I’m very happy the few extra steps taken during filming and editing paid off! Thank you very much for watching and for sharing your feedback. Cheers!

This is very nice to hear! Thank you for the great input! I’m happy to hear people find this valuable. Honestly the most stressful part of this whole thing for me was flying the drone over the water , so I’m very glad the shot turned out 🤣 Thanks for watching and the great input! Cheers

Yeah, it turned out great. It’s so helpful to see things like the positioning when you start the turn, how you deal/strategize what to do with the piling, etc. Also, thanks very much for this being a back up into slip video. That’s obviously the more daunting one to think about. Thank you!

While backing down can seem more daunting, I actually think it can be a little easier. when backing down, you have all of your immediate control at the stern of the vessel, so you have more control of where your stern moves than if you were to be bowing in without a bow thruster. (If that makes sense?)

I am very happy to hear you are enjoying the channel and videos. Thank you very much for watching and for the great feedback! I’ll do my best to keep bringing the great content!

Super happy you enjoyed the video! If it can help others feel comfortable with their vessel, that’s all I can ask. Happy to help! Thank you for watching and commenting!

Does that mean no Connie !?

Sorry for the delay in response. This is a great comment and I am super happy to hear that you are learning from the videos! Good for you for taking the steps to study and try to learn as much as you can. That will be a huge help to you and your father as you guys start with your new vessel. Congrats and good luck! Reach out if you ever have any questions. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much! When I was a young captain looking for videos, I too couldn’t find anything out there with the views I was looking for, guess that helped me design these shots. Welcome to the channel! Thank you for watching and for your input! Cheers!

Wow, that’s a great compliment. Thank you very much for watching and for your kind words! I’m very happy you liked the video! Cheers!

I am very happy to hear you enjoyed the video and that it has been helpful! Thank you for watching and commenting!

That’s great to hear! 💪🏼 thank you for watching and for your feedback!

Love this story! And yes I totally agree about the feeling of the bridge of a sportfish and that view just does something to you. This was the second yacht I ever learned to drive, the other being a 480 Sundancer. This still holds a special place in my heart and I jump at the chance to get back behind the helm of it whenever I can. Thank you for watching and sharing your story, really enjoyed it! Cheers, and call me when you hit that powerball 😎

I hoped this one might get some decent feedback, happy to know you like it! Thanks for watching!

There will definitely be some videos made during winter storage runs. Stay tuned 💪🏼

@@ElevateYacht Now that will be something! Thank you so much, Captain Dan

Wow that’s awesome to hear! I’m no film major so it’s great to know you guys like the camera work! Thank you for watching and for the great feedback! Cheers!

I’ve been running this vessel for about 8 years now, so I’ve had plenty of practice on it by now, it definitely does take time and practice to get the movements of each vessel down. Thank you very much for watching and for sharing. I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Cheers 🙌🏼

This is a very kind comment and is really appreciated! Thank you very much for watching and for sharing your feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed the video! Cheers!

I’ll never tire of seeing that skyline. Such a beautiful backdrop for our boating. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers

I’m glad the multiple angles helped! It took a little extra work but it’s all worth it if you guys benefited from it. Thank you for watching and sharing! Cheers!

Thank you very much Greg! I appreciate you watching and your feedback! Cheers

Very good point. We use to have 34' Tollycraft and those short bursts were not how we did it. We took the boat out of gear, let it slide toward the slip, then engaged the reverse/drive gears once until the boat turned around toward the slip. But this method seems very effective.

As always, your thorough and detailed feedback is very welcomed and appreciated. I am very happy to hear the video is well received. I’m always critical of my own work and wasn’t sure if the video was “good enough”. I totally agree that learning to dock without technology assistance first is the best method. That way you’ve always got the base to fall back on. Thank you for watching and for your support 🙌🏼

@@ElevateYacht I have two buddies of mine buying their first Bluewater boats and they are jumping into the mid 40 foot range without ever owning a boat before. I have encouraged them to take the time and watch these videos and try to understand the complexity of a twin screw boat with or without bow thruster’s. But I think the one critical piece of information that you are very good at relaying is take your time. small movements= controlled movement, big movements can lead to big mistakes. I really do appreciate it and the next time I’m in Chicago I hope to come by. I’m sitting here watching the Ryder Cup thinking how wonderful it would’ve been to take a boat out of Chicago up and set the hook off the coast and watch them live in Kohler Wisconsin. Someday.

