How to Dock a 33' Boat by Yourself

Become extremely comfortable with maneuvering your vessel in the open waters before attempting it in the harbor. When you are in the dock, you will be in tight quarters, with little room to operate. Get a feel for how responsive your boat is to making turns and how long it takes to drift and come to a stop after letting up off the throttle. A 33-foot boat will respond differently from any other size boat or even a different boat of the same length, so being familiar with another boat may not help you too much. Once in the harbor, you will be using your idle speed, possibly only in short bursts, depending on how fast your idle speed is. Since you will be doing the mooring by yourself, you will need to be familiar with how much drift your boat does after letting off of the idle speed.

Practice doing a power turn in the open waters. With an imaginary docking spot in mind, slowly approach this spot and let off of the throttle to drift. While drifting, sharply turn the boat. The boat will turn while drifting slightly in the original direction. Press the throttle for a second to power the boat forward and straighten out the direction. To slow the boat to a stop, throttle the reverse ever so slightly.

Prepare your boat for docking by putting out your fenders and tying your dock lines. This should be done before you approach the harbor or docking area. You should know if the approach within the harbor allows for docking on the boat's port (left) or starboard (right) side, and place your bumpers accordingly.

Slow down as you approach the harbor or docking area. Lower your sails, if you have a sailboat. Most harbors have a strict speed limit enforced due to the tight confines of the area and the other boaters with whom you must contend. Approaching the harbor should be done at no more than idle speed of the onboard motor.

Plan your approach to the docking area before your attempt. Have a plan for how and where you will approach. Your approach should not be parallel or perpendicular to the docking location, but rather at an angle, so aim your boat at this location accordingly. The angle should have your fender-prepared side as the side closer to the dock.

Power-turn into the docking spot. As you've practiced, approach the spot at an angle, letting up off the throttle as you get near. Turn the boat as you approach the docking location, allowing enough room for the sideways drift as your boat becomes parallel with the dock. Throttle the engine slightly to straighten the path direction, and then reverse the throttle to bring the vessel to a stop.

Grab the docking line and quickly hop off to tie it to the dock. For a temporary docking, a single bowline may suffice to hold your vessel in place. For an extended stay, it is important to tie down with multiple lines at the stern, bow and the side, be it the port or starboard side that you used to dock against. The lines for the stern and bow should be at approximately 45-degree angles to hold the boat in place.