Boat Docking Guide

Free guide

Dock without the drama

Which way to turn the wheel when the wind blows you off. Why the bow goes into the current. The one spring line that gets you off a pinned dock. Plus fenders and line lengths sized for your boat.

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5 docking questions, answered

Guess first, then tap for the answer.

Wind blowing you off the dock: which way do you turn the wheel?

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Away from the dock. Angle in at about 20 to 30 degrees, get a midship line onto a dock cleat a bit aft of it, then idle ahead. The line holds the boat while the stern walks in until you lie flat against the fenders. More below

Gear for this step

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Docking in current: which way should the bow point?

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Into the current. It becomes your brake, so you can creep in at idle and still have thrust to steer with. The first line on is the bow line, led up current to a dock cleat ahead of the bow. More below

Gear for this step

Boat Hook with Standard EndA floating hook for grabbing a dock line or reaching a cleat, sold alone or with a poleView productSee current price at betterboat.com

Leaving a calm dock: pull out forward or back out first?

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Back out. Pull away forward with the wheel turned away and the stern swings into the dock and drags along it. Turn the wheel away from the dock and give short bursts of reverse, with a fender at the bow, until the stern points well out. More below

Gear for this step

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How many fenders does a 30 foot boat need?

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Four. A common guide is one fender for every 10 feet of boat length, plus one, and never fewer than three. Start at the widest point of the hull and set them where the hull meets the dock. More below

Gear for this step

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How long should a spring line be?

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About the full length of the boat, so about 20 feet on a 20 foot boat. Bow and stern lines run about two thirds of the length. Longer is easier: you can cleat off extra line, but you cannot stretch one that falls short. More below

Gear for this step

1/2" Dock Lines 25FT25 foot, 1/2 inch double braided nylon dock lines with a 12 inch eye, in 2 and 4 packsView productSee current price at betterboat.com

Jump to a topic

• ⚠️Before any approach
• 🍃Wind on the dock
• 💨Wind off the dock
• ↔️Between two boats
• 📌Leaving when pinned
• 🔙Leaving in calm water
• 🌊Current
• 🪢Spring lines
• 🧍Tying up alone
• 🅿️Slips
• ⚙️Twin engines
• 🔗Cleat hitch
• 🛟Fenders
• 📏Line length
• ⛵Sailboat docking

Who this is for: boats with a single outboard or a single sterndrive, plus a section for twin outboards and twin sterndrives and a separate section for sailboats with an inboard engine. Powerboat inboards and jet drives handle differently at low speed, so check your owner's manual before you copy a move from here.

Before any approach

• Read the wind and current first. Look at flags, ripples and water moving past pilings. Boats on moorings point into whatever is winning; boats tied to a dock tell you little. Then, in clear water nearby, shift to neutral for a few seconds and watch which way your boat drifts.
• Get ready early. Fenders hung on the docking side and dock lines cleated on the boat, coiled and ready, before you get close.
• Tell the crew their jobs. Who takes the bow line, who takes the stern, and which dock cleat each one goes to. Keep loose line aboard and out of the water so it cannot foul the prop. Crew step onto the dock on the helm's word, once the boat has stopped alongside. Nobody jumps.
• Steer with short bursts. An outboard or sterndrive steers by pointing its thrust. Set the wheel first, then give a short burst of forward or reverse at idle, with a pause in neutral between shifts. With little way on there is almost no steering in neutral, and neutral does not stop a swing that has already started, so shift early.
• Know which way the stern goes. In forward, the bow follows the wheel and the stern swings the other way. In reverse, the stern goes the way the wheel is turned. That is why you never drive off a dock forward with the wheel turned away from it: the stern swings straight into the dock. Some boats also pull the stern sideways in reverse (prop walk, usually to port with a right-hand prop). It is small on most outboards and stronger on some sterndrives, so try reverse in open water to learn yours, and steer the stern with the wheel rather than counting on it.
• If it is going wrong, back off and go around, early, while your way out is still open. A second approach costs a minute. A crunched gelcoat costs a lot more.

Gear for this step

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Wind blowing you onto the dock

In a light to moderate breeze this is the easy one, as long as you let the wind do the work.

