Well done sir. I have a catalina 27 and docking is either a great event, or a life harrowing experience. Was in a previous marina with a massive current- one wrong move and you would be slammed sideways into the boats on the opposite slip. Now enjoying life where I can float in without power, exactly like you did. Added ten years to my life...
Now that's the way it's done - no throttle and steering it in, then getting a line to the dock ASAP. 'Throttle is NOT your friend!' - my advice to motorboaters when I was at WM. I've seen too many people way overcorrect with throttle and it just becomes a mess. Well done, Brian!
That looks easy. Hold my beer! All of life's worst sailing experiences come while docking (hopefully!). I keep a picture taken from the dock the first time I docked a much bigger (charter) yacht than I'm used to (38ft) stern to. It's good I'm wearing sun glasses so you can't see the sheer panic I felt. All I could think of was the humiliation. If the bill for getting it badly wrong had crossed my mind I'd never have tried...
Had a 9.9, now a 6. Overall prefer the 6. It's noisier and has less power, but its idle speed is slower and more controllable, which makes docking much easier. '83 Cat 25
