--- title: "Crew training for water toys before the season · Dockee" url: "https://dockee.net/blog/crew-training-day-for-toy-launches-before-guests-arrive" description: "Crew training for water toys, step by step: agree roles, run one full launch and recovery at anchor, debrief honestly and repeat before guests arrive." language: "en" --- ![A Crew Training Day for Toy Launches Before Guests Arrive](https://shelter.hunpera.com/blog/dockee.net/crew-training-day-for-toy-launches-before-guests-arrive-hero.jpg) # A Crew Training Day for Toy Launches Before Guests Arrive [ Back to the Journal](https://dockee.net/blog)Dockee Editorial5 min read The first launch of the season should never be the one the guests watch. A morning of crew training for water toys, run at anchor before anyone boards, shows who knows the pump, who has never tied off a jet ski and which locker the kit is hiding in. On yachts heading into a winter charter season in warmer water, that morning usually falls between the delivery trip or the yard period and the first booking, when there is still time to get things wrong without an audience. What follows is a simple routine: roles first, then one full launch and recovery in order, then an honest debrief and a second run. Timings are left to the crew. Every yacht, tender garage and team is different, and the aim is a calm launch rather than a fast one. ## Set roles before anything is inflated Most launch problems are people problems. Two deckhands reach for the same line, nobody watches the swimmer, and the pump is already running while the bosun is still deciding where the dock should go. Agree the jobs on deck before a single bag is opened. A workable split is a lead who calls each stage and decides whether the water is calm enough, a hand on inflation, a hand on lines and fixing points, and a watcher whose only job is the water and anyone in it. On a small crew, roles can be doubled up, but the watcher is the last one to go. If the engineer joins the drill, their job is to confirm that engines and thrusters are off before anyone goes in, and to say so out loud. Bring the kit to the swim platform in the order it will be used. The [Air Pump 1200W](https://dockee.net/product/air-pump-1200w) rarely causes trouble: it is light, works from a single button and comes with several nozzle adapters. What slows a team down is the adapter that is not in the bag or the hose left in another locker, so check those before anything is unrolled. ## The drill in order Run the full sequence once, slowly, with the lead calling each stage out loud. The example below uses the [Jet Ski Duo Park 4.10 m](https://dockee.net/product/jet-ski-duo-park-4-10), because it is the piece that causes the most fumbling the first time. It packs to 90 x 50 x 40 cm, and the bag is heavy enough that nobody should carry it down to the swim platform alone. ![Double Toy Dock (3.10 + 4.10 m) by Dockee](https://shelter.hunpera.com/blog/dockee.net/crew-training-day-for-toy-launches-before-guests-arrive-inline-1-68255c6f.jpg) *Pictured: Double Toy Dock (3.10 + 4.10 m)* 1. Read the water and the wind. The lead decides whether the anchorage is calm and sheltered enough; if it is not, the drill moves to the next morning. 2. Confirm that engines and thrusters are off and that the watcher is in place before anyone steps into the water. 3. Unroll the dock with the valves easy to reach and inflate it to the pressure stated in the product instructions. The notes on [inflation and setup](https://dockee.net/guide#inflation-and-setup) cover the checks to make before it goes in. 4. Tie the dock off to strong fixing points at the stern, with every line kept clear of the propellers and thrusters. 5. Bring the first jet ski in slowly on one side of the dock. The divided arms, each 200 x 55 cm, keep the two craft apart, so the second ski comes in on its own side rather than alongside the first. 6. Rehearse a guest boarding. A crew member plays the guest, steps from the swim platform onto the dock and onto the ski, then back again, while the watcher follows everyone in the water. 7. Recover in reverse: skis off and secured, lines in, the dock deflated, rinsed with fresh water and left to dry fully before it is folded away. If the yacht also carries a long deck such as the [Premium Teak Platform 6.16 m](https://dockee.net/product/premium-teak-platform-616), practise it as a separate exercise. At 616 x 205 cm inflated and about 50 kg with its bag, it needs its own space on the swim platform and its own plan for who takes which end. Setting up both pieces at once is how lines get crossed. ## Debrief and a second run Sit down straight after the recovery, while it is fresh, and ask three plain questions. Where did we wait for something? Where did the same job get done twice? When was nobody watching the water? The answers are usually small and specific: a hose stored under the fenders, a line too short to reach the cleat, a watcher who drifted into helping with the skis. Fix those, swap a couple of roles so that every job has a backup, and run the whole drill again. The second run is where a team starts to look steady, and it is the one worth writing down: who did what, what was moved, which locker the adapters now live in. Tape the sheet inside the tender garage door so the next crew change starts from the same page. By the time the first guests arrive, the lead should be able to say yes to a handful of things without thinking. Everyone knows their role. The kit is stowed in launch order. The jet ski dock goes in and comes out without raised voices, and someone is always watching the water. If the same problem keeps coming up in the debrief, it may be the kit rather than the crew, and it is worth comparing the other [jet ski docks](https://dockee.net/category/jet-ski-docks) before the season starts. Share[](https://x.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fdockee.net%2Fblog%2Fcrew-training-day-for-toy-launches-before-guests-arrive%3Futm_source%3Dx%26utm_medium%3Dsocial_share%26utm_campaign%3Djournal&text=Rehearse%20the%20toy%20launch%20at%20anchor%20before%20guests%20board%3A%20agree%20roles%2C%20run%20the%20jet%20ski%20dock%20in%20and%20out%20once%2C%20debrief%2C%20then%20do%20it%20all%20again. 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"Share on Pinterest") ## Frequently asked questions - ### How often should the crew repeat the launch drill? Whenever new crew join, and before the first guests of each season. A shorter version, a single launch and recovery, is worth running after a long passage, when lines and adapters tend to end up in new places. - ### Which pump suits the larger docks and platforms? The Air Pump 1200W is made for large platforms, pools and loungers as well as docks. Keep its nozzle adapters with the pump rather than with each product, so whoever is on inflation always has the right one to hand. ## Recommended for this article [Air Pump for Inflatable Docks 1200W · €160.00](https://dockee.net/product/air-pump-1200w)A single-button pump made for large docks and platforms, so the hand on inflation can concentrate on valves and adapters. [Sold out · Jet Ski Duo Park 4.10 m | Premium Dual Watercraft Dock · €3,450.00](https://dockee.net/product/jet-ski-duo-park-4-10)Divided arms keep a pair of jet skis apart, which makes it the right piece for a deck team to rehearse launches and recoveries on. ## More from the Journal [Hosting Sunset Drinks on a Floating Lounge · Read](https://dockee.net/blog/hosting-sunset-drinks-on-a-floating-lounge)[When Caribbean Charters Pick Up After the Hurricane Months · Read](https://dockee.net/blog/when-caribbean-charters-pick-up-after-the-hurricane-months)[Phang Nga Bay at Paddle Height Among Limestone Islands · Read](https://dockee.net/blog/phang-nga-bay-at-paddle-height-among-limestone-islands)