I dock it along the shore and put some post around it to nudge it tight to the shoreline, usually there no damage except some very minor one during storms if any. Just have a crafting table near so you can repair before taking off again.

When you let go of the rudder make sure the boat is in "neutral" no arrows pointing up or down and it no bar left or right for direction change or that can still function even if you hit E and let go of the rudder.