kcrane
Well-Known Member
The boat was lifted on Tuesday at QAB in Plymouth for Promarine to fit a transducer (new A78, hurray) and held in slings overnight so needed to be launched first thing Wednesday so they got their lift back in operation. Wednesday in Plymouth was forecast F6 to F8, but I was only going 400yds from QAB through the lock into Sutton, what could go wrong?
The wind was very blustery but not a steady gale by any means, so off I went. Boat was pointing the wrong way, starboard side to and near the slipway but there is some space to port. I backed off the pontoon clear of other boats then tried to spin on the spot, to starboard. The bow came round 90 degrees so I am now pointing at the pontoon, but that was it. I then started blowing towards the slipway with port ahead in idle and starboard astern in idle. There is no thruster. So I upped the power ahead, giving it a burst. It didn't work, the boat simply moved back towards the pontoon. So I gave a burst astern on starboard engine. Now both engines are above idle. This worked and the boat spun to point the right way. It then immediately caught the wind on the port bow and bore off again, this time to the other side. Now burst ahead on starboard, astern on port and it straightened up, but I wasn't moving forward.
By now I had decided the wind was too strong, but that insight was a bit too late. My focus was on trying to get the boat pointing up the fairway so I could get enough power on to move forwards. Getting back on the pontoon looked dicey as I could easily blow onto the concrete slipway. What I found was I could briefly make progress, then the bow blew off and I struggled to get it back, then forwards again another 10yds. I reckon I looked like an inexperienced ice skater, slithering around. I was having to rev both engines as idle made no difference which I didn't like at all.
Thankfully, once out of the QAB fairway I was less at the mercy of the gusts and the lock was on free flow, through that and Sutton was an oasis of calm.
I think I got it wrong a) to think I was OK as it was only a short trip and b) to put the effort into pointing the right way, I should have worked at going the right way, even if the boat was crabbing sideways. The bow was always going to blow off, I should have accepted that and compensated with more thrust from the downwind engine.
Question : does that sound like the right lesson? What would you have done?
The wind was very blustery but not a steady gale by any means, so off I went. Boat was pointing the wrong way, starboard side to and near the slipway but there is some space to port. I backed off the pontoon clear of other boats then tried to spin on the spot, to starboard. The bow came round 90 degrees so I am now pointing at the pontoon, but that was it. I then started blowing towards the slipway with port ahead in idle and starboard astern in idle. There is no thruster. So I upped the power ahead, giving it a burst. It didn't work, the boat simply moved back towards the pontoon. So I gave a burst astern on starboard engine. Now both engines are above idle. This worked and the boat spun to point the right way. It then immediately caught the wind on the port bow and bore off again, this time to the other side. Now burst ahead on starboard, astern on port and it straightened up, but I wasn't moving forward.
By now I had decided the wind was too strong, but that insight was a bit too late. My focus was on trying to get the boat pointing up the fairway so I could get enough power on to move forwards. Getting back on the pontoon looked dicey as I could easily blow onto the concrete slipway. What I found was I could briefly make progress, then the bow blew off and I struggled to get it back, then forwards again another 10yds. I reckon I looked like an inexperienced ice skater, slithering around. I was having to rev both engines as idle made no difference which I didn't like at all.
Thankfully, once out of the QAB fairway I was less at the mercy of the gusts and the lock was on free flow, through that and Sutton was an oasis of calm.
I think I got it wrong a) to think I was OK as it was only a short trip and b) to put the effort into pointing the right way, I should have worked at going the right way, even if the boat was crabbing sideways. The bow was always going to blow off, I should have accepted that and compensated with more thrust from the downwind engine.
Question : does that sound like the right lesson? What would you have done?
We waited until we thought the wind had dropped enough but as soon as the ropes were off it started up again. The bow thruster saved us from wiping out several other boats and we needed it to get back into our berth without incident.
) would be my choice. In strong winds a bowthruster, even if you had one, still might not be up to it.