1. Hang fenders on the dock side before the approach.
2. Come in slowly, nearly parallel to the dock.
3. Stop level with your spot, a little off the dock (about a boat width is a good start; farther off in a strong wind), and shift to neutral.
4. Let the wind push the boat in gently. If the bow drifts in faster (it often does), a short burst of reverse with the wheel toward the dock brings the stern in to match. If the stern drifts in faster, a short burst of forward with the wheel toward the dock pushes it back out. Either burst also moves the boat a little astern or ahead, so keep them short.
5. Get the lines on once the boat is alongside and stopped.

Wind blowing you off the dock

Now the wind is working against you. If you come in parallel and stop, you will blow away before anyone can get a line on. Use a steeper angle and one line to do the pulling.

1. Fenders out on the dock side, especially forward where the boat touches first.
2. Approach slowly at roughly 20 to 30 degrees to the dock. That is a starting point: more wind or less room changes it.
3. Stop before the bow touches. Get a midship line (or a line from a forward cleat) onto a dock cleat a bit aft of where it leaves the boat: hand it to a helper, or drop its loop over the cleat from aboard. Crew step off only from a spot alongside the dock, never across a gap.
4. Idle ahead with the wheel turned away from the dock. The line stops the boat moving forward, and the thrust swings the stern in until the boat lies flat against the fenders.
5. Someone stays at the helm and holds it there at idle while the bow and stern lines go on, then shifts to neutral.

Gear for this step

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Docking between two boats

A gap between two tied-up boats is the wind-off method in a smaller space: one line and the engine bring the stern in, so the boat never has to slide in sideways.

1. Look at the gap first. It should be well longer than your boat, with a clear way out. If it is tight, get a helper on the dock or pick another spot.
2. Fenders on the dock side, with an extra one forward.
3. Come in slowly at a shallow angle, aiming at the forward part of the gap, and stop well short of the boat ahead.
4. Get a midship line onto a dock cleat a bit aft of the midship cleat, from a helper or from aboard.
5. Idle ahead with the wheel turned away from the dock. The line holds the boat and the stern walks in alongside, without swinging toward the boat astern.
6. Bow and stern lines on, then neutral.

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Leaving when the wind pins you on

With the wind pressing you against the dock, powering straight off usually drags the hull down the dock and the stern back into it. Spring the stern out instead, then back away.

1. Put a fender at the bow's forward corner, where it will be squeezed against the dock.
2. Rig a bow spring: a line from the bow cleat led aft to a dock cleat behind it. Run it around the dock cleat and back aboard (both ends on the boat) so you can let it go from aboard, or have a helper on the dock. Once it is on, take off every other line.
3. Shift to forward at idle and turn the wheel toward the dock. The spring stops the boat going ahead, the bow pivots on the fender and the stern swings out into the wind.
4. When the stern points well out into clear water, shift to neutral and center the wheel. Let the spring go and pull it aboard, clear of the prop. Then back straight out in reverse.
5. Once you are well clear of the dock and the boats around it, shift to forward and turn away.

Stronger wind means you need the stern swung out farther before you back off, or the wind pushes you straight back onto the dock. If idle thrust cannot swing it out far enough, stay tied up and get help or wait for the wind to ease. Keep everyone's hands off the bow while it is working against the fender.

Leaving a dock in calm water

The mistake is driving off forward with the wheel turned away from the dock, like a car pulling out of a parking space. The boat pivots well forward, so the stern swings into the dock and drags along it. Back the stern out first instead.

1. Fenders on the dock side, with one at the bow's forward corner: the bow swings toward the dock as the stern comes out.
2. Check astern for traffic and take in all the lines.
3. Turn the wheel away from the dock, then give a short burst of reverse. In reverse the stern goes the way the wheel is turned, so it pulls away from the dock.
4. Shift to neutral before the bow gets close to the dock. When the boat settles, another short burst of reverse. Reverse, neutral, reverse, neutral.
5. Once the stern points well out and the water astern is clear, center the wheel and back straight out.
6. When the whole boat is clear of the dock and any boats near it, shift through neutral to forward and turn away.

Wind blowing you off the dock makes leaving easy: take the lines in, keeping the one at the end that would blow off first until last, let the wind open a gap in neutral, then back or idle straight out and turn once clear. Wind pinning you on: use the spring method above.

Docking in current

In rivers and tidal water, current often matters more than wind, especially on a low boat with little for the wind to catch. The rule: make your final approach heading into the current.

