is what the current can do on the leeward side," Rhyne pointed out. "This is fine."
Fine because as long as one approaches docking at a safe and slow speed, nothing horrible can happen.
"It's a little bit like landing a plane but the runway keeps moving that way," Bryan pointed out.
"Or driving a car on ice," added Rhyne. "The same thing."
Rhyne says there is one skill you can practice in open water that will prevent you from making a spectacle of yourself at the dock. It's the boating version of the three point turn.
"First things first, you bring yourself to neutral," Rhyne said. "It's always turning the wheel all the way."
We turn the wheel counterclockwise all the way to port. Then bump the engine forward. Then go back into neutral and turn the wheel clockwise to starboard and bump the engine into reverse.
By practicing this maneuver, we can get a feel for the helm and become more precise at turning the boat at any angle we want.
Now docking will become easier, especially if we remember to take it slow and work with the currents.
"Seems to me the more you learn the more fun you're gonna have," Bryan said.
"Absolutely," Rhyne added.
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