Many of my clients do that trip. The lake was very wavy (over 15’ waves) so many were forced to cancel the trip. Today would be perfect out there. I really appreciate you sharing my videos and I would be thrilled to know that your buddies learn something valuable from them. Being able to share my knowledge and experiences to help others is what it’s all about. Thank you for passing that along! And absolutely let me know when you’re swinging through Chicago. I’d love to meet up

“Walking” the boat is definitely doable and very easy to show on a vessel like this with the torque and props she’s got. I’ll have to see if I can schedule some more time w this girl to do some additional shooting. Thank you for watching and commenting!

@@ElevateYacht OMG!!!-please do a sideways BOAT walking video- it's GONNA FREAK YOUR SUBSCRIBERS OUT DAN!!!.

I'm looking to get a twin engined jet boat, with the correct reverse gates you can get completely smooth sideways movement.

super late reply here, sorry for the delay... unfortunately, I do not have much experience with jet propulsion vessels, outside of the standard jet ski. I would not be able to provide a response based on past experience. If/when I get my hands on one of these vessels, I will let you know! Thank you for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much! I just spent the day on a 2021 Viking 42 and the controls are so much different now days. Granted, it’s a nice looking set up and great integration of a bow thruster if needed, but still, classic and old school way is great. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers!

This is so nice to hear! I am very happy to hear the video has helped you and that you enjoyed it! Thank you very much for watching and for sharing your very kind feedback. Cheers! 🙌🏼

Thank you for watching and for the feedback on the video. Really glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!

Thank you very much! I’m glad you’re enjoying the channel. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much! I’m glad you enjoyed the video. The conditions helped it look easy today, not always that easy ha! Thank you for watching and for commenting. Cheers!

I’m glad you enjoyed the video, better late than never I suppose. Hopefully some of the other videos on the channel might be able to help. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Great suggestion! I definitely would like to do some more videos like this but they will take some planning and a more than just myself to film properly. I will be planning to have more of these types of videos ready for next spring! Thank you for watching and for the great suggestion! Cheers

Missed this comment, sorry for the delay! We definitely need some offshore battle wagons with the waves we can get out on the Great Lakes. A freshwater Viking is a thing of beauty and I’m very happy to be able to captain one of them. Thank you for watching and sharing your experience! Cheers 🙌🏼

Thank you for watching and commenting!

That’s awesome! Great work! There is an art to just the sticks, well done. thank you for watching and commenting!

i wondered the same thing about the shifting, it seemed a bit unnecessary as well as potentially detrimental to the hardware. not a call out of the operator, just something i myself would keep in mind on my own boat.

Thank you very much for watching and for the kind words! Cheers

I’m glad you liked the extra angles! The drone was an angle I’ve wanted to incorporate for a while now but flying the drone and docking the vessel at the same time isn’t too easy on my own ha. Plenty more to come in the future. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Beautiful boat! Congratulations on the new boat. Thank you for watching, very happy to hear the video was helpful. Cheers!

can't beat a big Viking sportfish!

Thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words and the views! Cheers!

Thanks for watching and commenting!

I’m glad they turned out as well as they did. Captaining the vessel was less stressful than flying the drone. Doing both at the same time had the adrenaline going 😂

I’m glad you enjoyed the video and appreciate the technique. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers

Thank you for watching and for your helpful feedback. I appreciate the input!

I was thinking the same. Although he is very good at manouvering the boat this way, the transmission and other components might not like it.

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Cheers!

Thank you for watching and commenting. I appreciate the kind words!

