Docking a boat can be a quite difficult at times. By remembering a few details and following these few simple tips, docking your boat will be easier than parallel park your car. The following tips will help you to dock your boat safely and securely no matter where you are.

Without the help of a thruster it is difficult to handle a boat because it steers from the back or stern side of the boat. The bow direction is not directly controlled by what you do with the rudder therefore when you turn the wheel to the left your boat will move to the right. Also when you try to stop your boat you can only reverse thrust, shutting of your engine or put it into neutral will do nothing to stop your boat.

The current and wind are two influential boating factors that you need to understand for proper docking. Not only do you need to be familiar with the effects of these two forces, but you also need to predict your boats response to these forces in order to safely dock your boat. Investing in a bow or stern thruster is a smart purchase to make your life easier and safer when it comes do docking your boat. It is simple to retrofit a bow thruster to your vessel without the need to drilling large holes in the hull. Effortless operation is guaranteed with an ergonomic joystick that makes docking look easier than ever.

• Proper and safe docking requires you to be prepared and complete several steps before you attempt to dock.
• Make sure all lines are properly secured and all cargo is properly stored.
• Make sure both your lines and bumpers are in the right places and that your passengers are prepared for docking.
• Make sure you are prepared as the driver of the boat. You need to know which way the current is traveling since you should dock against the current if possible, this can help avoid floating into anything.
• Once you are parallel to your docking spot and facing the current you can ease the motor speed until it is a little over the speed of the current.
• Steer towards your dock and watch out for objects in your way.
• Once you are close enough to the dock, either you or someone else can jump off and secure the boat with the ropes.
• You always want to tie the bow rope first so you bow doesn’t start to drift out in the water. If you don’t want to jump to the dock you can always have someone currently on the dock do it for you, just toss him or her the ropes.
• Make sure you properly tie the boat.

Doing these simple tips not only make it sound easy, but will also make the process of docking your boat in tight spaces easier for you when you need to do it.