Jump to content

Reversing into a berth


Calranthe

Featured Posts

We have been allocated berth V1 at Aston Marina, love its placement and the view is great but when we get there with out 20ft stern drive (enfield Z drive) how hard would it be to go in stern first, I know our little craft reverses really well, I just want to figure out how hard a maneuver it will be.

This is a picture of the Marina and where we will be.

The reason is simple, with my wife's disability getting on the boat will be easier on the none pilot chair side or even better if I can get close enough a ramp onto the stern.

Berth+Plan+Labelled.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It gets easier with practice - just 'creep' backwards, stop 'early' get off the boat and 'walk it' the last few feet - you don't want to be banging your stern drive on the pontoon. As experience comes you can reverse in further and further until you get 'good enough' to stop in exactly the correct spot.

 

Just a thought :

Your mooring looks to be a long way from the car-park, café, toilets etc, can your wife negotiate / walk along a pontoon easily ?

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

It gets easier with practice - just 'creep' backwards, stop 'early' get off the boat and 'walk it' the last few feet - you don't want to be banging your stern drive on the pontoon. As experience comes you can reverse in further and further until you get 'good enough' to stop in exactly the correct spot.

 

Just a thought :

Your mooring looks to be a long way from the car-park, café, toilets etc, can your wife negotiate / walk along a pontoon easily ?

Has great wheelchair access really smooth and the main dock area is quite wide.

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is all a matter of practice.

Before attempting to get into your berth find an area of open water and practice reversing the boat and seeing which way it naturally wants to turn. 

Take note of the wind direction in relation to your berth. Small light boats are easily blown off course.

Most of all try not to panic and if it all does go wrong don't grab a fist full of throttle as this will only make things worse if you do hit something. Drifting slowly into something is unlikely to do any harm.

  • Greenie 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As NC says, a lot will have to do with wind direction  and strength. But practice practice practice is the solution. 

Dunno if prop walk will affect your boat to much! 

Edited by rusty69
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

As NC says, a lot will have to do with wind direction  and strength. But practice practice practice is the solution. 

Dunno if prop walk will affect your boat to much! 

Yes it will.

Even ours with counter rotating duo props which are supposed to eliminate prop walk, still has it.

Hence my comment on finding which way the boat wants to naturally turn.

Ours heads to port so we use this to our advantage when manoeuvring.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 minutes ago, Calranthe said:

It should be fun we also have the  weirdness of the throttle being reverse as in push forward is reverse best not to forget that in the heat of the moment.

Actually - it would be 'best' to get it connected correctly - one day you may ask someone to move the boat for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have always made a point of reversing into my berth, but in the last marina there was at least one occasion when due to the wind I had to go in forward,you may find the same. A day like to day being a bloody good example. If the wind is on your side good, bit if its against you then sometimes you just have to accept it.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I find reversing into berths easier than going forwards. Because as long as you get the back right and guide the back in the front usually comes with. You do need to find what way your boat wants to turn naturally then go from there; so figure out if your facing into the marina or as if you are heading out before performing the reverse. 

Edited by Catnip King
Link to comment
Share on other sites

24 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If you don't reverse in you'll just have to reverse out, so you will need to get the hang of reversing the boat anyway.

Quite right! I think you may be worrying unduly about this. The first couple of times you may be apprehensive, but like anything in life, practise makes perfect, and within a very short time you will wonder what all the fuss was about. There is nothing like hands on experience. Enjoy your boat and its new berth.:boat:

 

Howard

Link to comment
Share on other sites

33 minutes ago, David Mack said:

If you don't reverse in you'll just have to reverse out, so you will need to get the hang of reversing the boat anyway.

But you'd be reversing into an open space, rather than a tight berth - hence why its always easier to go forwards into this style of mooring and reverse out.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

With this type of boat I wouldn't get too hung up about which way round to moor it. I would moor it whichever way the wind is letting it go.

If the wind is blowing off the mooring there is no point trying with a shallow drafted light boat to reverse in. By the time the stern end is anywhere near the pontoon the bow end will have buggered off. Better to come in bow in where you can get the bow very close and then swing the stern around. We find a taking a line from the bow to a centre cleat (if fitted) helps in this situation then as soon as you step off you have hold of all of the boat, not just one end.

If the wind is blowing onto your berth then coming in stern first isnt such a problem as the bow will be blown onto the pontoon for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Having moored at Aston, I don't think that the wind will be too much of an issue at that particular berth. The marina is protected from the canal by a tall earth bank. Also it's just inside the entrance, which is sheltered by the new wedding/function room, and the rising land up to the nearby lock. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've nothing major to add as all the good stuff has been covered!

It's a great idea to work on your boat handling away from the stresses and strains of a few beady eyes and other vessels. Always make it harder than it is in real life (put in an imaginary obstruction/put yourself in with the wind to the wrong side etc blah).

When you are nervous or unsure and have a crowd it turn the simplest thing into the most terrifying of manoeuvres!

As I used to tell my students when I was teaching boat handling....  "Slow is beautiful"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Practice practice practice. 

Ive started to reverse into my berth a few months ago. I'm getting there. I get strange looks on the canal when there are no boats around I can be seen practicing my reversing aiming for a point on the bank. Luckily the G&S canal is wide enough to turn a 60ftr around. 

I still get nervous coming into the marina nearly 2 years of owning the boat. But it's always the same when you do your best reversing no one sees but when you cock it right up everyone sees. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Again... practice!!  From my online mooring, I motor ahead to the clubhouse a few hundred yards away, when I want to fill up with water, empty the loo, etc.

When I've finished, instead of heading for the winding point, I always reverse back to the mooring and reverse into it, (not as difficult as into a marina berth), so I get plenty of practice, plenty of strange looks, and some admiring looks and comments.

I don't know how I would do reversing into a marinas narrow pontoon berth with a boat on one side, and the pontoon on the other, but I have a good idea of how the boat behaves, what to do to make it turn one way or the other, and when to use a burst of ahead to straighten it up. All things that I would not relish discovering in the heat of a moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Its got a Z drive so the stern will go whichever way the leg is pointing as long as its in gear.  I suspect it will be easier than with a shaft drive boat.

Until the wind or current catches the shallow drafted bow and swings it around!

It is just practice and learning how the boat behaves in certain circumstances.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Whatever you do for the first few times, don't go experimental in a wind.  Wind will/can make an idiot out of anyone and if you are scarred by that in the beginning, it take a long time to get any confidence.

Edited by mark99
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.