www.iFourWinns.com

We're getting ready to head out to the lake. We get to tow her home today now that they have finally installed all of the electronics. My mom always said "you can tell the age of the kid by the price of the toys". Boy am I getting OLD! Hope I have an easier time docking today than I did last week. Almost ran into the dock. Had to abort and do a reapproach about 5 times. Hard side wind on that boat really makes it difficult to dock and they're talking 10-20 today so it will be a challenge for me. Got to get used to the way the wind moves the boat. It's a lot different from a little 17 footer. For the last 9 years my husband and myself were jetski boaters (yeah I heard the gasp, how could you be one of those evil people ). For our honeymoon we jetskiied from Mackanaw to Glen Arbor on Lake Michigan for a charity (98 miles). We were probably the oldest jetskiiers on Lake Michigan but hubby blew out his knee last season so this year we went looking for an "old people's boat". We were sad. Our skis sold in a half hour. The dealer really made out on that deal.

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2006 Four Winns 278 Vista
2004 Ford F250

http://www.wfsites.com

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Jeff

2006 Four Winns Yellow Horizon 30th Anniversary 200 SS
2005 Nissan Titan Crew Cab
2004 Ford F-150 Lariat

http://www.seabrook-services.com

Don't worry about the docking. I teach boat handling for the USPS here in Lakeland. Here are a couple of pointers. Docking it's a skill it's an art form!

1. John's Golden Rule... "Never approach the dock any faster than you are willing to hit it"

2. Neutral is your friend

3. Get everything set before you attempt to dock. Make sure any lines are ready, fenders attached, but most importantly, make sure your line handlers know what you want them to do.

4. Don't feel bad about making multiple attemps. I do all the time. First attempt is always to see how wind and current will be affecting me. That's even more important on your boat with a lot of windage and a single engine.

5. Use the wind and current to your advantage.

6. Don't worry aout grace, if you dock without the boat or dock getting damaged and no one getting hurt, you did a good job.

7. Anyone who tells you they never have issues docking or don't make mistakes is a flat out liar!

I just bend my anchor chute last weekend because of a dockmaster that did it his way, not mine. He didn't listen to me, the captain.

We were docking along a wall with a pier for the night. My buddy threw the dockmaster a line off my forward starboard cleat then went to handle the starboard stern line. I was approaching the dock at an angle with the wind blowing at about 8 o'clock. I was getting into position to allow the wind to help and finish the job. I was going to use the engines to get the stern moving starboard then letting the wind do the rest. Well, instead of him just holding the line like I instructed, he cleated it off tight and sure enough my forward momentum caused the bow to swing into the dock and the anchor just caught a piling. It just bearly bent the chute but it's bent. He didn't listen to me!

Sometimes help is no help at all!

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

Thanks jvalich for your encouragement. I did pretty good bringing it in yesterday. I thought it was going to be harder but the southwest wind was actually easier because it was pushing me from the starboard bow side instead of the north wind the previous week that was driving me into the dock from the stern. That was really difficult because I had to approach way upwind like I was going to come into the other dock on the right. Scary. It took me 5 tries but yesterday I brought it in on the first try nice and gentle. It's like you have another force driving the boat that you can't control and that keeps changing. You have to just feel it and try to make it work for you. I guess I'm even more scared because it is a brand new boat and it will really hurt to put the first scratch on it. Did you see the footage of the brand new Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw? First time they brought her into the channel at Grand Haven last December they ended up ramming it into the seawall. Nice big dent in a brand new, very expensive boat and luckly for the captain (sarcasam) some tourest on the shore had a video camera and captured the whole thing. How embarassing! I heard the captain lost his position over that one.

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2006 Four Winns 278 Vista
2004 Ford F250

http://www.wfsites.com

The first scratch is always the hardest. A boat without a scratch is a boat that doesn't see much use.

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Jvalich
http://www.badcock.com

'04 FW 288 Vista "Mental Floss"

I will second that.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy