"Rob Overton" wrote in message
om...


Actually, the asymmetric response to forward and reverse can be used
to do some neat tricks (which I use all the time). Try this, next
time you're out in your boat with some time to spend:

Oh, I have have operated single engine inboards for 25 years. Believe me, I
am quite familiar with the tricks.




Now put the motor in forward and repeat the whole operation. With a
little practice, you can almost eliminate all the forward and aft
motions, and simply turn the boat inside her own length, by simply
pushing the stick forward and back, all the while holding the rudder
hard over.


The degree to which this works varies greatly with the boat and conditions.

15 years ago I owned a 1956 Stephens, a wooden hull boat with a single
inboard. This boat actually had a sizable keel, about an 18 x 4 inch timber
that hung down below the hull. The keel prevented excessive lateral motion
while allowing the boat to pivot.

I also owned a 1979 Pro Am tournament ski boat, inboard. This was a fairly
small boat with the engine mounted center. Its light weight and bulk of the
mass in the center would also make it want to pivot more about the center.
The 2000 Air Nautique that replaced it was similar. Also a center mounted
engine, but the boat was bigger and heavier, much more sluggish. It would
not pivot inside its own length, but it was close.

My current inboard is a 2003 Super Air Nautique. This is a V-drive inboard,
which puts the engine in the back. It is even a bigger and heavier boat.
Having the bulk of the weight in the very back makes the boat very sluggish
to turn. It doesn't pivot, it turns. It turns slightly better to the right
when going forward, and reverse tends to make the stern push to port so if
the channel is narrow I will make my turns that direction.

Add on top of this wind and current. If I was on a lake on a windless day I
could manage just about anything. I boat mostly on the California delta,
and have wind and tidal currents to deal with. I may have to contend with a
2 knot current pushing me one way while a 10 knot wind is pushing me a
different direction. Sometimes the current swirls around and totally messes
things up. The wind is always confused as it deflects off of covered docks
and the levee.


Rod