• Bow into the current. The current becomes your brake. You can creep in at idle, or even hold still over the ground, while the engine still gives you thrust to steer with.
• Avoid finishing with the current behind you whenever there is room to turn around. It keeps pushing you ahead after you shift to neutral, and the only brake is reverse.
• Read it first. Water piling up on one side of a piling, crab pot floats leaning over and boats on moorings all show the way it runs.
• Wind against current? Watch how boats of your type are lying on their moorings and approach the way they point. That is the force winning today.
• First line on is the bow line, led up current to a dock cleat ahead of the bow, so the current cannot push the boat back. Then the stern line.

Spring lines explained

Bow and stern lines hold the boat in to the dock. Spring lines stop it sliding forward and back. With bow and stern lines plus both springs set, the boat stays put, which keeps the fenders where you hung them.

Chapman's names for the two springs are the after bow spring (bow, led aft) and the forward quarter spring (stern, led forward). Same lines, same jobs.

• Longer springs hold better on a fixed dock. A long spring changes its angle less as the boat rises and falls, so it keeps the boat in position through the tide.
• At a fixed dock, leave slack for the tide. Lines tight at high water can hang the boat off its cleats at low water, and lines tight at low water get overloaded as it rises. Set every line for the full tide range before you walk away.
• A single midship spring is the solo docker's friend. See the next section.

Tying up alone

Single-handing is about doing everything before you arrive, so nothing has to happen fast once you are there.

1. Set up well away from the dock: fenders on the docking side, bow and stern lines cleated on the boat, and a midship line (from the midship cleat) led back where you can reach it from the helm.
2. Come in slow and stop alongside. Use the wind or current rules above to pick your angle.
3. Shift to neutral before you leave the helm. Never step off with the engine in gear.
4. Step (do not jump) onto the dock with the midship line and make it fast to a dock cleat a little aft of the midship cleat. Pick that cleat before you come in. One midship line holds the boat for a moment, not for good.
5. Then the bow line and the stern line straight away, whichever end is drifting off first, then springs if you are staying. Watch both ends while you work.

If the boat starts drifting off before you can step across, stay aboard and go around. Reaching or leaping for a dock is how people end up in the water between hull and pilings.

Gear for this step

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Slips: backing out, backing in, bow in

Backing out

1. Fenders on both sides. Check the fairway behind you for traffic. Take off the lines, leaving the one that holds you against the wind or current until last.
2. Center the wheel and back out slowly in short bursts of reverse, with small corrections to stay straight.
3. Keep it straight until the bow, and anything sticking out ahead of it, is well clear of the finger piers and pilings. Turning early swings the bow into them.
4. Now turn the wheel the way you want the stern to go and keep backing briefly. When the boat lines up with the fairway, shift to neutral, center the wheel, then shift to forward to stop the sternway and idle out.

Backing in

1. Fenders on both sides and lines ready. Crew stay aboard, never between the boat and a piling.
2. Idle along the fairway and stop with the boat's pivot point, about a third of the way back from the bow, level with the middle of the slip.
3. Turn the stern toward the opening: wheel hard over away from the slip and a short burst of forward, then neutral, wheel hard the other way and a short burst of reverse. Repeat until the stern points into the slip.
4. Center the wheel and back in slowly in short bursts, clear of the corners of the finger piers and the boats next door. Aim a little upwind or up current of the slip.
5. Before the motor gets near the dock, a short burst of forward stops the boat. Neutral, then lines.
6. If it goes wrong, shift to forward and pull out while the way ahead is clear, then set up again.

Bow in

1. Fenders on both sides and bow and stern lines ready.
2. Swing wide in the fairway so the boat is lined up straight with the slip before the bow passes the ends of the finger piers. As the bow turns in, the stern swings the other way, so watch it.
3. Center the wheel and coast in slowly, in neutral between short bursts of forward.
4. Stop with a short burst of reverse, wheel centered, before the bow reaches the dock. Neutral, then the lines that stop the boat moving ahead, then the rest.

Gear for this step

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Twin outboards and twin sterndrives

Twins change one big thing: most of the steering at the dock is done with the shifters, not the wheel. Each engine sits off the centerline, so ahead on one engine pushes that side of the stern forward and turns the boat, and the two engines together can spin the boat nearly in its own length or walk it sideways. Everything else in this guide still applies: the slow approach, reading wind and current, spring lines, fenders and line handling.

