How to dock a 210??

[rabbit]

Ok, this boat seems to back up in a different direction than my 'Bu did. I used to pull into the dock cut the wheel left and hit reverse and slide right up. tried it the other day in the 210 and just ended up backing away from the dock, friends got a big kick out of it. Need some advice on how you guys pull up to pick everyone up.

[Chris4x4Gill2]

I think the prop rotation is opposite of your old boat. Same principle will apply, you jsut need to come in to the dock on the opposite side of the boat.

[chris196]

You need to come in from the opposite side. It will be have similar to your BU from the other way.
But, if your docking situation doesn't allow that, it will be tougher. I had a situation where I was on the "wrong" side of the marina for how my boat backed. I would go into the marina, do a full 180 in very tight quarters, then approach my slip like I was exiting the marina. Then I had the advantage of the backing with me instead of against me.
I have a DD instead of a VD, so not sure it's exactly the same, but you can rotate 180 degrees in a very small space. I could do it in a 25' space in a 20' boat. Just takes some practice and of course, go slow. And don't use much throttle in forward. You use much more throttle in reverse.

[rabbit]

yeah...I need practice LOL...it was really easy in the Bu to dock by myself and catch the boat before it touched the side of the dock. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing something wrong!

[SkiTower]

what year is your 210? I believe I've heard they reversed prop rotation at some point? I agree, my 211 allows me to dock on the driver side. Love it!

[Nautiquehunter]

Come to the dock at about a 45 degree angle when the noise is close turn the wheel to swing the rear in then put it in reverse and let it move into the dock. I still have my DD it is reverse rotation of the VD it just takes some getting use to. Practice practice practice it will come.

[Rick]

Practice Practice Practice

It just takes some getting used to I swing the back of the boat into the dock more forcefully and then use the reverse to slow down the rate of swing to just touch the dock. Try it in open water first so you don't hit the dock hard .

[jimmyj]

attack the dock on your port side about a 30 degree angle btw you and dock. idle up, about 5 ft away, give her a little reverse kick and shes in there like swim wear. youll get used to it.

i always cuss my buddys' bu when backing. keep in mind, well mine seems this way, that the turning in reverse is more significant in my 210 than other manufacturers. just seems to turn more faster.

also, if you rudder almost all the way to the right and give it a little kick in reverse, you can get it to swing the opposite way, like a bu or mc or what have you.

[rabbit]

the boat is an 03 SAN210. I had it down with the Bu...If this is the only kink i have from going from a Bu to this boat I will be extremely happy.

[WakeSlayer]

It just takes some getting used to I swing the back of the boat into the dock more forcefully and then use the reverse to slow down the rate of swing to just touch the dock. Try it in open water first so you don't hit the dock hard .

This is what I do, also. It drives me crazy that they switched the prop rotaion to LH now on the Vdrives.

I good way to practice is to throw a vest or cushion in the water and put your swim deck to it.

[xrichard]

I much prefer the old rotation (the one you have) for docking because you can easily stop the boat from hitting the dock.

I used to come in on the starboard (driver's side) slowly at about 30 degrees to the dock. When the bow is almost to the dock, turn hard left...that starts the back end swinging toward the dock. Then, as the stern approaches the dock, put the boat in reverse. That stops forward movement and it stops the stern swing to the dock. You'll stop parallel slightly off the dock....

IMHO, so much easier than the current prop rotation (and that of your 'bu) which doesn't allow you to stop your stern from swinging into the dock when approaching on the starboard side. I find the old rotation better and safer for picking up riders, too, for the same reason. It's probably just because I got used to on my old sport nautique...

[bkhallpass]

Interesting. Often seems to be issues when folks move from a standard rotation to a reverse rotation. Never seems to be an issue when moving from a reverse to standard.

In my opinion, it's practice. If you can't dock on either side of the boat, whether right or left hand rotation, you haven't practiced enough, and can't fully handle a boat.

BKH