Every boat, operator, and set of conditions differ. I try never to use
any more power than is necessary, but, what works for me, may not work
for the next guy. A nice full keel sailboat, is one of the best learning
experiences for single screw powerboating, as they tend to be very
predictable, and relatively responsive to gentle prods.


otn

Capt. Mooron wrote:
"otnmbrd" wrote in message
| So, you've also got a lefthand prop (There are more of them out there
| than people realize).

Yup...

| I really can't say, whether the above is the reason, or not. In "most"
| cases, single screw, no matter what the hull design (inboard, fixed
| pitch prop, right or left) when backing down, you are going to get a
| serious condition of prop walk, which can be a pain and a boon to boat
| handling (exceptions noted). However, there are many boats/ships out
| there, that 8 out of ten times will torque as expected .... the next two
| times they'll go in the opposite direction, for no reason, or at least
| none that you can figure out at the time.

I try and use it to my advantage whenever possible. I have found that with
short bursts of high RPM I can compensate for most of the walk... some of
the time. For a full keeler I can spin it on a dime in quite water by short
bursts of forward and reverse.

CM