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backwards haha


Titan

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When where to start HOW ??

 

So today after 4 days of working on the boat, i decided to go out up the canal for a bit of me time and rudder engine etc, to enjoy a moment of enjoying motion instead of just working on it. because i could, practice is well needed, having been out several times omly a few miles at a time, I have learnt some basics and manage to of sorts control direction. To leave my mooring on a finger mooring i reverse out slowly straight and when nearly clear engage forward to bring the bow around slightly to the position /angle to then select reverse again? once away from moorings i manage to pull up at bankside along canal with no drama. but today i was in open water Glos sharpness and just tried going reverse and steering??? wow didnt get control? in reverse the bow allways seemed to drift starboard if i gave it lots of wellie the stern would creep to port, but at the same time bow go starboard , If changed rudder direction the bow excellarated same direction? The lock keeper (cart employee/volunteer) watching me may earn 250,00 lol if his camera was working? I spent 20 minutes trying to learn charicteristics of direction and in all honestly I failed :blush: In reverse the tiller straight it seems to go straight at slow revs anything above idle to half power is a mistery !!!!!! regards Martin

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Sounds like you were experiencing the effect of prop walk. Unless there's something unusual about the boat, you can't steer in reverse. The way to do it is to put it back in forwards and the tiller over fully left or right, and give a burst of power. Doing it this way maximises the change of direction without too much 'forwards' which will obviously slow your progress backwards down.

 

If the swim of your boat isn't that good then it won't be that stable (straight) reversing and will tend to go one way or another, at variable amounts.

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As the others said..

 

They don't steer in reverse...

 

I line up the boat facing forward...and then hit reverse..

I try and keep a '3 dimensional view' of where the boat is..in my head...and then watch its progress as it starts to go back..imagining where it will be in 15 seconds time...

As soon as it starts to drift off side....I burst forwards and swing the tiller to correct the direction....then back in reverse...

 

Sometime..on a calm day..it pays to be gentle with the reverse...other days if there's a big wind blowing..its better to get going fast and not give it a chance to drift off.

 

It takes a bit of 'learning curve'...and all boats react differently depending on design.

 

I find that '3 dimensionl overview'.in my head useful...as then you know that if it drifts to a certain point...you will not be able to correct it and clear other boats or the bank. I sight up and down the boat...as well as behind me....

 

Boating will never be an exact science...as some of my poor relatives discovered when 5 of them were drowned !

Edited by Bobbybass
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They don't all steer in reverse would be more accurate. I found Fulbourne steers in reverse very nicely

 

Tawny Owl is a lot trickier

 

I try and keep a '3 dimensional view' of where the boat is..in my head

 

No wonder you are having trouble. I have enough trouble steering the boat across the surface of the water moving in only two dimensions. If you want to go up and down as well... :lol:

 

Richard

Edited by RLWP
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They don't all steer in reverse would be more accurate. I found Fulbourne steers in reverse very nicely

 

Tawny Owl is a lot trickier

 

 

 

No wonder you are having trouble. I have enough trouble steering the boat across the surface of the water moving in only two dimensions. If you want to go up and down as well... :lol:

 

Richard

 

Hmmm..ok smart ass.... :unsure:

 

I mean...I don't just look backwards and see where its going..I monitor its progress in all directions....and 'imagine' where its going in all directions...although up and down may not be one...(now how did I get into this conversation... :rolleyes: )

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I find a bit of power helps a lot but, as Bobbybass said, keep an eye on where you're heading in all directions and plan accordingly :)

 

Also as RLWP says, hull design matters a lot.

 

 

They don't all steer in reverse would be more accurate. I found Fulbourne steers in reverse very nicely - well designed working boat

 

Tawny Owl is a lot trickier - Alvechurch 'brick'

 

;)

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I find a bit of power helps a lot but, as Bobbybass said, keep an eye on where you're heading in all directions and plan accordingly :)

 

Also as RLWP says, hull design matters a lot.

