Loosing Confidence

[PaulGooch]

All of you who think shafts are so easy to handle have obviously never tried to reverse a Merry Fisher 805. It's less responsive astern as a Tesco's shopping trolley. Best you can hope for is to get it to go straight, although the prop walk doesn't always allow that. It'll turn slightly to port, due to the assistance of the prop walk, but turning to starboard is impossible. Of course, i have to turn to starboard to reverse into my berth. As it doesn't matter much where the helm is going astern (still goes kind of straight back) i turn a little to port and shunt back and forth, gradually turning the boat and reversing into the berth. Once the stern is in enough for the wife to step off of the bathing platform onto the pontoon, she does so, taking with her a line from the midships cleat, it warps back the rest of the way with ease.

 

[ian38_39]

Sorry Ian, I don't think this sounds like good advice.

Firstly, with 3 feet between your boats this is not particularly 'tight'. Touching fenders or even interleaved fenders is tight, especially when you only have one more foot than boat length in front of you.

Secondly as you point out, checking to see if there are any cables is crazy. Tree roots, not likely in a man made or dredged environment.

I accept it might work for you bit I think you need a little help yourself, spinning your boat into the prevailing wind is not that difficult as most are more stable with the wind behind.

My berth is not very tight other than the pontoon finger being 25' for a 34' boat, having a 40' boat plus davits and a rib on the back next to me and the wind blowing me diagonally onto him plus having 30' between the back of his rib an the boat opposite.

As I said I can get the boat far enough in to lie against him without the bow being blown round the back of his boat, this I have to do single handed as my crew can't get down from the flybridge unless on my shoulder.

The anchor drag is a recognised method taught to commercial pilots of those little supper tankers you see around, so you are probably right about it being no good but I, despite being able to do virtually anything with the drives pushing, am afraid the laws of physics stop you getting a 310 statesman to go straight back when the wind is across it and the only means of propulsion is 35' from the front with nothing behind it. Sure you can swing the bow but in the process of that the wind will move the stern.

For a 310 and I assume a 330 the tighter the berth the better, once you are against the boat next to you it is pretty easy to manoeuvre it back a bit at a time.

I don't tend to use the anchor now but it proved a valuable asset in building confidence when I first had the boat and I would have no hesitation in using it if trying to get into a berth with a strong cross wind.

 

[RogerRat]

Fair enough and I'm gald it works for you. Still...

The original thread by 'Converging' was for someone newer to boating with a confidence problem. Most here would agree on tuition and practice but I haven't seen any replies from known instructors suggesting the anchor drag.

I personally feel that it's too slow and less accurate and too much to think about. Don't forget 'sods' law too. It would drag when you want it to hold etc. Just my view.

 

[Doods]

In a marina I dont think I would drop the anchor unless the engines both packed in. What happens if you need to abort and go back out, that anchor would just be another problem you dont need.
I have seen the replies saying that "Outdrives are ****" and that shafts are better. Must agree that shafts are the better option, however if you take time to learn how outdrives perform then they can offer good maouverability. If folk have sold boats because they cant berth them, well that just reflects on the individuals ability not the boats. Saying that some boats are more difficult to berth, but you can bet your life that other people have mastered how to berth that type of boat.
No offence meant to anyone but I think some of the replies are really going to knock the newbies confidence before he starts.