Going Backwards

[Paul C]

Of course, if all else fails you can go forwards to the next winding hole, wind and come back. No reversing needed (unless you reach the end of a dead end canal....

 

Gets coat

 

Some people plan their holiday trips to be a ring, specifically so they don't need to reverse or wind the boat.

[Detling]

If you are waiting for a lock to be emptied/filled etc. practice just holding the boat in the centre of the channel and even reversing a few metres. you will find after many practices it will get easier but you are unlikely ever to be able to get a narrowboat to travel backwards, more than it's own length, with no problems when there is anybody watching.

[Retardedrocker]

...which, in case our Mr. Rocker does not realise, is a scathing reference to bow thrusters, not to ladies' tummies.

On Sunday I would happily have sold my wife, children and grandchildren for bow thrusters!

 

Cheers,

T.

[ditchcrawler]

But if no one saw you pull of the perfect manouvre, how can you prove you did it?

Its the same as the big fish I caught

[NickF]

If you are waiting for a lock to be emptied/filled etc. practice just holding the boat in the centre of the channel and even reversing a few metres. you will find after many practices it will get easier

That's what I do, I don't have my own boat so every boat I hire handles differently and this gives me a chance to get used to it.

[tagulablue]

When I was much much younger I bought a flash 4x4 turbo sports car .... my old mum was heard telling the neighbour ... "she paid all that money ...you'd have thought they would have given her something with 4 doors" .... 25 years later my daughter now says " all that money for a boat and you're telling me it has no reverse steering , just think what grandma would have had to say about that"

[Janet S]

I did the RYA Helmsman's course a couple of years ago with RichardH. Despite having been boating for several years, it was necessary for me to do it for me to be able to conduct hire boat handovers.

 

At the end of the day, I managed to steer the boat, in reverse, for about 300 yards and bring the boat into the bank between moored boats with an audience of watching gongoozlers at the local cafe.

 

I have never been so chuffed!

 

Janet

[bizzard]

Never be backward in coming forward.

[Sea Dog]

Never be backward in coming forward.

 

That's a bit of a sideways remark!

[Murflynn]

I did the RYA Helmsman's course a couple of years ago with RichardH. Despite having been boating for several years, it was necessary for me to do it for me to be able to conduct hire boat handovers.

 

At the end of the day, I managed to steer the boat, in reverse, for about 300 yards and bring the boat into the bank between moored boats with an audience of watching gongoozlers at the local cafe.

 

I have never been so chuffed!

 

Janet

just make sure when you reverse onto a mooring that the boat behind hasn't got his thruster ready.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

....................... coat

[jenevers]

In line with the drogue idea, I've often wondered if an anchor chain, attached to the T stud and thrown overboard would cause enough drag to keep the bows in a central position in the canal. It wouldn't foul on any underwater objects, like a mud weight.

[Loafer]

Most of the old giffers, on boats, that I've spoken to about bow thrusters say that they would all have had them if they existed in 'their day'.

 

Not one of them have had bow thrusters retro-fitted though. They are more proud of their boat handling skills, ever to get a girlie button of their own!

 

ETA: You don't see many 'smug' bow-thruster users. I see lots of smug non-bowthruster geezers though, after they just got it right, without one, in difficult windy conditions.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Loafer

[Keeping Up]

There's nothing better for making smugness than being complimented on your reversing with the added caveat of "I presume you have a bow thruster, to have managed it like that"

[Loafer]

It does help to have a long aft swim though. Very difficult in boats that don't have that.

[eggnostriva]

I was told by an experienced boater that (Weather permitting) if you bring your boat to a stop gently, then drop it into reverse tick over it may well go straight. My boat was a monster until I tried this. Depending on wind and flow I can usually get my boat to go straight back. As a side issue, If I put my boat into full reverse when moving forward, prop walk will act as a stern thruster steering my stern to port. I use this to my advantage, bringing the stern in and using the centre rope.

Hope this helps.

[johnnie1uk]

I have just had a hire boat for a few days, and wanting to feel i was in control of the vessel i tried going astern manouvers, on each occasion the boat reacted differently always the opposite to my intention, Now i know why!

[Phil Ambrose]

We just turn the wheel, much easier

Hey the joys of a outdrive.

Phil

[Detling]

On a recent cruise in a big ship (50,000 tons) when reversing out of a mooring alongside a jetty the captain / pilot made full use of the bow thruster to steer the ship. I is a bit bigger than mine though at 1.5 Megawatts or 2250 HP.

[dccruiser]

Best to use your bow thruster or if you haven't got one, I find the following technique sort of works, most of the time, depending on wind or gongoozlers.

 

1. Manoeuvre the boat in forward gear, so that the stern is pointed where you want to go.

 

2. Reverse slowly, keeping an eye on where you want to reverse to.

 

3. When the boat diverges from where you want to reverse to, engage toward gear to manoeuvre so that the stern is pointed to where you want to go. (done properly, you make the correction in forward gear whilst the boats momentum continues to carry it backwards).

 

4. Repeat 2 & 3 until you get where you want to be.

 

Edited to make the instructions even clearer

I do exactly the same, always keep engine revs low and do everything slowly, that way the boat never breaks away to far to get it back onto the intended course, see so many people revving the nuts off their engines when maneuvering, but instead of giving them more control it just makes the inevitable loss of control happen a whole lot quicker!

 

Rick

[Naughty Cal]

Hey the joys of a outdrive.

Phil

There has to be one benefit to the God forsaken thing!

[furnessvale]

I do exactly the same, always keep engine revs low and do everything slowly, that way the boat never breaks away to far to get it back onto the intended course, see so many people revving the nuts off their engines when maneuvering, but instead of giving them more control it just makes the inevitable loss of control happen a whole lot quicker!

 

Rick

IMO there is nothing worse in the confines of a canal than getting vast amounts of water moving all over the place. The reflections and pressure bulges you cause will keep knocking you off course.

 

It's the boat that needs to be moving not the water.

 

Conversely, judicious use of a squirt of reverse throttle can create such a pressure bulge to help manoeuvring as was pointed out in a fairly recent thread.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[NickF]

I do exactly the same, always keep engine revs low and do everything slowly, that way the boat never breaks away to far to get it back onto the intended course, see so many people revving the nuts off their engines when maneuvering, but instead of giving them more control it just makes the inevitable loss of control happen a whole lot quicker!

 

Rick

I am a great fan of slow and calm with not too many revs, makes everything much more peaceful and not nearly so much noise.

[Dinz]

I was told years ago that if you think you are going too slow then you are probably at the right speed

After a while I realised they were quite right.

[Pete of Ebor]

When we went to pick up a hire boat at Middlewich some years ago, we found it was pointing the wrong way. We were 'advised' to go up three locks, wind at The Junction and then come back down three locks. Stuff that for a game of soldiers we thought, so we reversed a quarter of a mile to the other winding hole - and it all went very nicely too. We had to pull out from the mooring, then pass all their other boats - going backwards - and under the intense scrutiny of the staff...