Docking & close quarters manoeuvres
Every now and then I park my 12 foot tinny and grab my 17 footer to scare some bluewater fish. Being a bit of a grumpy boat driver I always provide cheap laughs for onlookers when I pull up onto the pontoon to pickup my deckie. Can you provide some advice on tides, winds, speed, stern or bow etc
I look forward to your informed response
Regards Alan
Hi Alan.
First thing is to grab the 17 footer more
often and get out and play with it some. Take a bit of time in some sheltered
waters and practice:
Engaging gears - forward, reverse, forward, reverse. Then try to stop the boat
dead still in the water up against a float or something (I use timber and
concrete piles in the harbour for my learners here *grin* then we go play with
$300,000.00+ boats). Repeat this until you know how good the brakes are and can
do it at any speed.
Then try spinning the boat on the spot.
(called turning short around) It is much like a three point turn in your car.
You put the motor in forward (only just in gear with no acceleration) then as she
gets underway you turn hard to starboard to start a clockwise spin. As the turn
starts to develop you put the motor in neutral and turn the wheel full over to
port, then engage reverse.
Always have the motor in NEUTRAL BEFORE you start to turn the wheel and always
go from one full lock to the other.
To spin a single prop monohull you just keep
repeating this smoothly and quickly.
Full right lock & forward - Neutral
Full left lock & reverse - Neutral
Full right lock & forward - Neutral
Full left lock & reverse - Neutral
etc etc etc Now try it the other way - anticlockwise.
Now you are wondering why I am asking you to look like a real dork and sit there spinning your boat and being laughed at by all onlookers. There is method in my madness Al.
It is at this point I should tell you to book in to one of my courses Alan
*grin*....... 'sOK, I wouldn't do that to you mate :o))
Firstly you learn NOT to grind the gears (not
saying you do but many learner drivers do)
Secondly you develop good wheel, gear & throttle co-ordination and control
Thirdly You use the same combination of wheel & throttle movements when
coming alongside a jetty, boat or pontoon and the stronger the wind & tide
the more important it is to use this method to maintain control of your ship.
When docking your boat you should ALWAYS come into the wind or tide (wind usually but it depends on the strength of the wind and direction of the tide. Little or no wind with a full flood tide can make things difficult for a deep draught vessel)
You approach the dock at an angle and the
stronger the wind, the steeper the angle. When about a boat length away you turn
the boat AWAY from the dock ( How far away you start to turn depends on your
approach speed and type of boat ) This kicks the stern of the boat in towards
the jetty. Then put the boat in neutral and turn the wheel back towards the
jetty so the bow falls back in towards it as you select reverse gear. Reverse
will continue to pull the stern of the boat towards the jetty and also stops the
boat.
You should now be parallel to the jetty and dead stopped. Neutral and tie the
bow line to the jetty etc etc etc.
ALWAYS TIE THE UNPOWERED END OF THE SHIP FIRST AND NEVER ALLOW ANYONE TO PUT ANY PART OF THEIR ANATOMY IN THE LOOPS OF ROPES. Do not have motor engaged as ropes are being tied unless you REALLY know what you are doing or you don't mind very large solicitor bills.
When you think you have this all down pat, then try it all over again when the weather deteriorates a bit and the tide is raging.
Hope this helps my good friend. Tell me if it is unclear. It is much easier to demonstrate this than it is to explain.
Sue
Hi Sue,
We have a situation that sometimes arises with our current boat - a 23ft Bertram hardtop - and which also occurred very occasionally with our smaller boats where it will not steer in reverse at all.
The ramps that we launch off tend to align
East - West and when a strong easterly is blowing it appears (my interpretation)
that when under way in reverse it is easier for the hull to change its angle,
rather than have the stern drive change direction. When this happens all you can
do is drive forward, using the techniques that you talk about such as using the
handedness of the propeller
by blipping the throttle etc.
Although the boat is heavy most of the weight (and draft) is in the rear half of the boat, and it appears that the oar like shape of the leg, plus the motion of the propeller gives quite a big resistance to changing the direction of the leg and under some circumstances it is easier for the hull to rotate.
It is interesting though, the articles on boat
handling. Too many of them don't account for the type of boat etc
(I am now talking in the mould of a guy who although has been boating for a long
time, on average uses a boat only twice or thrice a month, so I am always
learning my last lessons - this means that I would appreciate your comments
please.)
One book that I used value which I stupidly loaned, a South Australian book "Small Boat Handling in Rough Water" (??) talks about manoeuvring the boat, but always gives examples with ruddered boats.
It appears to me that there are considerable differences between manoeuvring with an outboard or stern drive and fixed propellor, ruddered boats.
For example when attempting to make sharp turns in confined spaces, an outboard gets much more help or hindrance from the handedness of the propeller. Say that when going forward your propeller attempts to drive you to the right (starboard). If you turn to port, not only will the handedness help the turn, but because the centreline of the propeller is now at an angle to the centreline of the boat, the "handedness" forces will be at an angle of say 45degrees to the stern of the boat and a component will be actually stopping the boat from moving. Turn in the other direction and not only will the handedness of the propeller hinder the turn, it will also push the boat forward.
So if your turn is in the direction that the propeller will assist, blipping the throttle will really tighten the turn. In the other direction, you may not get the turn you want.
A ruddered boat does not have the push and pull effects as the centreline of the propeller is always parallel to the centreline of the boat.
A twin counter rotating screws ruddered boat can be made to "walk" sideways into a berth. It is possible, but achieved differently with counter rotating outboards.
Turning on the engines in a twin motor system.
It is recommended on a ruddered boat (although it should only be for single
rudders) that you use the helm as well. In an outboard situation, you should not
use the helm. When the outboards are positioned to drive in a straight line, the
distance between shaft centre lines is at a maximum,
and therefore so is the turning leverage. If you use the helm while also using
the motors, just as louvres in a window get closer together as you close them,
so also do the propeller centrelines, and so the turning leverage is reduced.
At crowded boat ramps it is not common to have
a choice of sides to come in on. Some people have a rope tied at each end of the
boat and it then becomes the task of some unfortunate person to fling the rope
over a pile. If the cleats hold you are moored! The big cats with their
resistance to wind movement usually come in sedately,
and as you say pause, helm, gears, throttle etc. Our boat which with out power
has sufficient acceleration from the wind to launch itself into space is driven
to the jetty so that a shoulder of the bow touches the jetty. Some one gets off
and loops the bow rope around a pile and we use the motor to pull the stern into
the jetty. It appears the cats, and things like 60 footers may have as much as
20 seconds to manipulate helm throttle etc. We seem to have -20 seconds.
Driving into waves. Again this a boat thing. Some people recommend tracking up a wave so that the boat takes the wave on the bow quarter. This has the effect of lengthening the path up the wave and therefore making the motion of the boat slower and gentler. However if you are in a light boat and the wave is rolling you are now in the situation where you might be at best turned sideways. Similarly, accelerating slightly in the trough to lift the bow and easing off just before the crest really smooths the ride, but it is not as easy in a 5m boat as it is in a 20m. In fact in a 5m boat it is almost impossible, because the waves that worry a 5m boat come through much more quickly than they do for a bigger boat, and so you just cannot get the response etc that you need.
Well sorry that this is so long. Having had my share of crashes into the jetty, engine stalls at the most inopportune times etc, my soul is seared with some of these problems.
Best regards,
David Gasmier
Thank you David for your input here. I am sure many will find it interesting and may learn from your words. Sue