All these manoeuvres are more easily done when the boat has twin engines and propellers.

With twin engines and propellers you can stop using just the steering wheel to dock the boat.  This takes time and practice and experience comes by trial and error.  All idle speed handling is done with the gear levers and throttles, never the steering wheel.  The rudders are of no help at slow speed and will not steer the boat into the dock if you are inexperienced.  Practice relying on the throttle and gear lever to control the boat.  Play around with throttle speed and see how the boat behaves at differing engine speeds.  Use the rudders to push the stern where you want it, use the shifters to move the bow.

For example, if backing the boat in, dock port side and wind is coming from port side then turn the wheel 1/2 to full starboard (with experience you would probably wait to turn the wheel.  Start to back the boat in and you will find the stern is 2 feet away and the bow 3 feet away and still moving.  Put the gears into neutral because the boat is in but still moving backwards.  Put the starboard engine in forward gear and it will stop the boat and push the stern and bow to the dock.

If the wind is bad, have the starboard engine in forward the whole time, the port in reverse and add throttle to port only.  Beginners should never use the throttle around the dock.

Twin Engine – Twin Prop handling

The first thing to understand about docking situations is the need to stay calm and never engage in hasty control actions. That happens because basically boat 'skippers' don't know what to do, but just feel they have to do something. Many skippers are too cautious, and try to manoeuvre the boat so slowly that the wind or tide catches the boat and they loose control anyway. Others move too fast, applying one over-reaction against another. Be aware that the ONLY way skippers can learn to maintain precise control, without over or under-reacting, is by learning to develop absolute control of the boat.  And the only way to do that is by taking the time to learn and practice. Far too many would be skippers just won't bother, and that's why marinas on Saturday afternoon can be very entertaining just watching then inexpertly trying to dock their boats.

Like flying an aeroplane, expert boat handling takes both knowledge and some practice. Problem is, most newcomers to boating (that means someone who's been driving boats for '5' years or less) don't even use their boats often enough to even get the practice that they need. If they don't like being embarrassed with a crowd looking on, the best way to resolve this is to just take one day, maybe about 3-4 hours, for a dedicated practice session. Be aware that no one learns much in panic situations; we all learn the most when the pressure is off. Most people have never done this, and its amazing  how much their boat handling will improve by doing this. And after they done this once, chances are that they'll be motivated to keep on practising.

The drive-in approach is most useful when there is have plenty of space. Instead of trying to steer the boat into a docked position, ease the bow into the position as shown in the diagram. Then use the engine controls to swing the stern in flush to the dock. 

The first step in learning precision control is to become skilled at the use of throttles and gears. This is done by finding the time and right place to practice. A good time is on a weekday when there is little traffic; a good place is something like a dock , at the end of a T dock, where there is lots of manoeuvring room.  The objective here is to have a place near a large bulkhead dock where it is possible to use the dock as a point of reference.  All the while here the boat is going to be well away something like fuel dock, but close enough to use the dock as a gauge to see how the boat is moving.  Just make sure the dock isn't going to get in the way.

Hereafter P means port and S means starboard.

Practice using the controls, throttle and gear only, to control the boat. Understand, that if one engine is put in forward, and the other in reverse, the boat is going to pivot on its axis. Some boats will pivot precisely on it's axis, others will not. Now, if the throttle is increased  on one engine, and not the other, something different is going to happen. With the boat standing dead still in the water, put  S in forward and P  in reverse with both engines at the same speed, say 800 RPM. Just let it stay that way for a minute and take note of how the boat pivots. Is it turning precisely on its axis or not? Now increase the throttle evenly on both to 1200 RPM. Again, take note of how the boat turns, what kind of circle it is making. Play around with throttle speed and see how it behaves at differing engine speeds. The objective here is to learn how the boat behaves with these control inputs.

Next, bring both throttles back to idle (still in gear) and let the motion stabilize. Increase throttle on S, the engine in forward, to 1000 RPM but not on port. Now how does this affect the turning? Probably its going to turn faster, but in a wider radius.  Okay, now increase the P throttle to the same speed. Unless you have a big keel on your hull, the boat should now be turning on its axis more rapidly.

