If you’ve clicked Start Docking and watched that Score counter sit at zero while the clock runs down, here’s what’s actually being judged — and how to run it up.
The goal is 100 points, and you get five minutes to get there. Unlike a single graded maneuver, The Boat Docker keeps the session open: dock (or rescue, or trailer-load) once, bank your points, cast off, and go again. Every completed attempt adds to a running total, and nothing ever hard-resets you — even a collision just costs you speed and a nudge, not the attempt.
Each completed dock is worth up to 100 points, broken into four pieces:
- Lines — securing three or more cleats earns the most, with two or one still counting for less. One line is all it takes to be “docked,” but more (and keeping them taut) pays better.
- A clean approach — if you haven’t clipped anything since your last dock, that’s worth real points on its own.
- Efficiency — dock within 45 seconds of casting off for the top tier, within 90 for a partial credit, or take your time for none.
- Tautness — snug lines score higher than slack ones.
Standard Dock has a second way in: drive straight onto the boat carrier, bow toward the winch, no lines needed at all. That scores on the same 100-point scale, just weighted toward how centered you land in the cradle instead of how many cleats you tied off.
Man Overboard and Fishing work the same way in reverse — reach the swimmer or the fish, approach gently, and avoid bumping anything on the way, and you’re scored on the same four-part scale.
Then there’s the conditions bonus. Wind and current don’t just look nice on the gauges — they cut your rudder authority and shove the hull off-line the whole way in. Dock or rescue in moderate wind/current and you’ll pick up 10 extra points; do it in genuinely severe conditions and that’s 20 more, on top of the core 100. Pick tough conditions at setup, and a single clean attempt can clear the pass threshold on its own.
Faults work the other way. Clip the boundary, a pier, or a moored boat and you’ll shed points and dirty your next approach score. Strike the swimmer on Man Overboard and it’s a steep 40-point hit — the one hazard worth genuinely slowing down for.
Five minutes, unlimited attempts, and every line, every second, and every gust of wind on the table. Go bank some points.