PREPARING FOR DOCKING
One could say, read above in the reverse order and your pretty close to
the truth.
Some additional hints when getting ready to dock Blue Moon:
Again, call ahead to get your moorage assignment for the evening and
also request one of the marina staff stand by to catch lines.
Blue Moon has Shore Power Aft on the Port side of the boat. When
possible, either a bow in port side tie or stern in port tie is best.
D
on’t forget to switch Blue Moon to the Slow Vessel Mode when
approaching the moorage. If just takes a few seconds to idle down,
switch engine controls to Neutral and move the toggle switch to the On
position.
If marina staff are not readily available, with mooring buoys already
dropped, maneuver the stern of the dock close enough to the dock so
that a crew member may easily stop off the transom and begin to take
moorage lines.
The thrusters make these close quarters maneuvers much easier, don’t
hesitate to use them. Reminder: Each thruster should not be engaged
for more than 5-8 seconds at a time.
If you have engaged Trim Tabs while cruising, it will make slow
maneuvering easier if those are moved to the Bow UP position by
holding both switches in the UP position for 10 seconds.
Always center the wheel so that rudders are not angled either to Port
or Starboard for slow speed docking.
