Docking. It’s the moment where even seasoned sailors hold their breath. The wind catches the bow, the current pushes the stern, and suddenly that slip looks very narrow.

Two years ago, we introduced Docking practice to MarineVerse Sailing Club, giving monohull sailors a safe, stress-free environment to master slow-speed maneuvering, prop walk, and wind effects. It quickly became one of our most popular training features.

Today, we are thrilled to announce a major expansion to our Docking training modules. We’re handing you the keys (or rather, the dual throttles) to a Dual Rudder Catamaran.

The Catamaran Difference: A New Challenge

If you’re used to docking a single-engine monohull, stepping onto a catamaran is a whole new world. It’s not just about having more beam; it’s about mastering a completely different propulsion system.

With twin engines spaced wide apart, you gain an incredible advantage: differential thrust.

As demonstrated in our latest gameplay video, you no longer rely solely on the rudder for low-speed turning. By putting one engine in forward and the other in reverse, you can spin the catamaran literally within its own length.

But the real magic - and the hardest skill to master in the real world - is “crabbing” or walking the boat sideways. By balancing opposing throttles and turning the wheel against the momentum, you can slide horizontally into a tight dock space without moving forward or backward.

It looks like magic when a pro does it at the marina. Now, you can learn to do it too.

We’ve always believed that VR is the ultimate training ground for sailing. It is the practical, hands-on bridge between studying theory and taking the helm of a real vessel.

When it comes to maneuvering under power, the theory is essential. We highly recommend NauticEd’s comprehensive course on Maneuvering Under Power to understand the physics of prop walk, pivot points, and windage.

But reading about differential thrust and actually feeling how sensitive those twin throttles are? That’s a different story.

Trying your first catamaran “pivot turn” in a crowded marina with a rented boat is a recipe for high blood pressure - and potentially expensive gelcoat repairs. MarineVerse Sailing Club allows you to build muscle memory and confidence in a zero-risk environment. You can crash our virtual catamaran into the dock 50 times so that when you do it for real, you get it right the first time.

Ready to take the helm?

The update is live now in MarineVerse Sailing Club. Grab your controllers, step onto the wide bridge of the catamaran, and start practicing those twin-throttle maneuvers today.

To access the Dual Rudder Catamaran, select NauticEd Training Room -> Docking -> Power -> Power Cat.

We’ll see you on the docks!

Greg on behalf of MarineVerse team

About NauticEd

NauticEd is a fully recognized education and certification platform for sailing students combining online and on-the-water real instruction (and now VR). Since Grant Headifen founded NauticEd in 2008, students have taken over a quarter million sailing courses from its e-learning platform combined with on-the-water experience via sailing partners and schools in 23 countries. NauticEd offers 24 online courses, an electronic logbook, a sailing resume tool, and six ranks of certification – all integrated into NauticEd’s proprietary platform. The U.S. Coast Guard and the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) recognize NauticEd as having met the established American National Standards. For more information, please visit www.nauticed.org.

About MarineVerse

Started in Melbourne, Australia in January 2016 MarineVerse is an international team of creatives and advocates for sailing and emergent technology. With a mission to inspire, train and connect sailors around the world as well as share the unique feeling of sailing with a global audience, MarineVerse launched MarineVerse Sailing Club in 2022 to bring virtual reality sailing to standalone headsets. For more information, please visit www.marineverse.com.