Set up

• Wheel centered, hands on the shifters. Center the wheel and leave it there for most of the approach. Keep a hand on the shifters so you can bump either engine in or out of gear without looking down.
• Idle only, short shifts, neutral between. Same rule as a single: into gear for a second or two, back to neutral, watch what the boat does. Throttle makes everything happen faster at the dock, not better.
• Trim both engines down for low speed work. On engines hung on a bracket, a touch of trim up often gives better bite in reverse, because the wash goes under the bracket instead of into it. In shallow water, only as far down as the depth allows.
• Creep on one engine. Both engines in idle ahead is often too fast for a tight fairway. One engine ahead with the other in neutral moves the boat more slowly. The boat will slowly turn away from the engine that is in gear, so swap sides now and then, bump the other engine ahead for a second, or hold a little wheel toward the running engine. If the boat turns with both engines ahead at idle, the two idles are not matched: have them set, and steer with the wheel until then.
• Counter-rotating twins back nearly straight. Most twin outboards and sterndrives have counter-rotating props, so the sideways pull of each prop in reverse cancels and both engines astern with the wheel centered backs the boat close to straight. Check in open water; a pair of same-rotation props still walks. Correct a drift with the shifters: the stern moves away from whichever engine is in reverse. Stern drifting to port: bump the starboard engine to neutral for a moment and let the port engine keep backing, and the stern swings back to starboard. Mirror it for the other side. Keep the wheel centered so the two methods do not fight each other. If you prefer the wheel, use it alone: in reverse the stern still goes the way the wheel is turned.
• One engine out. The boat still steers with the wheel on the other engine, but it turns more easily away from the running engine and takes a wider circle the other way. Approach with the running engine on the side away from the dock, lines and fenders ready early. Leave a dead outboard down unless you know the steering tie bar allows tilting one engine. Practice on one engine on a calm day. It will happen eventually.

Pivot in place: one ahead, one astern

Wheel centered. Shift one engine into forward and the other into reverse, both at idle. The boat turns nearly in its own length. The bow swings toward the side of the engine that is in reverse:

• Starboard ahead, port astern: bow swings to port.
• Port ahead, starboard astern: bow swings to starboard.

Reverse gear makes less thrust than forward at the same idle, so the boat usually creeps ahead while it pivots. If that matters, give the engine in reverse a touch more throttle, or bump the forward engine into neutral between pushes. Use the pivot to turn around in a fairway, to line up on a slip, or to point the stern at the opening before backing in. On a twin, the pivot turn in the Slips section above is this move with the wheel left alone, with one change: the boat spins about a point nearer the middle of the hull, not a third of the way back from the bow, so stop with the middle of the boat level with the slip before you start the pivot.

Wind blows the bow off faster than idle thrust turns it. Pivot so the bow turns downwind when you can, and in a breeze off the dock use the midship spring, not the sideways walk: the walk is the weakest move you have.

Walk sideways onto a dock

This is the move twins are known for. It slides the boat sideways with the bow roughly straight, which is how you close the last few feet onto a dock when the wind will not do it for you. It works on many twin outboards and some twin sterndrives, because the thrust turns with the wheel. How well depends on the boat: the stern usually leads and the bow needs constant small corrections.

1. Stop parallel to the dock, about a boat width off, fenders out, wheel centered.
2. Turn the wheel hard over away from the dock.
3. Shift the outside engine (the one farther from the dock) into forward and the inside engine (the one nearer the dock) into reverse, both at idle to start. If nothing happens after a few seconds, add a little throttle to both engines in small steps. If you need more than a little, stop and use a spring line instead.
4. The stern walks toward the dock and the bow comes with it. Steer with small throttle changes, not the wheel. Bow swinging away from the dock: a touch more throttle on the engine in reverse, or a moment of neutral on the forward engine. Bow swinging in ahead of the stern: a touch more on the forward engine, or a moment of neutral on the reverse engine. Easing the wheel a little toward center also brings the bow back in; put it hard over again once the boat is parallel.
5. Both engines in neutral before the fenders touch. Then lines.

