Advice backing a typhoon under power

[Laura]

Does anyone have experience backing a Typhoon?

We have a sort of unusual docking arrangment -- the small sailboats are docked in vee-berths (bow in obviously!) and there are only two lines. The lines are sort of of aft spring lines. The boats are almost rafted up, it's so snug. Getting in has been okay, but getting out is seriously affecting my confidence!

Have tried all kinds of techniques; when backing in reverse, my main problem is losing control when switching to forward motion. The bow falls off one way or the other and I have no control with the rudder.

In my harbor -- Mamaroneck -- you are required to use a motor in the harbor.

Any advice is appreciated! A close call on our first sailing day with the shrouds and the anchor roller on a rather large power boat...

Laura
s/v Harmony
1985 Typhoon



lcaldero@earthlink.net

[Mike Wainfeld]

Laura-
I don't even try to motor my Typhoon out of the slip. My boat is in tha slip bow first with bulkhead along the port side. I can stand in the cokpit, and with the motor idling, walk the boat back hand over hand along the bulkhead. When I get back far enough, I can pivot the bow around with my feet on the cokpit floor and seat, and when clear of the piling on my starboard side, I shift to forward and then motor out. When I left the slip at the boatyard, with pilings on each side, I again stood in the cockpit and with a boathook in hand could push myself out. I pushed against a piling to move the bow around, and then shifted to forward and motored. I find this much easier to control than backing with the motor.



ripcord!@erols.com

[sloopjohnl]

you need some way under in reverse to get any steerage in that direction. the typhoon backs a pretty good straight line and responds sluggishly to the tiller. when i have to i back out at a slight angle or straight out, put the motor in neutral, drift back as close to other boats as prudent, set the tiller so the bow will turn in the direction i want to head, then gun the motor for a short burst to get some way under, then cut back on the throttle.
happy motoring!

[Bill Bloxham]

Mike has the right idea.
For a lot of incurable reasons, our ty's do not back up well. Between keel hung rudders, outboard prop shape (and the difficulty of getting a suitable prop for a down-market (low hp) outboard)and a fairly stable beam/LWL ratio under sail we cannot hope for directional stability under power.
I use an oar. It puts the boat where I need it to be, even in a strong crosswind. You don't need great upper body strength, just use your torso.
The best thing I did to help my Ty motor well was to put the motor mount on the boat's centerline. Doing that cut my turning circle from 75' to about 40' under power. These figures were measured at slow speeds on my 75' lagoon using both rudder and engine tiller to make the turn to my pier. I find that now I can make the turn (with room to spare) with tiller alone. Of course, if you sail at night, your rear light is now occluded, and must be moved. If you do this, you might consider a tri-color light for the masthead. (I don't know where you sail, but in Barnagat Bay we have more drunken powerboaters then mosquitoes, and I want to be seen).
The oar is really easy to use (mine is 5') and precise.
Having said all that, I am in the process of changing my motor to a traditional style (off-center) that would allow me to stow my 3.5 hp Nissan below easely to balance the boat while under sail. If I did not have a severe chop at the entrance way to my lagoon community, I would sail without a outboard.
Good luck. Although you might have some trouble getting out of your slip, once you are out life's much better.
Fair winds
Bill



mmmmmmbill@aol.com

[Chris Reinke - CD330]

Laura - I had a similar docking arrangement for my old 19' O'Day Mariner. The distance from my stern to the bow of boats on the opposite finger was less than my boats normal turning radius. I lengthened my stern line to about 25' and kept the free end in the boat as I would back out (usually walked as much out as possible). As soon as the bow cleared the slip finger I would hold fast on the stern line around my aft cleat which would prevent my stern from drifting into the bows of the boats on the neighboring fingers. The result was the bow would continue to fall off until I was pointed directly out the channel. I would then toss the stern line around a large (I am a bad shot) hook on the end of the pilling where it could be easily retrieved with a boat hook upon my return.

This method worked great for me when I was going out solo.

The best advise I could offer is to practice. When I purchased each of my boats (19', 22', 32', 33') I would spend a day practicing precision maneuvers at low speeds to simulate docking. I usually found a buoy in some out of the way location (out of sight of other yacht club members)and tried to approach it from all points of the wind, and from all four sides of the boat.

Good Luck - The Ty is a wonderful boat!

Does anyone have experience backing a Typhoon?

We have a sort of unusual docking arrangment -- the small sailboats are docked in vee-berths (bow in obviously!) and there are only two lines. The lines are sort of of aft spring lines. The boats are almost rafted up, it's so snug. Getting in has been okay, but getting out is seriously affecting my confidence!

Have tried all kinds of techniques; when backing in reverse, my main problem is losing control when switching to forward motion. The bow falls off one way or the other and I have no control with the rudder.

In my harbor -- Mamaroneck -- you are required to use a motor in the harbor.

Any advice is appreciated! A close call on our first sailing day with the shrouds and the anchor roller on a rather large power boat...

Laura
s/v Harmony
1985 Typhoon

[Harris]

I long ago gave up docking for mooring but in those early years I soon gave up the idea of using reverse at all. If the boat is docked bow in walk it out and go to the bow and grab the piling or your neighbors bowrail and use that to turn your boat towards the entrance. Start pulling the boat forward to get momentum..then go aft and bang her in forward and steer.



hg@myhost.com

[Dick Sisson]

or your knees and steer the boat by swiviling the motor, otherwise the situation will deteriorate into a can of worms, as you have found out. When you can go forward and have room, you can lock the motor, release the bungee and steer with the tiller.



dickee@crosslink.net

[Laura]

Thanks! Will try out the advice & tips this weekend. In reading the posts and the past threads, I realize that it the behavior is not completely unpredictable - there is a definite tendancy for the boat to fall off on the side of the boat that the motor is mounted on (port).

We have also scheduled a session with an instructor from Sea Sense on May 10 (we are still beginners! Just started sailing last summer; had the boat since August). If anything worthwhile comes up, I will post to list.



lcaldero@earthlink.net