Hi! I’ve never been especially comfortable in docking and with spring rolling by I want to go back into the season with some more insight. What are the different types of docks and how would you approach them? Thanks!

It has taken me for.ev.er to get to this (sorry!), mainly because I had no idea how to answer it. I wasn’t immediately sure what you meant by “different types of docks” so I just posted pictures below of the three most common types of docks I’ve encountered and how I go into them. I used screenshots from Google Maps of Cornell’s docks, Marietta’s docks, and the docks at Occoquan (Sandy Run Regional Park) as examples so the instructions are somewhat specific to those ones but it really applies to just about any dock that’s set up similarly.

Related: Any tips on how to properly dock an 8+?

To be honest, pretty much every dock is exactly the same so as long as you know the traffic pattern you need to follow and use your common sense. I’d say docking as a skill is about 85% common sense and 15% knowing how to give proper instructions. By your 2nd year of coxing though you really should/need to be proficient at it. Problems only arise when coxswains overthink things and lose control of the boat because they don’t know what to do, which then opens up the door to the other eight people in the boat who all think they’re the one with the solution to start shouting out their opinions. The best thing you can do is just take your time and go slowly. 99.9999% of coaches would rather you creep into the dock at a snail’s pace and not hit anything than come in really fast and damage your $35k+ boat.

Collyer Boathouse, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)

*Note, this isn’t necessarily how the coxswains there dock. It’s just how I would do it based on observing them and my own experiences.

Step 1

Below the red dot you can be rowing by 4s, 6s, or all eight  – it doesn’t really matter. At the red dot you want to weigh enough and spin so that you’re pointed straight into the dock (which means you need to first know which dock you’re supposed to be landing on). Knowing where to stop ensures that you won’t have to row across and then spin again in order to be lined up. When you spin it you don’t want/need to use all the rowers either since you’re only turning about 45 degrees. If you use all eight rowers you will inevitably over-turn and then you’ll have to readjust and that’s just a massive waste of time. Unless it’s really windy out you should be able to use just stroke and bow to spin.

Step 2

Once you’ve spun you want to make sure that you’re pointed just off the side of the dock that you want to land on. You should always be able to see the entire dock that you’re trying to land on; if you can’t there’s a pretty good chance that you’re lined up directly with it instead of off to the side. In this case, if I’m trying to land on the inside of Dock 3 I want my starboard oars to look like they’re overlapping with the dock. When I line up to go in, if I’m looking at it from the red dot, I should appear to be just to the right of center between Dock 2 and Dock 3. (Looking at the picture below, pretend that the “collision” boat is trying to dock on the left side of Dock 2 (the middle dock).)

Step 3

From the red dot to the green dot I would row by pairs. The coxswains there will probably disagree with me but we saw a lot of collisions with the dock (or they missed it completely) because they were rowing by fours and coming in too fast. Unless it’s like, hurricane-ing outside, slower is always best when you’re trying to dock. (Use your common sense with your interpretation of “slower”.)

When going in by pairs, as I’ve said many times in the past, do not use anyone in bow four. You can row in with stern four if you want – that’s totally fine – but as you get within two lengths or so you need to drop down to pairs. You always dock using stern pair only regardless of what kind of dock it is. I literally don’t understand why that has to be explained as many times as it does but I’ll probably punch something if I have to explain it again to someone. Logically it does not make sense to do it any other way. You need someone to catch the dock when you’re rowing in, bow pair is the first one to get there, THUS they are the ones that have to reach a hand out and grab it. Also, if you’re coming in too fast, they’ve gotta be the ones to grab the dock and try to slow you down. Please tell me how they’re supposed to do any of that if you have them rowing. (Don’t though because whatever explanation you try to come up with is wrong.)

Step 4

When you’re within about 1/2 a length at the very least (yes, this requires you to know what that looks like) you should weigh enough and just float in to the dock. At this point you should say “oars up” so the crew knows to lean away and lift up their blades so they don’t ram into the dock.

Carl Broughton Boathouse, Marietta High School (Marietta, OH)

Step 1

Rowing upstream you want to stop at the first red dot, check to make sure no traffic is coming down the river (also the 2k course), and row across. When crossing I aim for a general area rather than a specific point since I know I’ve gotta stop and straighten out anyways so I usually shoot for somewhere about two lengths below the dock. If there’s traffic waiting to get on the dock I’ll either wait to cross if there’s more than one boat ahead of me or I’ll just aim below the boat in front of me.

Step 2

Once you’ve reached red dot #2 you want to weigh enough and get pointed (again using as few people as possible) upstream towards the dock. Same as with the first scenario, you want your oars lined up with the dock and the boat itself lined up just to the right of it.

Step 3

From here all you’ve gotta do is row by pairs up to the dock and weigh enough once you’re within half a length or so.

Sandy Run Regional Park (Occoquan, VA)

*I’m not positive if I labeled the right docks in terms of launching and docking but let’s pretend this is right…

Step 1

Docks like this that are set at an odd angle in a narrow stretch of water can be tricky only because of the traffic that can accumulate. Other than that, they’re actually the simplest ones to get into because you don’t need to stop rowing unless you have to because of traffic.

This one requires you to lightly steer as you come around the curve and then once you hit the general area of the red dot you can do one of two things. Unless you’ve been told otherwise, in tight spaces like this where there’s not a ton of room rowing by fours is your best option. When I’ve been at Occoquan or similar areas we’ve never been allowed to row by more than that anyways.

Step 2

If you’re rowing by fours (in a starboard rigged boat), in the vicinity of the launching dock and the red dot I would have 6-seat drop out and 5 + 7 increase their pressure while you steer around to starboard. It usually takes minimal effort to get lined up with the dock so you should be able to drop out 5-seat and coast in with your stern pair. The other thing you can do if you want/need to stop is have everyone weigh enough and then have your starboards check it down. This will also get you roughly pointed towards the dock, at which point you can make a quick adjustment with bow pair if you need to before rowing it in with stern pair.

General tips

Below are the general tips that I originally posted in the post I linked to at the beginning. If you do these things, take your time, maintain your composure, and give clear, concise instructions, you’ll be fine.

• Never come into the dock with anymore than stern pair rowing.
• NEVER come into the dock with bow pair rowing. I don’t know WHY some coaches teach this because it seems so completely illogical to me. If you think about what part of the boat is hitting the dock first, wouldn’t it make more sense to have the rowers who are hitting the dock last be the ones rowing?
• Don’t try and point towards the dock from the middle of the river. The current will pull you downstream and by the time you actually get to the dock, you’ll be at a 90 degree angle. Set yourself up so that even when you’re two or three lengths away, you’re only two or three feet off the dock from the end of the starboard side’s oars.
• If you end up taking too sharp of an angle to the point when your bow is on the dock but you are five feet off it, have your stroke back row.
• Account for the speed of the current and the wind as you make your approach.
• If you’re a novice, freaking out about docking is only going to make the actual event that much more shiteous (shitty + hideous). Yes, there is probably a 99% chance that you’re not going to get it right on your first try – most of us don’t. Your coaches know this and thus, they should be on the dock to catch you and prevent any avoidable damage to the boat. If they’re not there to help you, they’re more at fault than you are because you’re still learning. However, that does not exempt you from using your common sense. Be smart about docking and it will come much quicker and easier to you.
• Tell the rowers to be quiet so they can hear what you’re saying. Due to the trickiness of it, the rowers need to be listening at all times in order to hear when to lift their blades, when to lean away, etc.

Tags: coxswain docking how to qotd