Thank you for watching and for the great feedback. I appreciate the comment! Cheers

I can see by the way your bumping the gear shifts you have completely manual hydraulic gearboxes, no electronic gear shifts like my boat a 2000 65, Viking sportfish,

You are correct. Hynautic. This vessel is 1994. Electric would be great but after 7 years with this vessel, I’m used to it. Thank you for watching and commenting! Beautiful boat you’ve got by the way!

@@ElevateYacht my previous boat was a Bertram 54’ which had the Hynautic gear and throttle levers, the gear levers worked great but were a miserable failure when used for the throttles. The fluid used to leak past the piston seals continuously, both master and slave, yes I spent countless hours working on those pistons, many times I just wanted to rip them out and throw them overboard! gawd it was annoying! 😡 eventually the boat got sold and that was the end of my unpleasant experience those things. 😏

Hah man do I feel your pain there. I’ve spent plenty of time refilling, repressurizing and miscellaneous work on these things. We’re about to switch the vessel over to electric since our trolling valves have started to go and they are no longer replaceable 🤦🏼‍♂️

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Cheers 🙌🏼

Thank you very much! Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much for watching and commenting. Cheers!

Very happy to hear you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! Glad you enjoyed the video 🙌🏼

Vikings definitely have that classic sportfish look. I’m very happy you enjoyed the video! Thank you for watching and for your kind words! Cheers!

No problem Capitan, I'll look for more videos and look for you on FB . I have a 81 silverton C getting used to it

Freedom is a great word! Sure there is some stress and a lot of responsibility but when you’re out on the open water, running a large machine like this, freedom is spot on. And hey, never say never! When you’re ready for your yacht, give me a buzz and I’ll take care of you 💪🏼 Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers!

Very nice! Fellow Chicago boater. Welcome to the channel! Thank you for watching! Cheers

She misses you!

Thank you Captain! Thanks for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much for watching and commenting! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!

Thank you for watching and for the kind words. Cheers!

I’ve always wanted to come early or stay after the show to watch the process and participate in the moves. We are down at every show and it’s always very impressive for sure. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers 🙌🏼

Thank you very much for watching and for the kind words! Cheers!

I think it depends on the specific docking scenario, but personally I like to use the midship spring as the first line I affix. Rear facing if I am sterning in or forward facing if bowing in. This is because it will prevent the vessel from going too far into the slip and if it is windy, you can use the outside engine to help pin the vessel to the dock. The trolling valves will allow us to troll as slow as 1mph. This Viking is not currently for sale but the owners would be willing to talk about offers. These owners bought her brand new - one owner, 100% fresh water and always indoor heated stored during winter. She’s great. Thank you for watching and for your great questions!

Docking can always be a bit stressful but with the right amount of practice you can channel that adrenaline into focus and being “in the zone”. Thank you very much for watching and commenting!

Thank you for watching and for the good advice. I appreciate the input. Cheers!

They definitely bite that’s for sure, that’s what beast 29” props will do hah. Great catch! Chris Craft makes a beautiful vessel. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Thank you very much! Honestly off the top of my head I don’t remember the specific RPM but with her monster props, she does scoot a bit around the docks. Easy enough to pop in and out of gear or stick to one engine. It does really help around the dock for maneuvering in tight spaces, especially in a wind. Thank you for watching and commenting!

Totally agree. I learned from an old salty captain who taught me exactly that. Even if you’ve got the thrusters or other assistance, know how maneuver the vessel at its most basic first. Thank you for watching and sharing! Cheers

@@ElevateYacht You know it is funny when I first saw boats with joysticks, thrusters, etc. I thought "How Confusing" LOL

Dang that’s super cool! I can appreciate any proper sportfish and especially an older well cared for vessel. Of course it’s easy to love the newest and most technological advanced but I’m good with a classic yacht any day. Thank you for watching and for sharing your set up! Best of luck with your vessel! Cheers!

I’ve captained a number of boats that have that momentary delay that you describe. It definitely takes a little getting used to. Surprising to hear the bow thruster is not too helpful. Was it added aftermarket? Has it always been that way? I’ve seen batteries causing poor thruster performance at times, might want to check to see they are correct size and if they need replacing.

