Two Evenings on a Rinker 342 at Anchor Bay

The Brief

Andrew works a full day, and he owns a 2003 Rinker Fiesta Vee 342 with twin 350 MAGs at Sundog Marina off Anchor Bay. He wanted coaching. He could not do a full weekday. So we ran two evening sessions instead, one calm and one windy, and covered what a single day would have covered. It worked, and it is something I am happy to do for owners who want the coaching but need it around a schedule.

We started at 1645 both nights.

How the First Evening Went

Partly cloudy, mid-70s, light and variable winds. Fair conditions to open with.

Engine room inspection turned up a punch list. Kinked hose on the starboard engine. Broken dipstick on the starboard engine. Oil levels above the recommended range on both engines. Standing water in the bilge that had clearly been there a while. Battery terminals with corrosion that needed cleaning. Belt tension worth rechecking. Generator not operational. All of it noted, none of it a reason to cancel the evening. The oil overfill did mean we were going to keep the training close to the dock and low-speed. You do not run overfilled engines up on plane.

Shift cables were stiff enough to be worth replacing over the winter. Not something you fix at dusk in a slip. Something you plan for.

Once out of the marina, I demonstrated how to find center on the wheel and how to run the boat with the shift levers alone, no steering wheel input, to simulate the kind of close-quarters work you do inside a marina. Andrew ran multiple sets stopping the boat and rotating it in place. We ran north-south courses, stopped, rotated 180, and realigned on a fixed target. Then we ran it again with more rpm, smoothly. Backing exercises next, to build a feel for how she moves in reverse. Then back to the marina at 1000 rpm, which is her max no-wake speed.

At the marina, Andrew practiced bow-in entries from both directions in nearly calm water. He worked the shift levers, kept the wheel steady, and let short controlled thrusts do the work. Backed out the same way. Then stern-in approaches from both directions, adding a single dock line to simulate the effect of wind or current pulling on the boat. With a single bow line secured, he learned to walk the stern of the boat toward the dock against the current. Wrapped at 2030.

How the Second Evening Went

Same 1645 start, and this time the wind cooperated. Twelve to 15 knots. Different night entirely.

Opened with a deliberate departure using forward gear to generate enough momentum to overcome the wind, then stopped the vessel in the channel once we were clear. Then we used the two outer poles of Andrew’s well as a stand-in for a fuel dock or restaurant wall. I demonstrated placing the bow on a pole into the wind and holding station long enough for the bow to be secured, letting the operator walk the stern into the dock. Then we practiced getting off the wall by rotating off the bow and walking the stern out. Andrew ran the drill multiple times and got sharper with each pass. Then we ran the same concept with the stern as the secured point instead of the bow. More repetitions, more improvement. The reasoning behind all of this is written up in leaving the dock in wind.

Between exercises we ran back into the channel in real wind and rotated for the next approach. That is where you learn the boat, throttle feathering, and what happens when you let the wind get too much of the bow.

Once the pole work was clean, we moved to sterning the boat into the well proper. The outer poles served as guides while Andrew stepped the boat into position with controlled applications of reverse and forward. In the slip, he practiced rotating either the bow or stern to the dock to catch a line, then walking the opposite end alongside by rotating against the secured line.

The last exercise was a simulated single-engine failure. Andrew ran the boat on one engine, worked turns and rotations to both port and starboard using the wheel, and then docked bow-in on that one engine. He nailed it. That drill is worth running every couple of seasons. Boats break. Better to feel it in a controlled setting than the first time out of the box.

Repositioned for a stern-in tie, secured all lines, plugged in shore power, wrapped at 2020.

What He Took Away

Andrew got the coaching he wanted on a schedule that fit his life. Two evenings, two very different sets of conditions, and a clean list of skills he had at the start versus at the end. The engine room punch list is real, and none of it should stop him from running the boat once the oil levels are corrected. Shift cables get scheduled for the off-season. Freshwater leak addressed. Then we can do a day session with drive trim, tab work, and wake crossings.

If your schedule looks like Andrew’s, we can build a coaching plan around it. Let’s talk about your route.