DSK wrote:
John Lechmanik wrote:
Although I'm a little experienced at sailing, I'm still learning a
lot of
the little incidental things. Such as pulling out of a dock.

Some of the skills that make for successful sailing have nothing to
do
with actually sailing! But maneuvering a boat is an interesting
challenge.


Here is the fun part. During this time of the year, the wind comes
from a
variety of directions. When the wind comes from the east (port
side of the
boat when in the slip) it's a challenge getting out of the slip.
The first
time I backed out under these conditions I was just out of the
slip, and
turning the boat to starboard when the wind pushed the bow back
around. No
matter what I did, I couldn't get the boat turned into the wind and
was
being pushed by the wind down the marina.

Could you have backed up, stern into the wind, and gotten down the
fairway? It looks funny but it works.

This is true, for most parts..

A couple of points to keep in mind, please forgive me if you already
know these things. The basics always bear repeating....

Know your prop walk. You should have a good sense of how hard the
boat
will try to swing in reverse and in forward, and whether it will
swing
more if throttled up gently or if gunned. Usually, gunning it when in

gear will produce a short burst of prop walk before the boat starts
to
accelerate forward (or aft, if in reverse). You can use this effect!

Another thing to bear in mind is that from a standing start, or when
moving very slowly, the boat will turn *much* tighter one way than
the
other... when prop walk and helm (prop wash against the rudder) are
both
pushing the stern the same way. I bet the time you couldn't get the
bow
into the wind, you were trying to turn it the "wrong" way.

Sounds like it.

The bow always tries to swing downwind. If you use prop wash (as
opposed
to prop walk) to try and force it into the wind from a standing
start,
or while movng slowly, you will fail if the wind is above a certain
strength (another factor to get a feel for) and you will always end
up
going considerably sideways.

In reverse, you have no prop wash effect. You're in free fall until
the
boat gains enough way that flow over the rudder will steer her.

Not so Doug.. You can obtain quite a force sideways not moving at all
and the rudder not being a factor at all.


Boats
have considerable "rotational momentum" so get her turning the way
you
want her to go, before sticking it in reverse. You can use this
effect
to counter prop walk and back up straight.... people who claim you
can't
back up sailboats straight don't know enough to be worth listening to

IMHO...

Agreeded, What is important is learning when flow across your rudder
overpowers walking. One could push off the stern opposite of the way
the props walks hard throttle blast to slow to allow flow over the
rudder to overtake walk and point the require way if walk in not the
way you want to turn. Could also power a 360 with walk and wash, looks
funny, but not as funny as backing the whole length of the cut.



The best thing to do is practice. Take the boat out in a more open
area,
where you can practice maneuvering under power. Note how long it
takes
to bring the boat to a stop, that's the first and most basic step.
Note
your RPMs and how the boat accelerates at different throttle
settings,
also how much prop walk there is. Sit still for a while and note how
the
bow swings downwind. Practice turning both ways, both with and
against
prop walk, practice backing up straight, practice backing up in a
controlled 'S' with some guide mark(s). The key is to gain some
confidence in how the boat will react, how to make it do what you
want
consistently. A big part of this is to observe and know what the boat

wants to do, and use those tendencies as much as you can.

Hope this helps.


And the basic knowledge of spring lines... and the proper times and
ways to use them, should keep you out of trouble in high winds.

Joe



Fresh Breezes- Doug King