when to dock a boat?

[Taralyn]

After being a perpetual land lubber, I have recently found myself with characters who own boats. Now I need to know how to sail the bloody things! lol.
My biggest question is, what is the most time effective way to dock? Is it better to wait until you are right on top of that little dot on the map or can you begin docking as soon as it comes up as an option? Do all ships dock at the same speed? what is this speed? How much slower is it than the ships sailing speed and is docking speed effected by weight in the same way as sailing speed is?

[NostalgicMelody7]

Okay, I /think/ the docking speed is the same as the sailing speed, I /think/ it's also effected by weight, and I /think/ it doesn't effect the speed if you dock early. This is from experience, but idk. Could someone clarify for me, too? XD

[SekoETC]

If you're close enough, you can dock instantly, but it's not always possible to get that close.

[Addicted]

Docking is in a straight line, but they know you're coming.
Sailing to the port, I line up the lighthouse, if there is one, but otherwise I have sailed 'crooked' and taken longer. But that might just be me and I have gotten better with practice.

[Fingersmith]

I dont know exactly which is faster by the mechanics but what I usually do is this.
If I am online all the time I prefer to sail as close as possible , manoeuvring every tick for the best angle towards the town and then dock .
If I want or have to do rl things instead , I start to dock as soon as its available and rely on the automatic docking process to take care of the rest.

[EchoMan]

For very slow boats, doing a "slingshot" through a beach location really speed things up. I haven't analyzed the docking code, but it might be worth checking up at some time.