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PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
Close quarters maneuvering as in narrow waterways, docking, and waiting for bridges, can cause an inexperienced captain to panic. Practice, practice, and more practice will help you stay calm and keep you from engaging in hasty actions. When you are in control of your boat, you will avoid many embarrassing moments and costly mistakes at the marina.
USING THE CONTROLS
A twin engine boat is capable of precise control. Even adverse conditions like wind and tides can be used to your advantage. The most important thing to remember is DO NOT use your steering wheel. Rudders are of little help at slow speeds. To learn precision control is to become skilled at the use of throttles and shifters.
Practice using only the throttle and shift controls to steer the boat. Go out into some open water to experiment. If you put one engine in forward and the other in reverse, the boat will pivot on its axis. But if you increase throttle on one engine but not on the other, something different will happen. With the boat standing still in the water, put starboard in forward and port in reverse with both engines at the same speed. Take note of how the boat pivots and then increase the throttle evenly on both to see how it behaves at differing engine speeds. Finally, try increasing throttle on only one side. Learn how your boat behaves with these different control inputs. Pay attention to whether increasing throttle on the reversed engine works better than increasing throttle on the forward engine.
Now put both engines in forward and control the boat using only the throttles. Steer the boat by increasing and decreasing throttle speed. Then practice all of the control techniques by using various control combinations. You will become familiar with these combinations and maneuvers and they will become second nature.
Finally, practice running the boat in reverse. Try to back along a straight line using the gears to control direction. Also learn to stop at an exact spot and hold that location. An easy tip to know which gear to advance is to stand with your shoulders square. As you turn toward the direction you want to go, the shoulder that moves forward is the gear to move forward. When in reverse, turn your body around and the same rule applies. When you feel comfortable moving about in open water, its time to practice basic docking.
For a more detailed explanation complete with illustrations, take a look at the
Twin Screw Tutor!
If you'd rather watch a great instructional video, try
Top 60 Tips - Boat Handling
DOCKING
Practice both port side and starboard side docking on a wide open T dock. Approach the dock head in and bring the bow close to the dock. Use your control techniques to put one gear forward and the other in reverse slowly pivoting the boat into the dock.
SLIP DOCKING
You can back your boat straight into your slip or pivot around a piling. To use a piling, put the stern up against the piling and you'll pivot by putting one engine in forward and one in reverse. Take it nice and slowly.
 
These boats are secured in their slips with a bow line, a spring line, and two criss-crossed stern lines .
On the other hand, these dock lines are too loose and hang in the water.
WINDS AND TIDES
Once you've mastered your techniques, you will have more confidence when adverse conditions arise. Use the elements to determine the direction of your approach. Let the wind assist blowing your boat into the dock or let it help control your speed. The point is to be aware that there is wind and to know from which direction it comes. As you pull into the marina you should always be looking for flags or trees or other signs of wind direction. Watch which way the water is swirling around pilings. All boats are different but if you move slowly, stay in control, and remember the effects of each action you've practiced, you will be able to make adjustments for the elements.
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