Handle with Care: Back to the Basics

Knowing how your boat works makes all the difference.

By Dusty Miller

After months of anticipating the boating season, we’re finally in the thick of it! While many of us are soaking up the pleasures of boating, others may be a bit disheartened by what they thought was going to be a great summer of cruising. The reason for this sudden mood swing is that most of these boaters have the “not as easy as it looks” syndrome. Who is most at risk for contracting this summer affliction? New boaters who find that as soon as they leave the dock, the handling of their vessel is not as easy as it looked to be when someone else was doing it.

Boaters who have a mild case of this affliction begin to regret their purchase but still continue to come down to the marina if only to use their vessel as a floating (but stationary) cottage. Others with more serious symptoms actually put their vessel up for sale and leave boating altogether.

It doesn’t have to be this way, there is a cure for this condition. Fortunately, it’s relatively painless, but it does take some time and effort. It starts with gaining some confidence and taking charge by going back to boat handling basics.

To begin, you have to sit down and seriously assess the situation. Take the time to think about how your boat works. Remember that even at the dock, your boat is constantly moving because of the winds and currents. While watching experienced fellow boaters wheel their 40-foot vessels effortlessly about in confined quarters can be somewhat educational, remember this is what got you into trouble in the first place (i.e. they made it look easy). Keep in mind this didn’t happen overnight. Instead, it came from understanding their vessel and practicing the controlling of their vessel.

Once you understand how your vessel moves, you can start to anticipate what is about to happen and then, if need be, correct it before the situation gets out of control. As you have probably discovered by this time, the smaller to mid-range vessels have a habit of allowing the bow to swing erratically and very often out of control.

This movement can be due to the wind or by the gearshift being held in forward or reverse for too long. To prevent this from happening, watch the bow very carefully. The moment you see it start to swing, correct it immediately. Once you do so, you can feel confident that you are taking control of your vessel and on your way to what I call “healthy” boating. If you wait and the swing gets underway, it’s too late. Now you have to compensate often by overturning which causes the bow to again swing the other way. Now you are operating in a see-saw situation which is obviously not what you want.

Let’s review a few basics

To continue building you confidence and skill, let’s review a few basic rules to help your understanding of how a powerboat operates.

The movement of a typical powerboat is controlled by a steering wheel in conjunction with a single or dual engine. The single engine craft relies almost exclusively on the steering wheel for control whereas the dual-engine craft can rely on its two drives. When moving slowly with a dual engine, the steering wheel becomes almost useless.

Dual engine handling

With dual engines, the controls consist of two gearshifts and two throttles that direct the vessel in opposite directions. For example, the starboard gearshift in forward will command the vessel to go to port while the starboard engine in forward commands the vessel to starboard. The same is true when the starboard gearshift is in reverse, the stern swings to port. Conversely, with the port gearshift in reverse, the stern swings to starboard.

To turn a twin-engine vessel around put one gearshift in forward and the other in reverse. This causes the stern and the bow to swing in its own length. Keep in mind that the propellers are designed to go forward, and you may have to give a bit of throttle to the one that is in reverse.

Single engine handling

Now in a single engine I/O, the thrust is obviously from the I/O, which gives the direction. Many people get confused as to which way to turn the steering wheel when they are attempting to reverse. An easy rule to remember is if you want the stern to swing to port, turn your steering wheel to port. Conversely, if you want your stern to swing to starboard, turn your steering wheel to starboard. I know this sounds simple, but many people become confused when they are backing up or causing their vessel to swing.

Next, let’s review how to turn a single engine. Engage the gearshift, turn the steering wheel to port, back to neutral, turn the steering wheel to starboard and go into reverse, back to neutral, turn the steering wheel again and go into forward. If you repeat this exercise, the vessel will turn in its own length.

By attempting to understand a few basic concepts of how to handle your boat under ideal circumstances, you can better prepare yourself for developing techniques to deal with the winds and the currents. It’s no surprise that, while winds may be a blessing to sailors, to power boaters trying to maneuver in confined quarters, the wind is anything but a blessing. So, here’s a planer that will help you to dock your vessel under windy conditions.

Imagine that you are about to enter the marina area where your dock is located. Before doing anything else, take a deep breath and determine the angle of the wind in relation to the dock keeping in mind that it’s much easier to work with the wind then against it.

To do this, approach the dock if at all possible, with the bow downwind. And upwind bow or bow facing the wind can get caught very quickly and begin to swing reducing your control and making docking a disaster. In addition, try to keep your transom as close to the wind as possible. This will help to eliminate the unnecessary swings and give you the best control possible.

When the wind is up, the logistics of specific docking can be intimidating. To make matters worse, it seems that marina slips are getting smaller, when in fact they are not. Rather, what is happening is that beams are actually getting wider and more performance oriented. Hence the bow sections are wide and fairly lightweight and are extremely sensitive to the winds.

Now lets back up

Finally, let’s review how to back your vessel into the dock. Since it is obviously easier to get on and off the vessel when docking this way, this is a good maneuver to master. However, the first attempts of doing so can be intimidating. When backing up into a slip, especially with I/Os, keep in mind that the moment you start to swing your stern into the slip, the bow takes off like a racehorse. So, make sure that you come from a downwind position to back into your slip. In this case, the wind will slow the swing of the bow down and will give you more control.

Remember that good building skills and habits take time to develop. Don’t give up hope. Instead, get out and practice and you too can become an accomplished boater.