@@ElevateYacht it’s factory installed, however I am pretty sure that the original bow thruster electric motor burnt out and was replaced with a much smaller motor, either they couldn’t get the correct replacement or they didn’t want to spend the money on it. 😏 so I’m just living with it for now.

That is a great way to position yourself for docking, especially with a setup like that! Thank you for watching and sharing! Cheers

@@ElevateYacht ... I was 13-14 yrs old when I learned that technic ... then we moved from Conn ==> to the Chesapeake. And not too many people knew of this technic there ... so they where watching a 15-16 yrs old back-down and dock a 30ft Cruiser in the "City Dock" in Annapolis. People thought I was "showing off" ... I would point them to the "SS rub-rails" ... no marks, no creosote ... cause I did not lay her against the pilings ... next my father's friends had me docking their boats or even teaching ( by the marine owners reference ) the new owners how it was done ... then I learned how to race sailboats ... HaHa ...

That sounds like an amazing way to grow up! That’s one area that I have not yet had the pleasure of boating and I would love to make my way out there soon. Super cool story! Thanks for sharing 🙌🏼

"face aft and work the engine controls backwards ... but they operate in the direction of travel ..." LOL you just took the mystique out of that method.

Unfortunately, I do not work with twin out drives too often so it would be more difficult for me to give you pointers off the top of my head. If I were at the helm of one, I could give more real-time suggestions as I feel and experience the differences. My old boat was a single Merc Alpha One, so docking that was even more goofy than your twins. Thank you for watching and commenting. Hope the videos can give you a little bit to work with and tweak as needed for your out drives. Cheers!

These throttles are on an old hydraulic pump system that doesn’t always engage if I do the short bursts like I’m doing here. Hence some of the extra movements shown. My goal is to give the props a very short burst into gear then back out. This is specifically what these marine gears are made for and it’s super helpful in close quarters around the dock. But yes, like you said, the movements I do mean nothing of the transmissions don’t engage. On this vessel, which I’ve been running for 10+ years, I’m used to the program and am ok to make a couple extra movements to get the thrust im looking for just right. If I were to leave them in gear longer it could mean more movement than I’m hoping for. Thank you for watching and for the great question. Really appreciate you watching! Cheers

You’re absolutely right, you definitely need to think multiple steps ahead and have options in case things change - as the most likely will. If docking on your own, I find things like pre lining your dock with fenders and having lines already on the dock is helpful. Look into Line Caddy’s which hold your dock lines up off the dock and make them easier to grab from the vessel. Definitely practicing on calm days is a good plan. I like to take clients to a spot in a marina that has multiple open docks next to each other so you’ve got plenty of room to practice and you’re not risking bumping other vessels when practicing. Thank you for watching and sharing your story. Best of luck with your new boat. Exciting time for sure! Cheers

Don’t I know it! Every day at the dock brings new challenges, that’s half of the fun! Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers

Thank you very much for watching and the kind words 🙌🏼🙌🏼

@@ElevateYacht When you can drive like that man you deserve all the kudos in the world congrats…💪

I do not currently have any clients with twin I/Os, but I will keep my eyes open for any opportunities 💪🏼 thank you for watching and commenting!

Many vessels have blowers that automatically turn on with the ignitions. Diesel fumes are not nearly as flammable as gasoline though. Still not a bad habit to keep. This vessel was up and running before we started the video to save time and such. Thank you for watching and for the good question!

I do get this question or comment often but I believe it’s a bit understood. Simply shifting in and our of gear is what marine transmissions are made to do - often. Marine Transmission clutch plates are designed to last many tens of thousands of hours, even factoring in wear, but oil contaminants can cause more immediate problems. The main factor for keeping a marine transmission in proper working condition is keeping up with the required maintenance. Many people loop transmission maintenance with general engine maintenance, which is not the answer. Transmissions actually require oil changes twice as often as engine oil. This is due to the sacrificial nature of clutch components. Particulates in the oil, copper and lead from clutches, and iron from bearings are what can cause damage if left to circulate throughout your oil without proper maintenance and oil changes. So, yes, transmissions can eventually go bad or have issues, but not simply due to shifting in and out of gear. They can go bad due to improper maintenance and service schedules. I hope this helps to explain in a bit more detail. Thank you very much for watching and for your great question! Cheers

@@ElevateYacht thank you for the great detailed response. It helps a lot.

