Or, What Did I Just Say -- Practice! It Helps.
He has a Catalina 30, and most people with that boat want to back in to the slip because it makes boarding the boat much easier from a short fingerdock. But this boat is notorious for backing up very badly. I'm not sure why; I'm not a naval architect. It has a fin keel and a spade rudder, like mine, and mine handles this problem much better. It's not only a problem for Catalina 30's, but I know a number of people with that boat, and they all complain about it.
He says he also has to fight a "slight" wind, and "slight" current.
That says something to me. He is still struggling with basic docking procedures. Because docking makes him nervous, he doesn't want to give the throttle enough power to overcome his "triple threat" -- prop walk, wind, and current.
The solution for him is partly in learning the skills needed, but even more, in practicing the skills needed.
The truth is that sailboat engines are much more efficient in forward than reverse. This means that when you're in reverse, forward is a more efficient brake than vice-versa. You can goose that engine enough to overcome those three factors, get the stern solidly in the slip, then move from neutral to forward and stop the boat before it hits your dock box.
But where do you get the nerve to do that?
By practicing.
If you belong to a sailing club, they probably have racing buoys. Borrow two and take them out into open water. Place them in the water to approximate the entrance to your slip.
Then practice driving the boat in reverse. Practice a lot. Specifically, include giving the boat power in reverse, and then using forward as a brake. Find out exactly how your boat responds to this, trying different speeds in reverse. And practice doing it while facing the stern instead of the bow. Facing the stern can work extremely well, but it is unusual enough that doing it can increase your level of stress, something you really don't need while learning to dock.
One of the hardest stressers to get over when learning to dock is the stress of giving your boat more speed right as you are deliberately aiming it at something hard (the main dock, in my case, a cement one. OUCH if I screw that up!)
This is why I'm writing this blog at this time. I am still new enough to sailing that I remember these fears/concerns/stresses in vivid detail. But even though I'm not an expert sailor, I look like one when I bring my boat into a slip, or dock it at the T-dock by myself, or pull it away from the T-dock by myself -- because I have practiced.
This is no different than playing a violin. Take up the violin by reading a book and never practicing, and you'll sound like a cat with his tail caught in a fan. Practice and you'll sound better. Practice a lot, and you'll get better far more rapidly. The guy who only read the book and never practices will always sound like that screeching cat.
This fellow has no choice. He needs to back into his slip, without hitting anyone else, with three forces working against him -- and that wind won't always be "slight." He really needs to be on top of his game for this maneuver, and he's smart enough to know that, which is why he's nervous.
The answer is to practice in open water until it just doesn't throw him. The first day, do it in light wind, and then repeat it again another day when the wind is stronger.
And get comfortable steering while facing the stern. Where the stern goes, the bow will follow (although just like parking a car, you occasionally have to look in all directions). One of his concerns was that the best approach might be backing up to the slip to begin with, but he doesn't trust his ability to steer the boat in reverse for 300'.
I can relate. I've had that fear.
The answer is simple.
PRACTICE.
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