NauticEd’s Maneuvering Under Power and Docking course is designed to give you total control when the stakes are highest: tight marinas, strong wind, and tricky cross-currents. Learn the techniques and understand the physics so you’re calm and confident at the helm. Whether you’re a new sailor or brushing up your skills before your next charter, this course is a must for all sailors.
The Art of the Approach: 90-45-22 Docking Explained
Docking a keelboat doesn’t have to be stressful, especially when you understand approach angles and how to work with your boat’s prop walk instead of against it. In this quick instructional video from pro sailor and instructor Graham Sharp at Satori Sailing School in Marblehead, Massachusetts, we walk you through the docking maneuver known as the 90-45-22 approach, using prop walk to your advantage for a smooth and controlled docking.
Whether you’re just starting out or just refining your technique, this step-by-step demo includes several insights that will make your next docking maneuver feel effortless.
Watch the video below to learn docking approach angles with propwalk.
Docking Video Transcript
So, here we are doing every keelboat sailor’s favorite thing—docking.
One of the first things you want to figure out when docking—especially if you’re on a charter boat that isn’t yours—is whether the boat has a right-hand or left-hand drive propeller.
A quick way to determine this is to put the boat in reverse and see which way the stern moves. In our case, the stern moves to port. That tells us this particular boat has a right-hand drive prop, which means the prop spins left when in reverse.
This creates something called prop walk, which pulls the stern to port when you’re in reverse.
So what does this mean for us? Well, the best way to dock this boat is to come in with the port side to the dock so we can use that prop walk to our advantage.
We’re going to use what we call a 90-45-22° approach. That means we’ll start our approach at about 90 degrees to the dock. It might seem a bit illogical, but it’s all about getting our speed and positioning just right.
We’re currently in forward idle, coming in at about 90 degrees to the dock. As we get to just under a boat length away, we’ll shift our approach to about 45 degrees. I’m still in forward idle, but I’m about to shift into neutral as we angle in at 45 degrees.
Now comes the fun part: a game of chicken. I’m going to see how close I can get the bow to the dock before I start “walking it down.”
So here we go—walking the bow down… walking down, walking down… and just at the right moment, I’ll throw the boat into reverse and use that prop walk to pull the stern in and settle us neatly alongside the dock.
You can learn more in the Docking and Maneuvering Under Power Online Course....
The Docking and Maneuvering Under Power online sailing course is your go-to resource for learning how to dock and maneuver large sailboats. Master tight marinas, prop walk, and perfect approaches to be confident and competent at the helm in any conditions.