Get fenders and lines ready early, approach slowly at a slow walking pace (around 1.5 knots or less), into the wind or the tide (whichever is stronger) if you can, and stop with a short burst astern. Step off with the middle line or a spring first; never jump.
A boat has no brakes. The only way to stop her quickly is to put the engine astern, and even that takes time and distance. Good berthing comes from preparing early and going slowly.
Before you arrive:
- Know which berth you are going to, and which side the pontoon will be on.
- Put out fenders on that side, at the height of the pontoon, and rig the lines: a bow line, a stern line and a spring, each coiled and led outside the guardrails and stanchions so they can be stepped ashore.
- Brief the crew: who steps off, with which line, and where it goes.
- Think about the wind and the tide. Approach heading into whichever is stronger if you can, so it helps you stop. If you know your prop walk, choose the side that lets a burst astern pull the stern in.
The approach:
- Come in at a slow walking pace, around one and a half knots or less. You can always add a short burst of power to help steer, but you can't take speed off quickly.
- Aim to arrive parallel to the pontoon, a little off it.
- As you come alongside, give a short burst astern to stop the boat.
- The crew step off when the boat is alongside and nearly stopped, with the middle line or a spring first, and take a turn round a cleat. This holds the boat in while the bow and stern lines go on.
Safety: never jump from a moving boat to a pontoon, and never put a hand or foot between the boat and the pontoon to fend off. Use fenders, not bodies.
The commonest mistake is coming in too fast. It feels as though you have more control at speed, but you have less, and any contact does more damage. If an approach is not working, abandon it early, go back out and come in again.
More in the book: Chapter 8, Under power, and in the marina