Excerpted from Maneuver and Dock Your Sailboat Under Power
Throughout this book, we will explain the concept and combine it with real exercises that we will have you perform on a real boat. For now, however, we want you to work all the way through the book just imagining yourself on the boat to fully grasp the concepts in your mind. At the end of the course is a printable document that you will take to your boat in order to really do the exercises. At that stage, you will have embedded in your mind a superior knowledge of what to expect.
Through years of teaching this course, we have found this creates the best learning process for you. Here is your first real exercise for you to imagine now.
Exercise 1: Under power and going down wind, move towards one of the buoys and stop the boat with the buoy abeam of the boat. You’ll invariably overshoot. No problem, though, you’re in deep water and nowhere near a marina.
What you learned: You overshot for two reasons: the boat had a massive amount of momentum, and the wind is pushing you from behind. To do it better next time, put the engine into reverse about 5 boat lengths back at about 1000 rpm. As the boat begins to slow, gauge whether you should increase the engine speed against the approaching speed of the buoy. Work the engine up to 2500 rpm and down to ensure you stop in the desired place. Most people make the mistake of putting the engine in reverse too late, then having to overpower the engine at the last minute.
For more lessons, along with web-based videos to assist you, purchase Maneuver and Dock Your Sailboat Under Power from Practical Sailor.
