Boat IQ for Guests

August 13, 2026

August is Boat Guest Month but its also an opportunity for you to appreciate that boating does not come naturally to most people.

Has this ever happened?  You pull into the dock to pick up your guests and your crew tosses a line off the bow. It falls at Guest4’s feet and they look on bewildered.

Let’s back up a step. Suppose you tossed the line to Guest3 and that person caught it.  Now we are getting somewhere.  One more try; the crew tosses the line to Guest2, who catches and pulls on it to help the boat dock.  This is probably a guest that has been out before or grew up at a cottage.

But how about this – the crew tosses the line to Guest5 who gently docks the boat then wraps the line on the dock cleat and finishes it with a half hitch for security. Where did that person come from – outer space?  No, it was simply a boat natural who had perhaps been on a few boats and paid attention.

Boats are not intuitive. It takes time for non-boaters to learn to get aboard without bouncing the lunch off the cockpit table.  And that assumes they’re not wearing heels or clogs.

The message here is to be informative and be patient. You’re on top of boating procedures, are aware of the wind and weather and waves. To you it’s simple, to them not so much.  Good boat skills take time to learn.

John Morris, Online Editor

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