Boat Maneuvering and Docking Simulator

Boatmaster software allows a person to maneuver a virtual boat as if they were standing on its bridge, and is especially useful when working on the techniques required to maneuver a boat during docking. It allows the use of dock lines so that the entire process of docking can be practiced. The simulation includes the ability to define a boat´s characteristics, a dock area that includes various types of docking configurations, and a dynamic simulation controlled by a set of bridge controls. It also allows the user to define wind and current parameters.
It is not a game with fancy 3D graphics. It is a learning tool that uses simple 2D graphics to allow a person to practice the maneuvers and techniques required to dock a boat.
Most of us think that we’re the only person who has problems docking, or at least ours are the very worst. Be assured, all captains have some problems, some time, somewhere. If you don’t believe this, go down to the gas dock at a local marina for a couple of hours: just sit quietly and watch the multitude of “issues” that even knowledgeable skippers have, in all kinds of boats…large and small. Whether your boat is an 18’ runabout, a 38’ sailboat or a 60’ motor yacht, the principles are the same.
While some knowledge can be acquired from written materials, success in dealing with ever present variation of the forces on the boat can only be achieved in actual boat-handling situations through trial and error. For most boaters, this requires years of trials and years of errors, some of which are both costly and dangerous.
BoatMaster is a PC based program that allows trial and error practice and skill development and greatly increases operator experience, without risk. This risk-free reproduction of trial and error learning accelerates understanding, allows practice in a configuration like an individual’s “own” boat and dock, and enhances acquisition of skills essential to safe boat handling and docking.
www.boatmaster.org