By Stacy Wynn
Contributing Writer

No matter how experienced a boater you may be, there's nothing like attempting to dock in front of an audience to make your blood run cold. We've all seen it: you're seated at a waterfront restaurant as a shiny new express cruiser approaches. The guy at the helm appears poised, but as he closes in on the dock, disaster suddenly strikes.
As his passengers run forward to attach the bow line, the wake from a passing boat unexpectedly causes the stern to pivot away from the dock. The skipper tries to back off to make another attempt, only to find his helpful guests have by now secured the bow line with a knot that requires a chainsaw to loosen, leaving the boat as hard to control as a runaway garden hose on full. As curses and screams fill the air, the diners make a mental note: "forget boating-stick with golf."

The big three
Because a boat underway is subject to the influences of wind, water, and those on board, docking requires more then simply hanging a lot of fenders, "aiming for something cheap," and hoping for the best. Docking doesn't have to be an angst-filled experience, and can actually become simple-the trick is to break it into its three aspects: approaching the dock, communication skills, and line-handling.
The first thing to do is take a moment to determine the speed and direction of the wind and current. The easiest way to do this is to approach the dock with a specific plan on how, and then hold a position a few feet away to plan your approach. As you hover, preferably alongside, the boat will be moved by these natural forces, and you'll learn which way the current is going and how much of a factor the wind will be. Armed with this knowledge, it's just a matter of lining up for an approach that takes advantage of these forces to ease you smoothly into place.
By knowing which direction they are moving, you can determine the effect they'll have on your boat as you approach the dock, and use them to your benefit-think of it as "Using The Forces" or at least a better alternative to taking a course in fiberglass repair. Once you've decided on an approach, head into the tide or breeze, using both as much as possible as a cushion when you come alongside the dock.

Show them how
The next step involves securing the boat once it's alongside the dock, which is when communication becomes critically important. Once you've decide how and from which direction to approach the dock, take the time to tell your passengers what your plans are and what you want them to do.
Guests want to be helpful, but even if they are also skilled boaters, they can quickly flub a docking by trying to lasso the first piling they see, or if you're coming in to a slip, they'll invariably loop a line over a cleat on the opposite side you had in mind. Before you leave the dock on your cruise, take the time to show them how to attach a dock line to a cleat, how to secure it to the boat, how and where to deploy fenders, and how to secure the lines to the dock.
Assuming a guest will perform a task as well as you think you can do it yourself is a recipe for disaster. Having knowledgeable crew to assist is half the battle to docking smoothly, and if you've shown them what to do, and don't yell, they'll make you look like a Boat God. By specifically advising each guest what they should-or should not-do, such as deploying fenders over the side, or sitting still, you can avoid a lot of unpleasant surprises and yelling.
Of course, in many cases, the most helpful passenger is the one who sits quietly out of the way while the docking goes on around them. And if the approach isn't working as smoothly as you hoped, there's no shame in backing off to try again. Ignore anyone watching you, forget about trying to impress them, and focus on getting the boat safely tied up.
The technique is simple once you get the hang of it, and gets easier with practice, but it is a skill that can only be learned hands-on. Pick a calm day in an area with little or no boating traffic and no on-board judges like family or friends to critique your efforts. In most cases, it's probably best to separate husband and wives for these sessions-it's always better to learn without an audience to see all your flubs, and catty comments from a spouse would definitely be counter-productive.
At first, practice in open water-away from stationary objects. As you gain confidence, transition to floating objects like a buoy or floating dock to see how the theory works with hard objects-but ones without spectators.

The right lines
Having mastered the approach, the next stage is actually attaching the boat to the dock. Once you or your crew has deployed fenders to protect the side of the boat, (we're assuming you're not one of the boaters who just leave them hanging out over the side all the time), and everyone on board knows what they are tasked with doing, it's time to focus on dock lines.
The lines should be the length of the boat, and attached to securely-mounted cleats on the side of the boat closest to the dock. When tying off to the dock, keep it simple: one full wrap, a figure 8, and a half-hitch will hold anything short of a battleship securely. Make sure the dock line runs under the railing (to prevent it from being bent), and loop the excess in a neat pile next to the dockside cleat. The amount of dock line used should reflect the tide-if the tide is going out, leave enough slack to avoid inadvertantly having the boat hang from the dock. Conversely, if the tide is coming in, you'll need to periodically take up slack, as it's definitely bad form to allow your boat to drift into another.
The bottom line? Good dockers aren't born, they're made. With a little practice you'll soon be an old pro, and maybe even get applause from the dockside judges the next time you tie up at a waterfront restaurant or fuel dock. 
Stacy Wynn grew up boating on the waters of Long Island. She is a Contributing Editor at American Sportsman and American Homeowner Magazines. Her work has also appeared in Boating Magazine, Lakeland Boating, and The Boating News, among others. You can reach her at themariner@chespub.com