How To Dock And Stop A Sailboat

Alex Schulte: Hi, I am Alex Schulte with the Washington Sailing Marina's Summer Sailing School and I am teaching you how to sail. This is how to stop your boat and docking. In order to slow down or stop your boat, there are several things you can do. The first thing you can do is to let out your sail to dump some of the wind from your sail. Another thing you can do is put the tiller towards the sail, which will put you into irons and stop your boat completely. When docking, this is essentially what you want to do.

The first step in docking is to find the leeward side of the dock. This is the side that the wind hits second, also known as the downwind side of the dock. Sail down parallel to the dock about two boat lengths away, depending on the wind. Next, you want to put your tiller hard towards your sail until your sail is flapping of your head, meaning that you are pointing straight into the wind, which will slow you down. Now you will slowly glide into the dock where you will tie yourself up using a cleat knot and de-rig your boat.

Those were a couple of tips and pointers on how to sail, but remember, sailing can be dangerous and to really get into the sport you should prior take a course on how to sail.

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