Before moving
your boat or mooring it think about what the wind is doing. Is there
a tide? You cannot fight these elements. You must let them help you.
Much has
been written about mooring but if you always look to the wind and tide
and try to
picture the manoeuvre you need to do and think about how the forces
will act on
your boat you probably won’t go far wrong.
Put fenders out, on both sides, you never know what may happen, you
might
suddenly be forced to change your mind. Have three ropes ready. One on
the
bows and one on each side at the stern. They should be fairly long so
they can be
thrown if necessary. One boat length should be enough. Coil them and
lay them
down on deck so they are ready to use. When you pick up the rope later
to use it,
re coil it. It shouldn’t take long but it guarantees a good
throw.
Remove sail covers and bend sails on. Your engine might breakdown but
you can
keep control of the boat using your sails. Make sure the anchor is
ready to drop for
the same reason.
A Boat is not a car. If you are having difficulty getting in to a space
and you can get
a line ashore, then do it. It’s how they used to do it in the
old days. Often a rope is
better all round. It’s certainly quieter.
Only start your engine a couple of minutes before you depart. The
engine will
warm up while you gently motor out of the marina. Remember the smell
from your
engine, even if it doesn’t smoke, will travel far on the wind
and perhaps spoil
someone else’s breakfast/lunch/snifter.
Prop walk is the
effect when you go backwards and the propeller causes the stern
of the boat to go sideways. Most yachts will pull the stern towards
port. This
knowledge can be helpful when coming alongside for example. If your
prop walks
to port then mooring to port will always be easier than mooring to stb.
To ascertain
your prop walk, go hard astern from forward and see which way the stern
goes.
Do this in a non wind, non tidal situation.
Prop wash is the effect of the flow of water from the propeller over
the rudder. This
is helpful when trying to turn your yacht in a tight space. My friend
Tom calls this
manoeuvre the “Power Turn” and I can’t
think of a better description. If your boat
kicks to port the best way to turn it is to turn to Stb and then just
before you stop
turning, go astern and leave the helm where it is. Before you gather
any sternway
gun it forwards. Repeat until you have turned.
Most Yachts will go backwards, even old ones. Chances are they will
need a bit of
space to do it but eventually once they have way on they can be steered
quite well.
She can be coaxed if you keep the revs down, this will reduce prop walk
to a
minimum allowing her to go backwards as straight as she is able.
Here's some basic mooring advice that should help you avoid a situation like
this!
