3B: Maneuvering Suggestions
3B1: Docking & Undocking
Usually it’s easier to dock bow in. Have your mate at the side rail opening, ready to step off and
secure the stern line, against which you can pull to swing the bow in toward the dock. By having your
mate ready to disembark when close to the dock, he/she will not have to jump to the dock, risking a
turned ankle or falling overboard. It is the skipper’s job to put the boat next to the dock so the mate
needn’t jump, but merely step off!
Approaching a dock, have fenders out as required and have the bow line already rigged,
passed through its hawse pipe, and draped back on the side of the boat between the stanchions so it
can be reached from the dock. Never put
a line from a cleat over a rail: the boat’s
weight will bend or break the rail if it pulls
against the line! When the mate’s
ashore, the line can be easily reached!
If dock clearance permits, spring
the boat forward so that it pulls forward
on the stern line. This will bring the stern
close to the dock. Let the bow line out
enough so that the boat can rest against
the stern and midships fenders.
3B2: Maneuvering in a Harbor
With its twin screws, you’ll do best if you
center the rudder and steer with the engines only!
The
props are so large that the boat will respond well except in high winds just with use of the propellers in
forward and/or reverse. Take your time, and keep the boat running “dead slow” so that you can plan
each approach. You shouldn’t need to use the throttles at all.
Filling the Fuel Tanks
With the large fuel tanks, you can fuel the boat pretty
fast using a standard hose and nozzle (like those on auto gas
pumps). Fuel each tank, taking the hose around the fore-or-aft
deck to reach the outside fill pipe (don’t
drag
the hose over the
decks or teak rails: have someone help you handle it). Fill both
the tanks completely but
do not spill fuel!
You can control the
flow rate by sound, as the fill pipes make the characteristic “getting to the top of the bottle” pitch
change when the fill pipes begin to fill when the tanks themselves are full. (The tank vents will gurgle
before
the tanks are full, so when the vents begin gurgling, slow down until you hear the fill pipes’ pitch
change.)
You can tell fuel levels by the sight gauges in the engine room on each tank
.
This is the port Diesel fill (larger) and one of the two
Water fills...DON’T CONFUSE THEM!
Section 3B: Maneuvering Suggestions 3.3
