Docking Cutwater Under Windy Conditions

[filliefan]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum. Just purchased a Cutwater 26, which I like a whole lot for a variety of reasons. But there is one issue for which I need some input from any of you out there who may have experienced a similar problem. It regards docking the boat under windy conditions. I was attempting to right the boat at the entrance to the fairway and, under idle speed, it seemed uncontrollable. It was moving all over the place no matter how hard I tried to steer it into position to head down the fairway. My concern was what would happen once I entered with so little margin for error in the space between the boats and slips lined up to both sides. Turning the wheel didn't elicit much of a response that would likely get me out of trouble if I started to drift. So once I started down I used my thrusters to keep me away from the boats and slips starboard. This kept the boat fairly straight until I reached my slip where I used the thrusters and a little throttle to dock the boat. But without the thrusters, I don't think I could have made it down the fairway without experiencing a little bumper car action. Not good. So how does one control the boat in the fairway without thrusters? Seems doable. The Cutwater,like the Ranger Tugs, has a relatively high profile, shallow draft and rudder for the inboard, the combination of which can make for more challenging maneuvering in windy conditions or in close quarters. But these kind of boats are as old as the hills. So, any tips on how to address this one? Much appreciated.

Thanks.

Larry

 

[Red Raven]

Hi Filliefan,

Welcome to Tugnuts!

When I started out with our boat at the start of this summer I had similar experiences and concerns about my ability to handle the boat safely. When I asked for advice from my next door slip mate he simply said. "You did fine. You will have it down by the end off the summer!". This turned out t o be sage advice. I will give you the same advice here. You did fine. You will have it down by the end of the summer!

Every boat and every condition (and each docking under different wind conditions) is different. While there are boat specific technical reasons for your experience (the details of which I will leave to others) nothing can beat practice, time, and experience with your own boat under various conditions. I am confident that as you learn the particular handling characteristics of your boat you will "have it down by the end of the summer". I recommend spending time practicing docking from all directions; port bow tie, starboard stern tie etc. ... without using thrusters...in an area of your marina where there are no other boats for "bumper car action" if possible. That is what I did!

Keep using the boat and practicing with and without the thrusters. I think you will find how to handle the design compromises between all the competing performance factors that affect the handling of any boat under varied conditions! Wind is certainly always a challenge!

Curt

 

[Red Raven]

One other thing... Could it possibly be that you had the Auto pilot engaged as you lined up for the fairway? I did a similar thing once while approaching a dock. Very erratic results to say the least! With the Garmin Shadowdrive feature it will give you control momentarily such that you may not notice the autopilot is still engaged resulting in your rudder at a much different position relative to your wheel than expected when you try to correct!

Curt

 

[nzfisher]

Make sure that the hydraulic steering pump is functioning properly and that the fluid is topped off. Your steering sounds non responsive to me. If you are making headway at around 5 knots and your steering is not responsive there is a problem. If you are going slower than that your steering is not going to be as effective if you have a little headway. If there is not a problem with steering a class in docking or practice with an experienced boater will help you immensely. There are some tricks and techniques that will help you create a script of what to do before you approach the dock. Some births are just not doable safely in 15 knot winds and are a gamble to try. Sometimes it is best to pull into an easy guest slip and let the wind die off before you attempt to dock your boat.

 

[Dog Islander]

All the above is sound advice. I find the boat seems to feel like one is driving on ice at times. I believe it feels worse than it actually is, but that doesn't make one feel better. Remember to go slow, as slow as conditions allow, without letting the wind get the better of you. You will only get better with time. Practice, practice, practice. Try not to rely on the thrusters but use them when your final position needs adjustment.

Ray

 

[filliefan]

Thanks to all of you...Curt, NZFisher and Ray..for the sound advice. I just needed to know that I'm not altogether alone with my experience. I do use the auto pilot a lot, but frankly don't remember if I actually disengaged it before I started my docking run. I doubt a fuel pump problem, since the boat is brand new. But I'll certainly look into that. Bottom line. I need to work with the boat a lot and practice under all kinds of conditions. It'll come. And thanks again.

 

[filliefan]

Just recalled something else. My trim tabs were down when I made my docking attempt. Forgot to raise them after I entered the marina until I was actually in the slip. It seems like that should have some impact, possibly a lot, but I was unable to locate anything in an article or book addressing that. Your thoughts?

 

[Red Raven]

I have never experienced any noticeable steering impact by leaving the trim tabs down. They only cause a slight reduction in fuel economy at low speed. I doubt that was it. Let us know your experience next time down the fairway after ensuring the autopilot is not engaged. You can definitely get some strange steering behavior if you have it engaged at low speed with Shadowdrive enabled.

Curt

 

[Barry Cohen]

Hi Larry. I feel your pain. It took me 5 years to see improvement in close quarter maneuvering and docking procedures. At the urging of my wife, I asked a very experienced mariner to come out with me and "show me a few things". The most important thing he showed me was you have to approach at a slow speed and use short bursts of forward, neutral and reverse. Not too much; about a 3 second count. Also, you need to experiment with prop walk. Sometimes these boats do not react as you would expect.

Start practicing right away. I let my ego get in the way and it almost cost me.

