Boat Hook Adapters (2 in Package)

Grossly overpriced for two pieces of PVC, a nylon fastener and a flex-clamp. I would much preferred the option to buy only one. All that said the product does just what it says and makes bringing my boat to the dock under high wind and currents much less stressful.

Works well, easy to setup and use. The only change I would make is to increase the length of the tube, in order to make a larger loop in the dock line. When you need to grab a cleat using the fully extended length of your boat hook, and the boats rocking, you need careful aim.

Arrived promptly, works as suspected

I have a 44' cockpit motor yacht which I single hand about 95% of the time. I have used these many times over the last 4 years to grab a cleat, in a slip or a sidetie, sometimes from 4 or 5 feet away. I have two of them mounted on telescoping boat hooks in fishing pole holders on both sides of the cockpit, ready to grab and use. They have proved invaluable time and time again to get that first connection to the dock. Rarely have I failed to get a good connection the first time. And yes, I have practiced many hours of lassoing cleats from my boat but this is more precise and more controllable in a stressful situation. These are quicker and easier to repeat if you miss, especially if the wind is blowing you away from the dock. Over the years they have gotten broken and I am buying two more replacements. I feel naked going out without them. They are better than anything you could put together from PVC. Any ding on your boat is going to cost you hundreds of dollars to fix so this is a small price to pay to help you stay in control of the situation.

My wife struggled with throwing a line over pilings as we came in to docks. Now she just uses this docking stick attached to a boat hook and flips the loop over and pulls the boat hook free so she can haul in on the line. Works every time. And she is comfortable docking now even in a new port.

My slip is on the end of a boathouse, my dock is very low and my boat has a high freeboard, so it is like pulling up to a low dock. These devices work marvelous even in windy conditions I can easily dock single-handed.

I really want to give this docking aid five stars. I am seventy, my wife sixty five. Hoping off the boat to the dock to catch a cleat has been getting more difficult. I have used the Docking Stick several times this spring coming into our slip solo on the end of a mid-ship spring line to stop the boat before she hits the dock at the bow. I can leave her in idle forward with the helm hard away from the dock and she will sit against the finger while I step off and secure her. My wife seems to have a bit more trouble, which is why I'm giving it four stars. She has managed to get the loop caught in the boat hook twice, which yanks the boat hook out of her hands instead of releasing the Docking Stick from the boat hook. She was almost yanked right off the boat the first time it happened. Be careful! Do your best to keep the hook on your boat hook on the opposite side of the loop at the end of your spring/dock line. Coil up the slack in your spring/dock line as much as possible so that your line runs straight up your boat hook while you are catching a horn or peer or whatever. You can catch just about anything if the loop is big enough. With those points in mind, it is a very nice aid to docking safely.

After 5 minutes following the directions to tie what amounts to a bowline knot, the dockstick didn't attach securely to the extended boat hook. It fell in the water 3 times before I said forget it & just lasso-ed the pylon like everyone else. Gimmick that seemed like a neat idea, but in the end didn't save time or make it any easier. Just practice your cowboy skills.