Now, with the gears in the same position (one in F, the other R), advance throttle on the one in reverse, while reducing throttle in forward. Pay very close attention to how this control combination affects the way the boat turns. The point here is to learn the control differences between putting more power on the engine in reverse, than the one in forward. Next spend some time playing around with throttle and shifters, increasing and decreasing engine speed on one or the other, to get the feel of how these actions control the boat. Don't worry about looking silly; its a lot more silly crashing into a dock.

Hands Off the Wheel!  After this, practice steering the boat without touching the wheel. At idle speed, say about 800 RPM, head off for about 50 yards and then make a sharp, right angle turn, using only the gears to make the turn. How is this being done?  By putting into reverse gear the engine on the side in the direction of turn. Control the radius of the turn by how much throttle is apply to one engine or the other.  Usually the reversed engine will give the sharper turn. After completing the turn, repeat this again and again until it is more or less possible to steer the boat around a square course, going straight, and then making sharp 90 degree turns. At this the throttle on each of the two engines is being used to control the turn rate. Pay attention to whether increasing throttle on the reversed engine works better than increasing throttle on the forward engine.

Okay, now put one hand on each of the throttles, with both engines in forward and control the boat using ONLY the throttles. Steer the boat by increasing and decreasing throttle speed.  Practice this exercise a bit until familiar with throttle steering. Then practice the full compliment of control techniques by running the boat around the imaginary square again. The various control combinations can become confusing, and this is one of the reason why panic situations occur while docking. Once sufficiently familiar with these combinations and manoeuvers, there will be no problems while docking. People get into trouble when docking because they over- react to a wrong control imput, thereby compounding the error.

Dancing:  This next exercise is going to resemble dancing.  Its an exercise in precision control, using the control inputs just learned. Move the boat forward and stop, move the boat forward and stop, each time holding the boat steady for a minute or two in that stopped position. 1-2, 1-2-3, 1-2, 1-2-3. With a bit of rythem. With the boat stopped, pick an imaginary spot on the water, say 100' ahead. Maybe some like floating debris, buoy, channel marker or something for reference. If  feeling comfortable doing this close to the practice dock,  but be sure that there is adequate room. Move forward to that spot and stop. Stop and try to hold the boat in a particular position relative to that spot for a few minutes. Now make an axial 90 degree turn, and again hold it. Repeat that. The boat should now be stern-to your imaginary spot, 100' feet out. Next, back into the original, starting  position and stop. Then rotate the boat in the opposite direction. Use imagination, but practice making the boat do exactly what driver wants it to.

Next, practice running the boat in reverse. When backing make sure the wheel is centered because in reversing the rudders WILL steer the boat somewhat more than in forward. Try to back along a straight line, using the gears to control direction. Make a sudden stop, then pivot 90 degrees again. The general idea here is to learn to make fast, sharp, precise movements while you learn to bring the boat to a complete stop in exactly the place you want it to stop. Plan ahead by saying to, "I'm going to move ahead 100' feet, stop, turn, move ahead, stop, turn, stop, reverse in the opposite direction, stop. Play around with this for about a half-hour or so and then move on to actual docking practice. Now that it is possible to control the boat precisely on the open water, you will be much better prepared to do the same in close quarters.

Docking.You should now be feeling confident that you can steer the boat at idle speeds with nothing but the controls. Our next exercise is in basic docking. Approach the T dock head-in or exactly perpendicular. Put the nose of the boat within about 10 feet of the dock. Slowly. If you have a bow pulpit, put the pulpit immediately to the right of a piling so you won't rip it off. You are going to dock port-side-to using the control techniques that you just practiced. At this point you are perpendicular to the dock, 10 feet away, as shown in the illustration below. Now ease the boat in until the bow is touching on the port side of the bow. Next, you put P gear forward and S in reverse.