Docking Technique

[JamesTXSD]

Hi Dr. John,
We are already using Big Red as our supply store. Traveling with a pet (Molly the catboat cat) means you give up some storage space for their "stuff", so we can really use the extra storage space. Or course, we also brought way more clothes than we need... and we thought we were really paring down. It's going to take us a while to get to that "minimalist" status. "No, Honey, I don't think you'll need a different pair of shoes for each outfit" Yeah, I'm kidding.

Best wishes,
Jim B.

[drjohn71a]

My middle son,who lives in Boston, says he has been a minimalist for years. 90 % of the time, you will find him wearing a white tee shirt and tan pants. No big color coordination problems for him. All the shirts wadded up in the travel bag are white! John

[El and Bill]

Dr. John --
We have given our camper/truck to a son and his family -- now have a Toyota Tundra with the extra seats (so we still have our 'attic' in the truck to store extra stuff). Oh, and we have fond memories of our cruise down the Arkansas River and meeting you there.
And Jim -- clothes take up the least space -- like Dr. John's son, wear one, one in the wash bag, and one drying -- and white and tan (or for me, tan and tan) is the best color coordination).
And our two cents for docking -- under most conditions, SLOWLY!

[drjohn71a]

Thanks, El, I forgot about the "wear, wash, dry" trilogy! Acutally to be fair, my son has started carefully 'rolling' his pants and shirts. He taught in Finland for awhile, then learned in Italy and toured Turkey, France, England, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, etc., all with a soft carry on bag and tan pants and white tee shirts. Maybe some girl will someday convince him to go to button up shirts and other exotic styles - or maybe he will meet a 'tan on tan' girl like you...

Good to hear you got a new vehicle. I was thinking you had about 200,000 miles on that pickup! Have fun, and I hope to meet up with you again sometime when I actually have a boat. John

[El and Bill]

Dr. John --
Almost 300,000 miles on that Ford F-250 diesel and she's still chugging. Son took it over the Colorado Rockies yesterday. Hope to see you when you pick up your new boat. El

[Ordutch1975]

If only I could dock like this guy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qHdPhkSSNQ

or launch like him:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPeetFWRVxo

[Aurelia]

I had not seen the launching version. That is pretty funny stuff and boating can be an art form if you get really good at it. We are still working on the self launching but we are getting close.

Greg

[hardee]

And for those of you on the Left Coast who want to go east and look like you know what you are doing when you come up to those 4 posts where a dock should be, there is a bit of technique to it. Watch this and then practice like CraZy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2LRhkMH48_Q

Harvey
SleepyC

[starcrafttom]

Love that launch but this is my favorite. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wucboi_066A

[localboy]

I don't wanna bash my stern/engine like those easterners do...

And just build a damned dock, will ya'!

[Foggy]

You can 'hear' about how to dock from many. This may or may not help you.

To really know docking, you must understand fundamentals and practice since
it is a learned psychomotor skill. Practice, practice, practice. The more you
practice, the better you'll get.

There are no short cuts unless you really believe any World Champion achieved
this goal by just going out and doing it.

Aye.
Grandma used to say, "To obtain anything worth while, you'll find you have to
work for it."

[Marco Flamingo]

[hardee]

Not like I am grinding an axe, or anything but .......

( I know nobody thought I would say this, But,

Twin engines make it easy, always.

So does practice, pre-planning and patience. (It works going slow too)

Harvey
SleepyC