To walk away from a dock, mirror it: wheel hard toward the dock, inside engine ahead, outside engine astern, with a fender forward in case the bow leans in. The boat creeps ahead as it walks, so check the gap in front of you first. The calm water departure above also works on a twin: wheel away from the dock, short bursts of reverse on both engines, and the stern pulls out. If the boat will not walk cleanly, it is not you: engine spacing, hull shape and wind all change the balance. Fall back on the pivot and a spring line.

Spring lines on a twin

The spring line moves in this guide work on twins the same way, with the wheel doing most of the work and the choice of engine helping. One engine ahead pushes that side of the stern forward, so the bow swings away from that engine and the stern swings toward it. Pick the engine on the side you want the stern to go.

• Wind blowing you off, midship spring on: wheel turned away from the dock and idle ahead on the inside engine (nearer the dock). The spring holds the boat, the angled thrust swings the stern in, and the off center engine adds a little more.
• Leaving when pinned, bow spring led aft: wheel turned toward the dock and idle ahead on the outside engine (farther from the dock). The bow leans on its fender and the stern swings out. Then neutral, center the wheel, recover the spring clear of both props, and back out on both engines.

Twin inboards, and joysticks

• Twin inboards (shafts and rudders). The pivot and the spring moves work on inboards too, often more crisply, because the shafts sit wide apart. What does not carry over: rudders do almost nothing at idle in reverse, so steer with the shifters alone when backing, and a single prop in reverse pulls the stern sideways harder than an outboard does. The sideways walk above depends on thrust that turns with the wheel. Twin inboards have their own version that uses the rudders and prop wash, and it varies a lot from boat to boat, so it is outside this guide. Use the pivot and a spring line instead.
• Joystick docking systems. If your twins have a joystick, follow the manufacturer's instructions for it. Still rig fenders and lines the same way, and still learn the shifter moves above: they are your backup if the joystick ever drops out. Most systems only engage from neutral at idle, so know how yours hands control back to the shifters.

The cleat hitch

A cleat hitch holds under load and still comes off in seconds. Done wrong, it jams or slips.

1. Lead the line to the far horn of the cleat first, the one farthest from where the line comes in.
2. Take a full turn around the base, under both horns.
3. Cross over the top and under the other horn, then back across the top to the first horn: that is one figure eight. One or two is plenty on most line; add one on slippery new line.
4. Finish with a locking hitch: make an underhand loop, flip it over the horn and pull it snug so the tail lies alongside the last turn.

A pile of extra wraps rarely adds holding power and makes the line harder to release in a hurry. Coil the leftover tail neatly on the dock so nobody trips on it.

Fenders: where and how high

• Where the boat touches. Start at the widest point of the hull, then add fenders fore and aft of it. When you pivot on a spring line, a fender goes right at the pivot point.
• How high. The fender has to cover the spot where hull meets dock. At a low floating dock that is usually near the waterline; at a high fixed dock it is up near the rub rail. Look at the gap once you are tied up and adjust.
• Fixed docks and pilings. With the tide, the contact point moves up and down. Check the fenders at both ends of the tide, or ask the marina about a fender board for a piling.
• How many. A common guide is one fender for every 10 feet of boat length, plus one, and never fewer than three.
• How big. A common rule of thumb is 1 inch of fender diameter for every 4 to 5 feet of boat length. Bigger is safer than smaller.
• Tie them to something solid: a cleat hitch on a cleat, or a clove hitch finished with a half hitch on a sturdy rail. Bring them aboard once you are clear of the dock and it is safe to move around.

Gear for this step

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Fenders come in black or white 2 packs. At 6.5 inches wide, the 4 feet per inch rule puts them on boats up to about 26 feet; heavy boats and rough berths want bigger. With three fenders as the minimum, most boats need two packs.

Dock line length rule of thumb

• Nylon is the usual choice for dock lines because it stretches and softens the jerk when a wake rolls through.
• Longer is easier to work with than shorter. You can always cleat off extra line; you cannot stretch a line that falls short of the dock cleat.
• Go up a size for a heavy boat, a windy berth or big cleats.
• Carry a spare or two, including one long line. Transient slips and fuel docks rarely put cleats where you want them, and a line doubled back aboard to leave on a spring needs twice the length.

