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Miemie

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Without a bowthruster it is never that easy, but some boats are better at it than others. My only tip would be, presuming you need to reverse some distance in a straight line, to try to stop the boat from turning before it starts so doing. Once a swing develops you won't be able to stop it in reverse. To detect the first hint of a swing, whilst it is still recoverable, spend most of your time looking ahead over the bow, this gives much better visual references. Look back only occasionally to check you aren't going to hit something.

  • Greenie 1
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Keep looking forward, using the handrails as 'tram lines' in relation to the bank will tell you if you are going in a straight line. The odd burst in forward gear will swing you back on track. But golden rule - stay IN FRONT of the tiller arm - if you suck up a log between the rudder and prop, it could kick the tiller over enough to put you in the cut, and the boat will then move over you - prop first!

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Miemie, on 06 Apr 2014 - 3:23 PM, said:

I have mastered all driving Barr using reverse any good tips for a novice about easy reversing

 

Most boats steer badly or not at all in reverse so set the direction going forwards slightly and stop the boat.

 

Place the tiller straight ahead and then engage reverse, you may find the prop will pull the boat off line (ours does) in which case gently re set the direction with a slight motion forward. Of course you will need to do the same if the wind moves you off line too.

 

To change direction mid reverse reset going forwards slightly and repeat above.

 

The above works most of the time for me.

 

The biggest thing to note is that when you do an absolute perfect reverse there will be not a living soul to witness it but if you mess up there will be a large crowd just waiting to give you 'encouragement' take the pee....

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Most boats steer badly or not at all in reverse so set the direction going forwards slightly and stop the boat.

 

Place the tiller straight ahead and then engage reverse, you may find the prop will pull the boat off line (ours does) in which case gently re set the direction with a slight motion forward. Of course you will need to do the same if the wind moves you off line too.

 

To change direction mid reverse reset going forwards slightly and repeat above.

 

The above works most of the time for me.

 

For me too. Oh, unless...

- There's a lock filling or emptying within half a mile.

- There's a crosswind of over 2 mph.

- There are (assumed) depth variations on that bit of canal.

- There's a "y" in the day.

....and various other factors.

 

A respected local boat engineer told me that 'Trojan' steers well in reverse: maybe she does, just not quite in the direction that I want her to go in.

Edited by Athy
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Our first NB was a bottom of the range "Millenium" boat - it steered perfectly in reverse - in fact as well in reverse as in forward, all subsequent boats have had a mind of their own - I can get it going straight and it veers off - blast of forward, back into reverse, veers off etc etc.

 

Takes a long time to back up 100 yards.

 

Answer - Buy a boat that is short enough to turn around anywhere.

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Get a stern drive. They steer in reverse beautifully biggrin.png

The propeller is at the stern, what do you mean?

Will a stern look do instead? As a former school master I used to be quite good at those.

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Must agree - when we had the Twin engined Fairline it was a doddle to park up anywhere in any direction - one engine in forward and one in reverse and spin on the spot.

Even with one you can put it where you where you want with a bit of practise.

 

You wouldn't think so with some of the efforts we have seen today mind!

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Plan ahead so you never have to go backwards!

 

But if plan A fails, do it (reverse) very slowly. The basic principle is to 'kick' the arsend back into a straight line when needed -- hence the references to give it some "slight movement forwards". Put it in forward gear for several seconds and put the tiller right over to direct the prop's thrust. If you are going roughly in the right direction (stood on the arsend) the rest of the boat will follow, but not necessarily parallel to the bank.

 

Go and play where nobody is watching!

  • Greenie 2
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I have never tried it, but I understand that when having to reverse a long way, trawling a bucket or something similar, tied to the bow stud (used like a sea anchor) helps to keep the boat straight?

Yes, I have heard this but never tried it. If you haven't got a bucket, would a CART "chugger" do instead?

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Our boat is normally quite good at going backwards, but if you have problems why not try the method used by the old working boatmen? They used to do it single handed, but it is easier if you ut someone on the back end with the engine in reverse and the tiller in line with the boat. You then take up position on the foredeck with a long pole and steer with that, pushing against the bed of the canal in whichever direction you want the bow to go.

 

I have used that method a couple of times in windy weather and when negotiating bends and it works well.

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Our first NB was a bottom of the range "Millenium" boat - it steered perfectly in reverse - in fact as well in reverse as in forward, all subsequent boats have had a mind of their own - I can get it going straight and it veers off - blast of forward, back into reverse, veers off etc etc.

 

Takes a long time to back up 100 yards.

 

Answer - Buy a boat that is short enough to turn around anywhere.

And you will need to turn it, cause it sure as hell won't go backwards in a straight line.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

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My mooring is about a third of a mile from the clubhouse so, rather than turn round twice to get there and back, (fill up with water, empty cassettes, move stuff to and from car etc. ), I take the chance to reverse there almost every time I go, which is sometimes weekly, mostly fortnightly.

