Thanks for the detailed answer.I printed it and will
work on it this weekend.
— Silver Heels <> wrote:
hard to starboardIn my
experience, all single-screw boats back either to
port (right-hand prop) or
to starboard (left-hand prop). Once you know which
way your boat backs, you
can use it to your advantage in tight quarters. Our
424’s back to starboard
because they have left-handed props. When you want
to turn the boat in tight
quarters under power, you can virtually pivot her in
place simply by putting
the helm hard over to port and then giving the
engine alternating bursts of
power in forward and reverse gears. Don’t bother
spinning the wheel for each
gear change, as many inexperienced boaters do. Just
leave the helm hard to
port. Since you’re not going to move enough in this
maneuver to create water
flow past the rudder in reverse, it makes no
difference which way the rudder
is turned in that gear. In forward, the strong prop
wash hits the rudder and
kicks the bow to port. In reverse, the natural walk
effect of the
left-handed prop shoves the stern to starboard. The
boat will spin counter
clockwise in a series of tight jerks. It’s a very
handy, controlled
maneuver. However, it only works in one direction.
Don’t even try to pivot
your boat clockwise with a left-handed prop.
For backing out of a slip in the intended direction,
a spring line led from
the quarter cleat around the outermost piling or
dock cleat and back to the
boat again can spin your boat perfectly in either
direction, regardless of
prop wash, wind or current. You or a crew who knows
what they’re doing can
then feed out the line as necessary and, when the
boat is clear of the dock,
let go one end & retrieve it.
As for backing a single-screw boat “straight,” it’s
very difficult with a
skeg-hung or keel-hung rudder. The prop walk in
reverse is inevitable and
the rudder cannot compensate until the boat’s got on
sufficient way.
Dropping the engine RPM’s to idle or shifting to
neutral once the boat is
moving backwards at a few knots, as has been
suggested, will stop the prop
walk effect and give you steerage with the rudder –
until the boat slows
down again. Then you’ll have that walk to starboard
again as soon as you
engage the engine in reverse and give it power.
Knowing this, it’s possible
to sort of zigzag backwards, playing the prop walk
and rudder steerage
against each other.
Boats with balanced spade rudders tend to have much
more control in reverse,
the rudders overcoming the prop walk much more
quickly and effectively. Some
are able to maneuver almost as easily as in forward.
Hardly seems fair.
Tor
Silver Heels, P-424 #17
http://www.SilverHeels.us
Original Message
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