Dual Rudder & sail drive - Marina procedures

[jimp1234]

I'm chartering a boat (monohull) at the end of the month with dual rudders and a sail drive. I've heard from friends that sailing the boat is not much different but they can be quirky in a tight marina. Is there a different technique for getting in and out of a slip (particularly exit in reverse). For stern ways departure do you need to use lots of gas to get water moving over both rudders so I can turn? Could be tough if your near the end of the fairway. How about a "back and fill" turn? I guess to further complicate things a saildrive won't have much prop walk. Any and all comments would be appreciated.

[Sailmonkey]

Never sailed a boat like that, but back and fill won't work. I'd imagine with that setup speed is your friend, no matter the direction of travel.

[Stumble]

The problem I see that there is no, absolutly no prop wash over the rudders, so you have much less control over what is going on, particularly at very low speeds. So keep the speed up, and if it starts to get hairy back in. Not because you have to back in, but because all of your experience while backing is with no prop wash so it will feel much more normal.

Once you get used to it, it isn't much of an issue, but it takes a few times doing it to get the feel. Because it is different than a single rudder.

[Snowpetrel]

I skippered a twin rudder yacht for a season. I found she maneuvered very well astern. So I often backed into tight spots, often starting astern well outside the area in open water, and backing 500 meters or so into the spot I wanted to be. Worked on the 60 footer I ran. YMMV.

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[akprb]

You'll love it! You'll be backing into everything!

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by akprb

You'll love it! You'll be backing into everything!

I think you have it. I don't want anything without prop wash over a rudder unless the prop pivots. Reverse is particularly bad.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Pretty much, you have to throw & catch such boats with the engine. Meaning get enough way on with the prop that your helm answers, & then aim her where you want to be. After which you let momentum get you close, & then use the prop to stop her.

It's much like "driving" a vehicle up an icy/slippery incline. Where you have to judge how much speed to put on to carry you up to the top, & let gravity either slow or stop you when you get there.

BTW, reversible pitch props like Max-Prop are really, really helpful when doing this, since they give you as much thrust in reverse as you get in forward. And they switch directions like this in only a second or three. So you might inquire with the charter company as to whether the boat has one or not, & or request a boat wich such a prop.

Also, another reason for backing into a slip, or when manuvering in close quarters with such boats, is that if when backing in you realize you've blown the approach, it's very easy to simply punch the throttle & drive away (bow first) out of danger. And then set up for another try. Which, it's good practice to learn to do this with any vessel that at all backs reasonably well.

[Fore and Aft]

Backing out of the berth in our twin rudder 10 meter yacht is always a bit of heart racer until she has some speed up. Then it's all good, the worst days are when we have a breeze on the beam. Never hit anything yet, but have provided a few good shows for everyone.

Cheers

[Hydra]

I have helmed yachts with twin rudders and regular propeller (Bénéteau Oceanis 311). Without prop wash over the rudders, it was critical to keep sufficient headway until the last moment, to be able to turn.

In reverse, the prop walk was so strong that it was impossible to back in a straight line from rest. Even with full rudder, the stern went to port until there was sufficient flow over the rudder blades.

But in my experience, yachts with a sail drive experience much less prop walk in reverse because the wash from the propeller is horizontal and doesn't impact the hull.

Alain