Thanks. Hands on IS the best teacher,G but we need to be able to
explain what just happened and why, when that poor newbie get's that
look of confused panic on his face, when what he just did, doesn't work.

otn

Jeff Morris wrote:
My first few lessons in small powerboat handling as a young lad included "thrust
vectoring" examples, although those terms were never used. I remember vividly
bringing the launch (about 18 feet with an Atomic 4 and a "stick" tiller) bow to
the dock and wagging the butt back and forth with the tiller. The exercise was
repeated in reverse hanging off a bow line, proving (contrary to jaxie's claim)
the affect works in reverse, although with greatly diminished results. These
exercises were an eye-opener for me, since as a sailor, I had never thought in
terms of water flow created by a prop.

A few years later I had another lesson (I should have known better by then) when
I tried to power off of a dock at Castine, ME with a very strong current
flowing. An old hand showed me the "power against a spring line" trick. I was
amazed that so much power could be brought to bear.

These techniques are best taught "hands on," in a small boat, if possible, so
that one can feel the power the prop can generate. Whether the words "thrust
vectoring" are used depends on the audience.