Entries Tagged 'Boat Handling' ↓

Almost everyone has heard of prop walk and quite a few of us will have had boats which exhibit this characteristic.

For those that don’t know, prop walk occurs when initially engaging reverse gear and applying power to stop the vessel or get it moving backwards. The stern of the vessel “walks” to port if you have a right handed propeller until the vessel has some way on and can be steered with the rudder. In the comparatively rare case of a left handed prop the stern will “walk” to starboard.

In actual fact boats pivot round a point about one third of the boats length from the bow. So while the stern is going one way the bow is going the other way.

The effect is limited to single screw vessels where the prop shaft is angled downwards, plus the underwater shape of the hull can increase the effect. Boats with flat bottoms and propshafts that are horizontal, which includes sail drives, don’t suffer from prop walk. That eliminates most power boats and yachts of modern design. However there are still a lot of good, older boats out there with this problem.

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The forward spring line goes from the bow of the boat and attaches to the dock near the stern of the vessel. When the boat is tied up it stops the boat from moving forwards or backwards in conjunction with the stern spring line.

When coming into a berth the forward spring line should be the first line on the dock. I prefer it to go straight on the dock cleat and the length be controlled from the bow by a crew member. With a helper or crew member on the dock, have the end of the forward spring line put on the cleat that will be at the yachts stern when in the tied up position. The crew member onboard pays out the forward spring line from the bow until the helmsman has stopped the boat in position. The crew member on the bow then ties off the forward spring. The other mooring lines can then go on as needed.

How does this help?

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I was asked a question recently, “What exactly is seamanship?”. I thought I knew the answer but found it harder than I expected to put it into words.

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Many people find berthing their boat stressful, especially in adverse weather conditions or coming into an unfamiliar berth or marina. While watching people come into berths, I am often amazed by their apparent lack of preparation and forethought.

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