Gear for this step

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Pick a black 2 pack, sky blue 2 pack, black 4 pack or sky blue 4 pack. By the rules above, 15 ft lines work as bow and stern lines on boats up to about 22 ft, and as spring lines on boats up to about 15 ft.

• In forward, the prop wash blows over the rudder, so the wheel works even at very low speed.
• In reverse, there is little steering until the boat is really moving astern. Until then, prop walk is in charge.

Which way does a sailboat's stern kick in reverse?

Tap for the answer

To port, on a boat with a right-hand prop, which most cruising sailboats have. That sideways kick is prop walk. Put it to work when you back into a slip. Come in with your port side toward the slip and let reverse swing the stern in. A left-hand prop kicks to starboard. More below

Gear for this step

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1. Backing into a slip with prop walk

1. Come up the fairway with your port side toward the slip. Stop just past it, with the stern near the opening. Fenders on both sides and lines ready.
2. Shift to reverse at idle with the wheel centered. Prop walk starts swinging the stern toward the slip as the boat begins to move astern.
3. Keep backing slowly. Once there is real sternway, the rudder bites. Put a little wheel to starboard to stop the swing, then back straight in between the finger piers.
4. Shift to neutral before the stern reaches the dock. Then the stern lines and a bow line.

2. Turning around in a tight fairway

1. Slow right down. Turn the wheel hard to starboard and leave it there.
2. Give a short burst of forward, one or two seconds. The prop wash on the rudder kicks the stern to port, and the bow swings to starboard with little headway.
3. Pause in neutral, then give a short burst of reverse. It stops the headway, and prop walk pulls the stern to port, so the bow keeps swinging to starboard.
4. Repeat until you face the way out. Then center the wheel and motor out slowly.

This only works turning to starboard with a right-hand prop. Turning to port, prop walk fights you.

3. With a bow thruster, wind blowing you off

1. Fenders and a midship line ready on the port side. Come in slowly at a gentle angle and turn parallel close to the dock.
2. A touch of reverse stops the boat, and prop walk tucks the stern in.
3. The wind wants to push the bow off. Give the thruster short bursts toward the dock, never held on, to bring the bow in.
4. The thruster turns the boat about its pivot point, so the stern moves a little the other way. It does not slide the whole boat sideways.
5. Keep the short bursts going to hold the bow in while the midship spring goes on a dock cleat aft of the midship cleat. Then the bow and stern lines.

The thruster helps line up the bow. It does not replace lining the boat up first.

4. No thruster, wind blowing you off

1. Fenders and a midship line ready on the port side. Approach at a steeper angle than usual and turn parallel late and close.
2. A touch of reverse stops the boat, and prop walk tucks the stern in.
3. The first line on is the midship spring, from the midship cleat to a dock cleat aft of it. Drop it over the cleat from aboard or hand it to a helper. Nobody jumps.
4. Idle ahead against the spring. It stops the boat moving forward and pulls it in toward the dock. Use small wheel adjustments to keep her parallel. A little wheel away from the dock brings the stern in.
5. Stay at the helm while the bow and stern lines go on.

Gear for this step

Boat Hook with Standard EndA floating hook for reaching a dock cleat or line from aboard, sold alone or with a 3.5 to 6 foot poleView productSee current price at betterboat.com

5. Leaving when the wind pins you on

This one is shown starboard side to the dock, the side where right-hand prop walk helps you leave.

1. Fender the bow well. Rig a bow spring from the bow cleat to a dock cleat aft of it, set up so you can let it go from aboard. Take off the other lines.
2. Idle ahead with the wheel turned toward the dock. The bow presses against the fender and the stern swings out into the wind.
3. When the stern is well out (a big angle, more in a strong wind), shift to neutral, let the spring go and pull it aboard.
4. Back straight off into clear water. With the dock on your starboard side, prop walk swings the stern even farther from the dock.
5. Turn and motor away only once you are well clear.

Dock on your port side? In reverse, prop walk pulls the stern back toward the dock. Swing the stern out farther first and use a firm burst of reverse.

Gear for this step

1/2" Dock Lines 25FT25 foot, 1/2 inch double braided nylon dock lines with a 12 inch eye, in 2 and 4 packsView productSee current price at betterboat.com

Every sailboat handles a little differently. Your owner's manual, the conditions on the day and your own judgment come first.