Not sure I follow with the dislike button? Thank you for watching and commenting. Hope you enjoyed the video! Cheers

@@ElevateYacht There's no way to filter out bad content by reviews(dislikes). So high end quality content like your video doesn't trend naturally because people rather just press play because of clickbait thumbnails. And I'm sure this isn't alien to you if you actively make youtube videoes..

Great feedback! Thank you for the kind words. Yeah the whole algorithm and science behind the videos is something I haven’t overly dug into. It’s enough work making and editing the videos, I’d need another job just to deal with the SEO portions ha. I enjoy making the videos and getting quality feedback from people like yourself. If the videos help entertain and educate, then I’m happy. Thank you again for the comments and for watching. I really appreciate it!

@@ElevateYacht Sure, and I get that you don't want to deal with the politics of this stuff and just focus on your work. But consider to start to upload to platforms like Rumble too when you don't yet have that many followers on yt. You're doing very good work and there could be some real possibilties there as they're now publically listed on nasdaq. It's just one of those things you have to jump on when it's still relatively small. Just a tip. You don't have to respond or thank me for the criticism or anything. I get that you're nice and bla bla bla. We all get it. if I made videos I would at least look into it.

Great question. What engines do you have in your vessel? I’ve often seen different engines have different timing when engaged. I am not sure if this is something that is adjustable, but I will do a little digging into it for you. Thank you for watching and commenting!

It’s a great boat name and very appropriate the the owners of that vessel. Their old captain joking mentioned that should be the name because they never showed up on time for any planned trips, and the name stuck hah

This is a great question! If there are strong winds or currents, or if you are needing to birth between two vessels along a face dock, one might consider using rudder to help with sharper angles. Typically, I just use the gears and no steering. When training new boaters, I find that adding the steering into the docking equation can lead to further confusion and one more working part to contend with. Another reason is too much steering can cause them to forget the location of the rudder and if the rudder isn’t centered, the boat won’t react to the inputs the way you are anticipating, which can cause more stress and confusion when docking. I try to remove all possibilities for extra stress/confusion when training docking. I hope this helps give my insight. Thank you for watching and for your great question! Cheers!

I’ve definitely had this bad boy in a heavy side wind like that. Chicago winds can be rough. Unfortunately, I don’t typically plan to take client vessels out on days like that, so planning videos isn’t as easy. If it were my own vessel, it may be easier but I wouldn’t put a client vessel in an unnecessary situation. My best advice for dealing with strong side winds, if and whenever possible, is to stern into the wind for as long as possible. Using the docking scenario from this video, if there was a strong wind blowing off the dock, I would plan to stern down the channel, towards the dock. Then as I got close to the dock, I would begin to port reverse, which would pull the stern into the slip and pull the bow away from the center piling. This would also keep the bow out of the wind’s force for as long as possible. When you don’t have a bow thruster, you’ll want to pull the bow through the wind, rather than allowing the bow to be pushed by the wind for longer periods of time. Hard to explain on paper but hope this may help a bit. Thank you for watching and for the great input. Cheers!

@@ElevateYacht thanks for the quick reply!! that's exactly what I've have been doing and works out, but can be very sketchy. The yacht i drive now is a 42ft azumit but is in a odd slip so i only have one try before i have to reset. wish my joystick and thruster was working but i guess its good to practice engines only.

Congrats on the new boat! I do training trips for clients often. During the spring, there are lots of local deliveries and new boat orientations on my schedule, so unfortunately my availability for a trip like this is limited. I would be happy to help connect you to a couple other delivery/training captains that I work with. Shoot me an email and we can get things coordinated. Dan@elevateyacht.com Thank you for watching and commenting!

