Wind vs Yanmar 10 power question

[KaraMel]

Yesterday I took my 22ft out in the Marina just to fuel her and for my partner to take the tiller and practice.

Whilst out, the wind became very strong in areas and as a result, in areas I had to full throttle to evade collisions (ie: was strongly being pushed toward Marina walls), and when mooring in on pontoon, ew were overpowered by the wind and collided bow first into the pontoon causing slight damage.

Q: I know the Yanmar 10 has very minimal power, but is there a wind speed that should be my maximum when contemplating even leaving the pontoon?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Mistroma]

Yesterday I took my 22ft out in the Marina just to fuel her and for my partner to take the tiller and practice.

Whilst out, the wind became very strong in areas and as a result, in areas I had to full throttle to evade collisions (ie: was strongly being pushed toward Marina walls), and when mooring in on pontoon, ew were overpowered by the wind and collided bow first into the pontoon causing slight damage.

Q: I know the Yanmar 10 has very minimal power, but is there a wind speed that should be my maximum when contemplating even leaving the pontoon?

Thanks in advance.

I would expect 10hp to be OK for a 22' boat under most conditions unless your boat is built like a caravan. What was the wind strength?

How long have you owned the boat and was it the first time out in a strong wind?
I wonder if you had something wrapped around the prop.

 

[Spyro]

Yesterday I took my 22ft out in the Marina just to fuel her and for my partner to take the tiller and practice.

Whilst out, the wind became very strong in areas and as a result, in areas I had to full throttle to evade collisions (ie: was strongly being pushed toward Marina walls), and when mooring in on pontoon, ew were overpowered by the wind and collided bow first into the pontoon causing slight damage.

Q: I know the Yanmar 10 has very minimal power, but is there a wind speed that should be my maximum when contemplating even leaving the pontoon?

Thanks in advance.

Power wise I would say the engine should be able to over power the wind in most circumstances but there's a lot more to it than that. You have to be very aware of wind Direction and strength and don't underestimate the effect it will have on close quarters manouvering. If there is a strong wind right up your tail and you come into a berth bow first you have to start thinking about slowing the boat way before you reach the pontoon and to get it to stop you will need to use a lot of power in reverse. Same goes for a wind that is beam on. The boat will be being pushed sideways as you get slower and slower and as soon as you stop the bow will blow off the wind meaning the bow will start heading down wind before the rest of the boat catches up as the keel and rudder create drag. I'd worry more about getting used to these circumstances rather than does the engine have enough power. As soon as you begin any manoeuvre be aware of where the wind is coming from and how strong it is and what effect that will have on the boat. Speed helps with steering but it's a hinderance when you want to stop so it's a fine balance getting it right. Paractice is the best way as long as there's limited possibility of damage to your or others boats.
There's also prop walk to worry about you will need to Google that one

 

[Sniper]

A lot probably depends on the type of boat. I have a 1GM in a heavy long keel Twister; nothing happens quickly but she doesn’t get blown around too badly as there is more under the water than on top. If you have a light boat with little underwater lateral resistance then you will find that you will have to develop tactics to compensate. I have a friend with a Hustler 25 - much lighter boat than mine but with a Yanmar 2YM - double the horsepower. Like you she struggles with close quarters manoeuvres due to windage.

 

[Pye_End]

How clean is the prop (and hull)?

 

[lpdsn]

There are two applicible rules of thumb:

1) The stronger the wind the more throttle you have to use.
2) The more throttle you use the more damage you cause when it goes wrong.

So don't push the envelope too hard with wind speed as you're learning to get a feel for the boat. And also take account of what is easier or harder to attempt. And always consider what you will do to abort and when.

 

[JumbleDuck]

How clean is the prop (and hull)?

And how unblocked is the exhaust port?

 

[Major_Clanger]

Does the boat have a lifting keel and, if so, was it fully down?

 

[William_H]

Boats are not steered like cars in that they have only a slight grip on the water unlike your rubber tires on car. You never have real control of the boat especially at low speeds and with a wind blowing. Just try to get used to it. Add fenders where possible and keep trying. Certainly don't let your partner try to manage until you understand and can manage slow speed manouvres. It is all part of the fun (?) of boating. Boating is all about crisis management. ol'will

 

[Ardenfour]

Boat wont steer unless its moving...

 

[prv]

Boat wont steer unless its moving...

Depends on the boat. I can kick my stern sideways from stationary with a lump of prop-wash against the rudder.

The OP should tell us what kind of boat they have - with a 1GM and a tiller a small yacht seems most likely, but it would be good to confirm. I don't think a 1GM constitutes "minimal power" for a 22-footer so there's either something wrong with the boat or with the OP's expectations.

Pete

 

[jwilson]

Had less power than that ( 7 hp ) on a lot bigger and probably much heavier long-keeled boat but in reasonably flat water it would still go to windward (admittedly slowly) in 40 knots plus wind. Sounds like the OP either has a poor installation (tiny prop) or a very shallow hulled boat with high topsides. Tell us what boat ...

 

[NormanB]

Have you checked that you still have a prop?

 

[Mistroma]

Seems to be a lot of agreement with my first post.

1) Everyone seems to agree that 10hp should be OK for a 22' boat under most conditions
2) More of a problem with low speed handling if your boat has high, slab-sided, topsides.
3) More of a problem if you are new to the boat
4) Might be worth checking the prop. if it's a low windage boat you've owned for many years.

I always think it would be helpful if people filled in a little detail on their profile. Type of boat, where they sailed etc. I've lost count of the number of posts where OP doesn't give that information in a query. I usually have a quick look at their profile in case it is listed.

I did a little digging and it looks as if OP has bought a Virgo Voyager fairly recently. It seems likely that items 2 & 3 above do apply.

 

[jwilson]

In a Virgo Voyager the Yanmar might be an early 1GM at 7.5 hp not a later 1GM10 at 9 hp: nevertheless either engine ought to be adequate if correctly propped and prop and bottom clean. I once agreed to move a 27ft Nantucket Clipper between moorings with 27 hp: possibly 0.5 hp was getting turned into actual propulsion due to a very very badly fouled prop. Even when some way was achieved (light wind) it was frightening how poor handling was - bottom also badly fouled. After a lift and scrub same boat handled beautifully - for a heavy long-keeler. An educational experience.