What this site is
The Boat Docker is a free power boat docking simulator that runs in any modern web browser. There's nothing to download and no account to create. You set up a boat like yours, choose the wind and current, and bring it into a marina: past moored boats, around pilings, into a slip or alongside a pier. Then you hang fenders and run lines to the cleats to finish the dock. Each five-minute session is scored on how cleanly and securely you dock.
Alongside the simulator, the site publishes a training guide to operating the simulator, and articles about real-world boat handling: docking technique, wind and current, single- and twin-engine boats, prop walk, dock lines, thrusters, man overboard and moorings. They're written for new boat owners, people moving up to a bigger boat, and anyone who gets nervous on the approach to the dock.
Why we built it
Docking is the part of boating that makes even experienced skippers nervous, and it's the one skill you can't really practice without risking the boat, the dock or someone's fingers. You might dock a few times a weekend, always in whatever conditions happen to be there, and every mistake happens in front of an audience.
A simulator lets you dock a twin-engine boat in a 15-knot crosswind twenty times in a row, try it again without thrusters, and see exactly what each change does. It won't replace time at the helm, but it can help you understand how your boat responds before you're doing it for real.
The Boat Docker was the first in a family of free browser simulators from the same small team, each built around one real-world skill that's hard to practice: The Trailer Parker (backing a trailer), The Driver Tester (road-test maneuvers), The Drag Car Racer (quarter-mile drag racing) and The Train Yarder (a kid-friendly train yard).
How the simulator models a real boat
- Four boat setups. Twin-engine inboards or a single-engine I/O, each with integrated or separate shift and throttle controls.
- Weight and momentum. Boats from 5 to 60 tons. Heavier boats carry their speed and turning momentum longer and respond more slowly, and the boat drifts to a stop rather than stopping instantly.
- Steering that needs flow. Rudder authority depends on water moving past the boat, so steering is weak at docking speed, just like the real thing. Rudder effectiveness can be set low, medium or high.
- Twin-engine pivoting and prop walk. Opposed engines pivot the boat with no rudder at all, and near full lock the stern walks sideways around a pivot point.
- Thrusters. Bow and stern, bow only, stern only, or none.
- Wind, current and gusts. Wind pushes hardest broadside-on; current carries the hull wherever it points; gusts can be turned on for extra challenge.
- Fenders and lines. Lines behave like real mooring lines, pulling the boat back gradually rather than snapping rigidly.
- Nine scenarios. Three dock layouts, mooring buoys, passing boats at three speeds, a man overboard rescue and a fishing scenario.
- Two views and a coach. A 3D helm view and a 2D overhead view, plus a spoken coach.
How the site is funded
The simulator, training guide and articles are free. The site is supported by advertising served by Google AdSense, which appears on the home page and article pages, never on the simulator screen itself. See our privacy policy for how ads and analytics work.
Get in touch
Found a bug, spotted a mistake in an article, or have an idea for a new scenario or boat type? Email theboatdocker@gmail.com.