Single Hand Docking R27 OB

[kjpower]

Hello,

We are considering an R27 OB, and wanted to ask for feedback from other R27 OB owners who often boat single handed on how you find docking solo without a pilot house door or remote controlled bow and stern thrusters.

Thanks so much,
Kori

 

[Submariner]

When I dock, most of the time I approach at a near perpendicular to the dock... then I ease the bow to port as I approach for a starboard tie. I use a suicide knob on the wheel so I can quickly turn the outboard hard to port or hard to starboard.

I basically do a 'hockey-stop' most of the time when docking. The final step in the 'hockey-stop' is to to turn the outboard hard to starboard and then put it in gear in reverse. This slows the boat's momentum and pulls the stern over towards the dock on the starboard side. This often will kick the bow out away from the dock a little. I tap the bow thruster towards the dock. The boat moves nearly laterally straight towards the dock. Then I throw the mid-cleat dock line out the starboard helm window onto the dock (already attached to the cleat) (I literally throw a wadded up dock line out the window onto the dock because at this point when I toss it, I am 1 foot away from the dock, or I've already bumped on the fender). I then turn off the engine and walk out of the cabin to step off the boat off the cockpit.

My wife is always with me on board so technically I'm not docking solo. But she doesn't work at all when I dock. She steps off easily, and calmly, and I'm a second or two behind her off the boat. There's rarely a need to lasso or throw a line or hook. Having directional control of the outboard and a suicide knob to be able to go forward, reverse, hard to starboard or hard to port quickly, makes docking easy.

 

[Submariner]

I would also add... in less than ideal conditions (i.e. wind or current or both). The bow thruster is less than useful as it's not strong enough to overpower moderate windows or currents. In this case, I back the back the boat in. With the outboard having directional control, the bow will follow right along wherever the stern goes.

 

[Fitz]

We took delivery of a new R27-OB about a month ago. At first, docking created quite a bit of anxiety, but I'm already extremely comfortable docking in tight situations with wind and current, following a similar process to what Martin described. I haven't docked solo, yet, though also like Martin, I'm usually off the boat and on the dock 2-3 seconds after my first mate and secure the lines. The maneuverability of the stern with the suicide knob, going between neutral, reverse idle, neutral, forward idle, makes it really manageable. I generally prefer reversing into our slip.

-Andrew
'Best Kind', 2021 R27-OB
Seattle, WA

 

[kjpower]

Thanks you Martin and Andrew, I appreciate the encouraging feedback. It’s nice to know that single hand docking is quite doable, and with practice may not even raise my blood pressure.

 

[baz]

I ran ny R27/OB solo most of the time.

Remember that docking is not a race. It's OK to back out of the docking maneuver and retry.... several times if necessary to get it right.

Practice is the best way to get comfortable with the docking with the outboard. On my outboard I placed a red tape down the center line of the outboard's casing, and this visually indicated which way the outboard was oriented. It's easy to get a bit confused in tricky docking situation (especially with a nasty beam wind moving the boat in unwanted directions), and the red line always gave me immediate clues on the engine's angle.

If dock in a wind, alway try docking on the windward side as this will allow the boat to be pushed up to the dock side. Docking on the lee side can be a bugger, even with the very powerful 300 HP motor.

It's alway good to point the bow at the dock side, and as you get close use the motor to kick the stern over to straighten up the boat. However, if you docking on the lee side with a strong wind the R27 will move very quickly away from the dock and not give you too much time to run from the helm to the cockpit and then onto the dock with a line in hand. I've had this issue several times and have had to organize my line to be attached to a mid cleat so I can at least get the boat back to the dock side without the bow hanging out in the fairway too far and being unable to get the boat somewhat lined up to the dock side.

If there are other boaters about and you're having trouble docking in windy conditions, they are more than likely to come to your aid.

The hardest part of docking is when trying to get into a small space between two other boats. It's kind of like parallel parking a car between to other cars.

Again, docking is not a race, take your time, back away if necessary and try again, even seasoned boaters make mistakes, other boaters may come to your rescue, and practice as best you can in your marina. I found the early mornings when my marina's fuel dock was empty and being alongside the guest docks that can be empty at times, makes a good space to practice, especial with no wind to complicate things. Remember, when the stern moves one way, the bow will move in the opposite direction 😉 .

Oh, and yes the bow thruster is really quite useless in windy or strong currents, unless the waters are calm, no current and no wind. Do not rely on the bow thruster too much. Just a slight wind on the boat's beam places quite a side force on the boat, and with the R27's flattish bottom it will move sideways quickly. I cannot count the number of times I've got alongside the dock, then running out to the cockpit only to find the boat has moved off several feet from the dock side... it can be a bugger at times when being solo.

 

[SLyle01]

On our R27, we found that having my First Mate use an extendable boathook to grab the dock works great in most conditions. Even solo, in mild winds I can just get centered into the slip, run back, grab the hook and hold to the dock with 1 hand while I toss the cleated mid-ship line onto the dock. Then I pull in close with the hook, jump off with the line and secure the boat. Biggest concern is bumping that yuuuge Yamaha engine into the bulkhead, which using the rigid boathook solves.