One of the things I noticed is that you were putting the boat in reverse, and then leaving it there. Unless you have wind or current from the stern, I find it much easier to reverse with "bursts" of reverse only. Get the boat moving, back into neutral, then coast backward. That way prop walk disappears and the rudder has better control. I've done one boat where the trick was longer, low rpm bursts because at higher rpm the prop walk was so bad it was like a stern thruster. In another boat, it was better to do a shorter, higher-rpm burst to put a good bit of energy in then back to neutral to maximize time without prop walk. Its important to recognize that a boat is not a car, and the gear of the transmission and the movement of the boat do not always have to be perfectly aligned. This is a great learning video and full of good information. Thanks for sharing!
These are great suggestions. I used to keep throttle in gear longer with low rpm either forward or reverse. Usually its cross wind in the marina from starboard to port all day. Now I like to feather it like you suggest, alternate between forward/reverse and neutral unless too much wind or current. Thanks
When you want to dock out of your berth in reverse, you have to distinguish 3x different situation. A) no wind or current B) little wind or current C) a lot of wind or current A) the propwalk has the main influence, turn the stern with the propwalk, the same direction. B) I always recommend steering backwards against the wind. The bow will be pushed into the right position by the wind and mooring out will be much more relaxed for you. The influence of the propwalk is less then the wind. C) If the wind is blowing over 20 knots, steering backwards against the wind is the way to go. Additionally I would use a springline on the midship-cleat on the windward side, as a fixed pivot point for the boat. With the springline midships the wind force is then irrelevant. Greetings from Germany
Thanks for posting. Great techniques, but couldn’t you have just backed out of the slip and all the way out of the marina to where you get more room to maneuver?
another great video! I'm up in Bodega Bay. Hit me up if you ever need crew. I'm fixing up a 32 Ericson. I mainly go out solo, and I'm just starting. I find it very helpful to remain on the dock for as long as possible, like standing on the dock, muscling the boat out by hanging onto the lifelines and shrouds, and then hopping on at the very last second. So far I have not missed. This makes it so I don't have to use the R at all, which is basically useless on my boat anyways. Love the videos. I appreciate the perspective.
Nice explanations! The side-by-side views were very helpful. When you give the short burst (before shifting to neutral), is your wheel in the centre or to starboard?
I left the wheel all the way to the starboard before giving it a short burst. I tried the wheel in the center, but prop walk (to the port) was too much to overcome in the narrow fairway. For some boats, rudder hard right or left could stall the boat, so you may need to adjust it.
