Some of the stuff on my boat is not really necessary, just nice to have. Such as the aft control station. It can turn a dicey situation into a piece of cake, though.
Case in point. Yesterday I put the boat back in the water. Our marina has no launching ramp, so I had to use one about ten miles away. Mid-day on a Saturday at a busy marina is not the best time to launch if you don't like crowds.
Once off the trailer, there was barely room to tie up. Many other boats coming and going and only two small docks. Unlike most marinas, the two lanes were not divided into launching or retrieving.
The breeze which blew out last week's heat was gusting above 20 kts., abeam.
Narrow channel from dock to deep water. Sheds with berths on both sides, separated by about 40-50 feet. Wind was REALLY gusting in the gaps between sheds. Not as much room as it sounds, with boats coming and going.
I was alone, so getting away from the dock and out through the clustered boats would be tricky. With engine running I removed the bow line, stepped onto the boat and did the same to the stern line. Using the aft control station, there was no delay for the wind to grab the boat, and I was able to back it out through the tangle of other boats and into the little channel.
I stayed aft until I got clear of others, then turned the boat and went to the forward station.
It's not that this had required any great seamanship. There was no current or wave action as in some places. Still, knowing the C-Dory's tendency to weather-vane in a crosswind, a lot of unwary folks could have been embarrassed.
It's at times like that, and some far worse than that, when I'm very happy I have the aft station.