 

Sometimes it's dead calm, sometimes it's windy. Sometimes I do a great job, other times I zig zag all the way. (sometimes I chicken out, and head to where I can turn around :) ).

 

Pretty or not, if ever I have to reverse in anger, I have a fairly good idea of how to get started, how the boat might handle, and how to get back on line if the rudder isn't doing too well.

 

Forward gear is my bow thruster. If I'm going off line, a burst ahead, with the tiller hard over one way or the other, swings the boat so you can get going in reverse in the right direction.

 

On a good day, watching the bow really closely, (I watch the TV aerial pole), you can sometimes sense the boat beginning to go off line, before it actually happens, and some correction on the tiller will stop it before it starts.

 

It's not intuitive but, if you've done it lots of times in controlled circumstances, you have a better chance when you have no choice.

 

If you are fairly new to narrowboating, a 2 day RYA Inland Waterways Helmsmans Course is a good investment. You could ask to spend a bit more time on reversing than the norm'

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Our boat is normally quite good at going backwards, but if you have problems why not try the method used by the old working boatmen? They used to do it single handed, but it is easier if you ut someone on the back end with the engine in reverse and the tiller in line with the boat. You then take up position on the foredeck with a long pole and steer with that, pushing against the bed of the canal in whichever direction you want the bow to go.

 

I have used that method a couple of times in windy weather and when negotiating bends and it works well.

 

I have on occasion steered single handed, but using the long pole from the stern.

 

I find this is OK provided you go slowly; and that way you are near to the engine controls.

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One tip that i have used in the past. If you find the back end always goes away from the towpath when reversing, if you have a crew member they can take the stern line and hold the back end towards the towpath as you reverse. Moored boats become a problem though

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I agree with looking 'back', towards the bow, to better judge position.

Slow is safe but only at a higher speeds will the rudder have a signifcant effect. If you feel no resistance to rudder commands in reverse it is having little effect. Around 35-45 degrees has the greatest effect.

Crew at the bow using a pole is fine if they are competant or obey the commands of the steerer.

 

It is useful to understand the effect of 'prop-walk' - as well as setting up to allow for this before reversing you can steer by increasing or decreasing engine revs. Reversing past a line of moored boats on a bend at tickover I may stay close to them and push off with a boot on their gunwhale to maintain position.

 

After 38 years of canal boating (~50 days per annum) I cannot claim to have 'mastered' all manoeuvres! I almost mastered my previous 33' nb, centre cockpit, wheel steering, inboard shaft drive, square sterned, that many found 'difficult' to steer but I could usually stop parallel to and less than a foot from a mooring or tight to a wide lock side, stop in a straight line (rudder before throttle) and often reverse considerable distances. My 70', deeper draught, nb that is considered to 'swim well' goes astern quite well but, ahead, I cannot get her to stop within leaping distance of the bank and often end up diagonally across a wide lock.

 

I have a 9" length of wool attached to my radio aerial at the bow that, like a pennant on a sailing yacht, helps me to judge wind direction and strength. Emerging from the shelter of trees or buildings invariably upsets my neat reversing. A significant head or tailwind is difficult as it will exaggerate even a minor change of direction.

 

HTH, Alan

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The stern of almost any (single prop) boat will want to turn to port or starboard when going in reverse. Usually it's a right hand prop ie it turns clockwise when going forwards, so when you put it in reverse the wash from the prop goes to starboard, pushing the stern to port.

 

Whether you can make the boat go astern in a straight line depends on how much you can control the sterns tendency to wander to port. With some boats it is easy, others it's impossible. On a tiller steered boat you would normally push the tiller over to port, the idea being that the water flow is then directed down the port side counteracting the starboard side force of the prop. But there's no point in putting the tiller right over, what you are trying to do is line up the rudder with the underwater swim of the boat in the hope that enough flow will be created to counter the force of the prop. I've noticed that boats with long swims tend to respond to this better, but there's all sorts of other factors to consider which is why it's often maddening why some boats will steer well astern and others just do their own thing.

 

 

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Something else, from recent experience

 

If you should find the boat is going in roughly the right direction in reverse, don't change anything and try to look like you meant it. I reversed an unfamiliar boat about 120' the other day in one go by a complete fluke. The owner was very impressed

 

Richard

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Is it worth worth rmentioning that that a narrowboat axis is, I think, about two thirds of the way down the boat? Someone told me that anyway.

 

 

When going forward yes, but it changes when going astern to being closer to the stern.

 

Having spent many years professionally studying and working with the "Paddle wheel effect" on various sizes of ships and boats, I can say that on the various canal boats I have been on going astern is purely in the mind of the boat and has nothing to do with what you expect her to actually do. Normally going the opposite way to what you expected. Personal best so far was 2 1/2 boat lengths at Devizes Wharf. Fairly straight(ish) line and where I wanted her to go. Of course no one to see me do that!!

Edited by Dharl
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