Captain Bob Services, LLC

02/21/2025

It's all about patience

02/21/2025

Interesting hack

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02/13/2025

If you have enough cleats, the spring lines can be longer and form and "X". This tie arrangement (bow, stern, forward spring, aft spring) also significantly reduces the stress on the boat's cleats.

02/12/2025

"Ferrying" works in following current conditions the same way

02/12/2025

This applies to no wind, no current docking. Single outboard (or single I/O).

With practice it's possible to land at the same point on that dock, from any angle from about 10 degrees to 180 degrees (approaching from the top of the illustration, rotating 180, then sliding into that same dock space). Just takes practice.

02/12/2025

For the ICW crew:

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02/09/2025

Remember: Neutral is your friend

02/05/2025

Works the same way with current

01/30/2025

Pontoons are especially affected by even the slightest bit of wind. Remember, neutral is your friend.

01/30/2025

Easier said than done...takes a lot of practice to keep the boat close to the upwind/upcurrent finger

01/29/2025

Basic twin engine physics. All standard types of propulsion work very similarly in forward gear (shopping cart example in the video below). Reverse is a different story. Straight inboards respond best in reverse, followed by duoprop I/Os and duoprop outboards, followed by single prop I/Os and single prop outboards.

I find the easiest boats to dock are twin diesel straight inboards because their response in reverse ("walking") is most reliable. The basic rule of thumb is to leave inboard rudders amidships during the docking operation (although steering can be added at advanced skill levels). Similar results can be achieved with I/O or outboard setups (again, adding steering is an advanced skill level maneuver).

01/27/2025

Be sure to properly fender prior to starting this maneuver. It takes a good amount of practice to do it without touching the dock as you twist out

01/23/2025

This is basically how it works

01/17/2025

Can be very confusing...great reason to review your route before departure.

01/08/2025

Handy reference

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12/20/2024

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11/15/2024

Little simplistic, but accurate