 

[SnugTug]

Larry -

You got some very good advice from the forum. Couple of extra tips:

Don't be afraid to go "bow in" if conditions force you outside your comfort zone. You can wait for the wind or current to subside and safely back in later.

If you lose your thruster(s) as I recently did - don't panic. Reset/reposition the boat as best you can let the prop torque work for you - the boat should walk to Port in reverse (takes some practice).

Lastly, find a friendlier slip. In tough conditions, most marinas will gladly let you use a temporary or transient slip. Many marinas will have a Tee-head or launch dock that you should be able to cozy up to without much trouble,

Welcome to the forum.

John

 

[Bruce Moore]

All good advice. A big break through for me in close quarters was learning to feather the throttle. Click from neutral to idle, coast and repeat, rather than staying in idle. Use short, gentle bursts of right or left rudder, to maintain your heading. The initial thrust against the rudder kicks the stern without adding much to momentum. This prevents swinging out in wide turns, which always makes the fairways seem more narrow.

You can actually execute a 180 degree turn within little more than a boat's length by feathering the throttle to kick the stern, feathering a bit in reverse, etc. Practicing this in open water helped me build up the motor memory to use the technique in close quarters. It also works well in other situations, such as keeping your bow into the wind while holding station.

In most cases we can reserve the thrusters for the last few degrees, and the last foot or so to the dock. When conditions are challenging, I go with the advice of others in this thread. Try another approach, or try another spot.

Cheers,

Bruce

 

[SGIDAVE]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to the forum. Just purchased a Cutwater 26, which I like a whole lot for a variety of reasons. But there is one issue for which I need some input from any of you out there who may have experienced a similar problem. It regards docking the boat under windy conditions. I was attempting to right the boat at the entrance to the fairway and, under idle speed, it seemed uncontrollable. It was moving all over the place no matter how hard I tried to steer it into position to head down the fairway. My concern was what would happen once I entered with so little margin for error in the space between the boats and slips lined up to both sides. Turning the wheel didn't elicit much of a response that would likely get me out of trouble if I started to drift. So once I started down I used my thrusters to keep me away from the boats and slips starboard. This kept the boat fairly straight until I reached my slip where I used the thrusters and a little throttle to dock the boat. But without the thrusters, I don't think I could have made it down the fairway without experiencing a little bumper car action. Not good. So how does one control the boat in the fairway without thrusters? Seems doable. The Cutwater,like the Ranger Tugs, has a relatively high profile, shallow draft and rudder for the inboard, the combination of which can make for more challenging maneuvering in windy conditions or in close quarters. But these kind of boats are as old as the hills. So, any tips on how to address this one? Much appreciated.

Thanks.

Larry

Hello Larry,

You need to practice some basic maneuvers. The one Bruce describes above is called "Back and Fill" whereby you turn your boat 180 degrees in 1.5 (or LESS) boat lengths. Instructions are here (http://www.boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/backfill.htm). Also understanding prop walk...our right handed propellers (which means the prop turns CLOCKWISE in forward) will push the stern to PORT in reverse. Use this to your advantage by positioning yourself such that you will turn RIGHT to maneuver into position. When the stern moves LEFT, the bow tends to go STB, and your boat naturally will turn STB easier than port (most noticeable in tight quarters). You will also note that when backing the boat will go toward the PORT much easier than trying to back toward the STB...mostly because of PROP WALK. Do an internets search of that term (prop walk) to learn more...

1. First Exercise: Practice Back and FIll until you can do it while conversing about something unrelated without interruption (i.e., you can do it automatically without intense concentration.

2. Another exercise: Put your boat in reverse with the rudder amidships, then hard STB, and finally hard PORT. Let it go for a few seconds to see how your boat behaves. Dont' be afraid to give it some juice. Someday you may come in a little "hot" and need to halt forward motion with a substantial burst of reverse. You will notice it probably doesn't back toward STB worth a flip.

Learning to do the Back and Fill will force you to become proficient using the throttle in delicate bursts to cause rotational motion of the boat but not much fore/aft movement. This will skill translate into helping you keep the boat going relatively straight down a windy fairway using the throttle bursts to make the boat go straight.

All this practice is to be done in a safe area, etc. Start where the water is flat and minimal wind, if possible.

Consider making a card for the helm area to remind yourself that Prop Walk will push the stern toward the PORT. Same idea as having that card at the helm with instructions for emergency VHF calling procedures. We all know how to do that but under stress it's easy to forget....or confuse...is prop walk LEFT or RIGHT...with the info card there you'll KNOW and soon look like a pro easing down the fairway to the slip, fuel dock, etc.

You CAN do this!

dave

 

[filliefan]

Thanks to all of you for a lot of great advice. Now I need to go practice....and practice. I'm sure it's all worth it.
I'll be checking back to update everyone on my progress. Thanks again.

 

[Bel Canto]

I live across from the fishing fleet in Newport, OR. I am amazed at how these captains can maneuver their boats with single engines and no thrusters. They often approach at speeds that make me nervous, in order to maintain steerage, then use a combination of prop wash and prop walk to make these clumsy boats seem graceful. I want to be like them.