Newbie wants to learn to sail

[tenuki]

Remember, when docking, you can always add a touch of power, but you can't take power away. Move as slowly as possible!!!

To get a feel for how your boat moves, loosen the mooring lines a bit and then spend some time pushing her around. Notice how little effort is required to move her. Think of what that means in relationship to the outboard.

Then spend a lot of time out in clear water practicing using the motor to stop, spin, move forward slowly. Find how how slow you have to be going to lose tiller control. back up until you are comfortable with it and know how to manuver going backwards.

tip: if you do this near a boey (one not marking shoals or shallows of course!!) you can see your movement a lot better.

Then dock with the calm assurance that you probably now have more knowledge than then average docker. lol.

[arbarnhart]

Originally Posted by chris_gee

[...]
On the ramp, landings have priority over launchings for obvious reasons.
[...]

On ramps that are busy (I have seen no other kind in the Summer on large inland lakes), there are often cars with trailers waiting in line for their turn at the ramp(s). When landing, you generally have to moor or tie to the dock out of the way, go get your vehicle and get in line behind everyone else; there is no special priority.