Ohh good idea! That would take a little planning and enlisting a mini crew but super doable. Going onto my list of great suggestions! Thank you!

Great question! I don’t think it matters what the exact RPM is, especially considering how different engines will have different levels torque when engaged. It may take a little practice to get used to, but once you understand what you’re working with, you can adjust the time spent in/out of gear according to the docking scenario. This is why in the video you see me using very short bursts in gear. I’m only looking for a rotation of the prop, which helps to be as precise as possible. The more time spent in gear, the more the vessel will move. Hope this helps! Thank you for watching and commenting!

Nah when you're docking a $2-6M yacht you don't worry about that stuff. If the situation calls for short bursts, you do short bursts. You don't sit there and go "well I might damage the gearbox" if the yacht is about to hit the dock or the boat next to it. Your advice is terrible.

Hah yes. She’s a blast to drive. Thanks for watching and commenting!

I know, engines are huge for her tonnage/length etc...

Trolling valves operate similar to how a clutch on a manual transmission car does. A car’s clutch allows the transmission to “slip” out of gear to allow you to shift gears. Trolling valves also “slips out” the transmission, but only to reduce the shaft speed. Marine transmissions only have two gears - forward and reverse. The use of the trolling valves allows you to slow the speed of the vessel without the use of a “lower gear”. So for context, when trolling for trout and salmon, you need to go between 1-3mph. This vessel goes much faster than that in standard idle speeds, so we engage the trolling valves in order to achieve the proper speed for the fish. Hope this helps explain it! Thank you for watching and commenting!

Cat engines do take an extra moment to engage when kicked into gear, you are right about that! These engines do engage pretty quickly, and I am going for almost like a half rotation rather than multiple rotations of the props due to the torque this thing has. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers

I have two Sabres in my management program currently. Beautiful vessels for sure. I don’t often take them out, as the owners are very capable captains as well - but if I do, I will get a video 🙌🏼 thank you for watching and commenting!

@@ElevateYacht awesome thanks for the response!

Great feedback from someone with real world experience. Thank you for watching and for sharing your insights! This vessel has Hynautic brand hydraulic shifters, not cables, but I get what you’re saying. Cheers!

Great question! Everyone learns at a different rate and it all depends on previous experiences but I’d say it would take a good season or two to get pretty comfortable. I’ve been running this boat for 8 years now, so it’s pretty second nature at this point. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers

Unfortunately, the vessel in this video is a 1994 and doesn’t have the trip data computer, so I am do not have the specific breakdown of fuel burn. My guesstimate has always had it around 70gph at WOT. With this vessel, we mainly fish, so we are typically trolling at 2mph (thanks to trolling valves) most of the time on the water, which burns very very little fuel. I wish I had more details for you on this one. I’ll update if I get any further. Thank you for watching and for your great question. Best of luck with the vessel search snd your eventual Loop! I’d be happy to assist you in your vessel search. Feel free to email me any time!

Scott, are you still looking for a Viking? I’ve got a great opportunity on a 2002 55’

@@ElevateYacht I bought a yacht, only a 40 foot. It's perfect for me right now, I would like to go bigger of course lol. But I don't know if it's in the budget.

@@scottc.2101 congratulations! That’s awesome. Sport fish or something different. Hope it’s treating you well 🙌🏼

@@ElevateYacht How much is the 55

It is a pretty fun job, that’s for sure. I’ve got a USCG 100 ton credential. Thank you for watching and commenting! Cheers

Boating in Chicago, we deal with plenty of windy docking situations. With a fishing vessel like this, we’re out most often in early spring and late fall when winds are stronger, so I’ve had her in some heavy winds. I understand the interest to see the windy docking but when I’m at the helm of a client’s vessel, my main goal is getting her in and out of the dock safely, so on a day like that, my focus is on the situation at hand and not filming from multiple angles. Perhaps one day when I’ve got a video crew and not just myself, I’ll get more windy docking videos. Thank you for watching and commenting. Cheers!