Finessing the port-side docking

I  have been spectacularly unsuccessful in multiple attempts to back Ms. Bettencourt into the inside slip at our dock on the Savannah River. I have been searching  for a key to achieving this maneuver, but I have consistently failed to coax the boat to go backwards upstream in the direction I desired.

Yesterday, an idea occurred: "Why not come in bow-first and spin her around to a port-side docking under power?"

Right after that, there came a second thought: "It's not like I have never hit a piling before...."

Think about rotating a 25-foot boat 180 degrees under power in a 35-foot rectangle of eddying river with pilings and rocks nearby. I tried anyway. And it worked. I have been practicing and I have gotten reasonably good at it.





Entering the pocket (right) and lining up for a scary-close approach to the riverbank.










A sandy shelf extends out about six feet from the rocks, then the depth drops off  to 10 feet. Ms. Bettencourt draws two feet. We did not touch ground on this approach.

Beginning the turn, wary of the piling on the port quarter, with the current trying to move the boat sideways to starboard.

Backing and filling to get lined up.

The bow finally turns. Port quarter smacks a piling, lightly.

This is where I boat-hooked  a spring line previously laid out on the dock, leading the line to a cleat on the port quarter. Going astern on the spring line brought the port side to the dock...

Dia Bettencourt photos

...where I was able to step out, complete the mooring and declare victory. (Click to enlarge the photos and see the look of relief on my face).




It was fun figuring out how to do this maneuver. But constantly changing river current and wind, plus the tricky eddy in the pocket between the dock and the rocks make this kind of docking too troublesome and risky for every day use.

And, this is not a 5-second ski boat turn. My approach-to-docking time was about 10 minutes -- hardly a "smartly-done" docking evolution.