petem
Well-Known Member
I always think too many boat handling tips can be a bad thing as they'll all be different but these are mine.
1) if you want to avoid the complexity of turning the wheel then face the stern of the boat and operate the throttles with your left hand when reversing into your berth. This is far more intuitive and puts your main focus on getting the stern in the hole.
2) if you need extra lateral movement of the stern then point the drive in the direction you want the stern to go. Hard over to port with a touch of astern on the outside starboard engine will pull the stern into port very neatly.
3) Focus on he stern (as above) but check the bows every few seconds and use the bowthruster to correct.
4) Use short bursts of power and scrub off all speed when going from one manoeuvre to another. For example when turning into a fairway stop the boat first, don't carry speed and try and turn at the same time.
5) Always watch the wind and be upwind whenever you can.
People who tell you not to touch the wheel or try to make you feel bad for using the bowthruster will restrict your ability to control the boat.
At the end of the day, they're boats not Fabergé eggs. Everything can be repaired, normally pretty cheaply. We all have occasional knocks, it's just part of boating.
The above is what Mendez Marine taught me, or at least my interpretation of it and seems to be working so far!
1) if you want to avoid the complexity of turning the wheel then face the stern of the boat and operate the throttles with your left hand when reversing into your berth. This is far more intuitive and puts your main focus on getting the stern in the hole.
2) if you need extra lateral movement of the stern then point the drive in the direction you want the stern to go. Hard over to port with a touch of astern on the outside starboard engine will pull the stern into port very neatly.
3) Focus on he stern (as above) but check the bows every few seconds and use the bowthruster to correct.
4) Use short bursts of power and scrub off all speed when going from one manoeuvre to another. For example when turning into a fairway stop the boat first, don't carry speed and try and turn at the same time.
5) Always watch the wind and be upwind whenever you can.
People who tell you not to touch the wheel or try to make you feel bad for using the bowthruster will restrict your ability to control the boat.
At the end of the day, they're boats not Fabergé eggs. Everything can be repaired, normally pretty cheaply. We all have occasional knocks, it's just part of boating.
The above is what Mendez Marine taught me, or at least my interpretation of it and seems to be working so far!
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