 

 

 

 

;)

 

Are you being rude about my boat?

 

Richard

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Added to all the above good information, the slightest breeze with have quite an effect on a boat going backwards as well.

Try to look forward as much as possible and you will notice as soon as the bow starts to swing, you will spot it much earlier than look back to where you are trying to go, that is the moment to correct it, not once you are really turning.

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isn't it interesting? this question comes up time and time again and it is the worst type of question to be answered on a forum. All boats are different, especially in reverse, the only you learn for any boat is to do it until you are familiar with the characteristics of that boat.

 

There is an exact optimum speed to steer straight, you need to find that by trial and error. You should look forward not back as keeping the boat straight is your goal. Using forward to correct the steering is the 'it will always work'' method but the slowest and even with the best boat is sometimes necessary due to the canal profile and the wind.

 

the other day i had to do the same reverse on two successive days, 1/2 mile, back through a bridge along a long straight, around a bend and another straight. The first day I did it, hardly any course correction smooth as anything, the next day, no discernable difference in conditions it was all over the place. The only difference I could find in the two days were that there was no-one around on day 1 and a few people about on day 2.

 

 

If you can get someone near you to take you out and show you this is the best method to learn.

Edited by Chris Pink
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As others have said all boats are different, but one thing I have noticed that appears to be a 'constant' is that if the water is disturbed by either you or a passing boat then reversing is pretty unpredictable, just relax and wait a while, let it all settle before attempting to reverse.

 

I reversed the pair a month or so back, on a windy day, now that is a challenge! Luckily I only had 500 yrds or so to go else I'd have been there all day. :rolleyes:

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Only in jest :)

 

I think there is a lot more to this. Tawny isn't actually too bad, the swim must be getting on for ten foot long. However, she has only 1' 10" of draught, a small prop and rudder. In addition, she sits fairly level in the water compared to Fulbourne running nose up. So, there is less hull in the water at the back to steer with, and proportionately more in the water at the front to take her off course

 

Now, if you want to crack steering in reverse once and for all, a hydraulic bowthruster takes some beating

 

Richard

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As I have already said...and others have said...each boat is different...

 

Don't forget...that the big difference when going in reverse is that the water from the prop flows forward and under the length of your boat...so your boat is diverting the flow to some extent. Its a bit like when you come into a lock and reverse to slow down....the water flows under the boat...hits the end gates...and comes back to you..colliding in some ways...with its own flow...

 

Lots of variables...so the watch word really...is 'watch'..

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If the boat is moving forward when you hit reverse, the bow will swing because of 'prop walk'. With practise, you will find out which way it goes, then with more practise, before putting in reverse, steer away from where you know it will swing. Hopefully, you will then pull up in a straight line, and, as you find from pulling out of your mooring, should reverse ok. This is well worth practising, because the first time you approach a bridge hole, and a huge bow of a working boat appears, believe me, you will want to reverse!

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If the boat is moving forward when you hit reverse, the bow will swing because of 'prop walk'. With practise, you will find out which way it goes, then with more practise, before putting in reverse, steer away from where you know it will swing. Hopefully, you will then pull up in a straight line, and, as you find from pulling out of your mooring, should reverse ok. This is well worth practising, because the first time you approach a bridge hole, and a huge bow of a working boat appears, believe me, you will want to reverse!

 

 

My advice is don't worry about where you're going just watch the bow like a hawk, if you blink it will swing of course and you will have lost it.

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My manual bow thruster starts getting pretty angry after 10 minutes or so poling one side then the next.

 

Get you bowthruster to try trailing the pole in the water while leaning on it

 

Or get a mudweight

 

Richard

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It sort of works. A mud weight definitely works

 

Richard

 

It does. I've seen it happen

 

Plus there's the chance of finding treasure when you pull the mud weight up after dragging it along the canal bottom

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