COMING ALONGSIDE
BETTER BOAT HANDLING
Powerboat instructor Jon Mendez has valuable tips for coming alongside if your single-engined boat doesn’t have a bow thruster
Coming alongside in a single-engined boat without a bow thruster can be one of the more difficult skills to master, especially on your own.
If you’re new to the boat I’d always recommend establishing how many turns there are lock-to-lock on the steering before you try any manoeuvres, then centring the helm and briefly engaging ahead and astern at idle. That way you’ll know where the engine is directing its thrust and how much the boat moves when you use a single click of gear engagement in either direction.
For this demonstration, we used a single-engined 7.5m (24ft) RIB, which behaves like any other small sportsboat, and two pontoons to practise on–a large hammerhead with an offshore wind to contend with and a mid-river pontoon affected by wind and tide. The key here is that the angle of approach is not governed by a set number of degrees but by when you can balance the boat against the conditions using minimal steering or throttle inputs –this is your ‘start’ position. You can now govern your approach speed using clicks of ahead, neutral and the boat’s natural momentum to bring you gently alongside.
Approaching the pontoon
When berthing bow-to the elements, as you close the pontoon turn the wheel away from the dock and use a click of ahead to take the bow away from the pontoon while still maintaining enough momentum for the boat to carry on drifting towards it. Once the bow has started to move away, go into neutral and turn the helm towards the pontoon so that when you engage astern to stop the forward momentum, it will also bring the stern in gently against the pontoon.
Ideally, you’ll end up perfectly parallel and stopped alongside. If your stern ends up touching first, then you need less lock towards the pontoon; conversely, if the bow touches first, you need more lock towards it. Neither of these is a big problem provided you’ve ensured the boat has come to a complete stop rather than impacting the pontoon while still moving ahead or astern. Fenders will help with any accidental contact but there is only so much impact they can absorb.
If you find yourself approaching downwind and tide, then you have two choices; either carry on past the pontoon and then turn around so you’re coming in bow-to the elements or moor stern-to the elements by reversing back towards the pontoon. This requires e
