Outboard position/handling under power

[top-banana]

I have a hunter horizon 23, it has an outboard on the portside in a well under the seat. It sits about 30 - 40 cm in front of the rudder but offset to the port side.

I've found the handling under power to be troublesome, especially when slow and getting underway. I presume this is because a) the engine is offset which i is turning the momentum of the boat to starboard when under power and b) because the rudder doesn't get any (minimal) flow from the prop at slow speeds which again i guess affects manoeuvrability.

My thoughts are to turn the engine in the well to point towards the rudder so at least it's getting some wash at low speed if only partially from one side. The downside to this would be that i would be increasing the turning momentum of the boat which i guess would even more dramatically want to move to starboard when under engine.

Does anyone have any experience of an offset outboard arrangement like this and how best to set it up or alternately have any thoughts about how i could improver handling under engine at all.

At the moment i prefer to sail on and off my mooring so i don't have to start the thing up! not sure how this will go down in the marina

all advice welcome!

 

[Pye_End]

Used to use an outboard on the back of a Sonata which is the same hull, but with it off the stern, so no help from the prop pushing water onto the rudder. I did not find the offset position awkward as it took very little way to rudder steer, but in tight spots used to turn the engine to steer the boat which was very effective (although a bit awkward to do it whilst looking around).

 

[VicS]

With an outboard offset to one side and no flow over the rudder you have to learn the effects it has and how to handle the boat to take these into account!


You have to get the boat moving before the rudder has any effect... but that applies to sailing too.

You have to learn that you cannot , with the engine on the port side, make a tight turn to port under power although you can to starboard.
If turning to port you have to build up a bit of way then throttle back a bit.

If you angle the engine to try to get some wash over the prop I think you will simply make the above even worse as you have worked out for yourself.

 

[misterg]

I had an offset o/board in a well on our Newbridge Venturer. I think you'll cause loads of problems if you turn the engine to point at the rudder. I used to set ours up so that it tracked straight with no hands on the tiller. This meant that the engine pointed away from the rudder a little. This made getting underway going forwards OK, as long as you didn't use too much power, but going astern was always something of a lottery. Knowing what I do now, I think I would have done better to give short bursts of astern, putting the engine into neutral in between times (rather than what I used to do which was to put it in astern and leave it there).

There wasn't enough room in the locker to use the engine for steering, btw.

 

[onesea]

With an outboard offset to one side and no flow over the rudder you have to learn the effects it has and how to handle the boat to take these into account!

+1 I had a boat with the outboard mounted astern of the rudder, slow speed maneuvering I just sat on the stern and used rudder and outboard. Leaned I could do some interesting things.

You might find a slight angle on outboard might help but this maybe away from the rudder to help off set the turning effect of the outboard offset.

The interesting effects you can get can be your friend or your enemy, just like prop wash. As long as its predictable you can do things other boats cannot, but not do things other boats can!

Work with it make it your friend.

 

[Lakesailor]

Set the outboard so that under way in calm conditions and with the rudder straight ahead the boat steers straight ahead as well. This will need the motor to be very slightly turned from what seems to be the straight ahead position.

If you do anything else you will have to use the rudder to keep on course (a bit like weather helm) which is tiring, uneconomical and, if you get distracted, can lead to heading off course.

You just have to learn to accommodate the handling vagaries you have noted.

 

[top-banana]

Some great advice there, much appreciated.

Seems like the consensus is to align the outboard so it's going straight under power, then work on slow speed manoeuvring using short bursts and knowing that i'll turn better to starboard and could that i could find going astern tricky.

I need to get some practice in! thanks...