Advice docking a boat with throttle mounted down low?

[StoneCrab]

Those Morse cable control systems are pretty basic. Why not just make your own control station where you want it and how you want it?

Mock it up with cheap material, see how you like it, modify to suit. After an iteration or two, make the permanent one.

[Lionshooter]

A 2' piece of 2" PVC makes the job quite simple.

[Cheechako]

When docking, by the time you are near the dock you are going slow. I have not found it to be a big issue to reach down quickly.
You could always mod it to be on the steering pedestal instead though.

[captlloyd]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

You imagine correctly. Our first boat many years ago had such an arrangement and I still remember how much of a pain it was. Never again!!


Why any designer put it there is a mystery but it's relatively simple to move it if you have room at the pedestal which is certainly simpler than the contortions necessary when docking.

That does look like a horrid arrangement to me. I would certainly move the throttle close to the tiller even if it meant adding a control housing.

[sailor_ed]

I saw an old Block Island 40 that had a low shift lever in the cockpit. The owner had the lever cut down and welded a motocycle heel and toe shift lever to it. Gave him very nice control with his foot from a standing position. Would work for fuel too, I imagine

[FabioC]

The OP raises a very legitimate question, one that I was planning to ask myself...

I have a Jeanneau and the throttle/gear control is indeed down and on starboard. I understand that with the current design of the pedestal, it would have been difficult to place it on the pedestal (my boat also has twin wheels, so twin pedestals). However, they could have slightly modified the pedestal design and come up with a much better solution, as other boats have...

Indeed, the current arrangement is very awkward. On a starboard tie,iIf you are standing while docking, you have two choices, both far from ideal: either taking your eyes off the maneuver, or fiddling with the throttle "blindly". I opt for one or the other depending on the circumstances, but there is no question that this poor arrangement adds stress and possibility of errors, especially if you are docking singlehanded (when you have to stop the boat exactly where you need to and jump out with the line(s) immediately). For example, a few weeks back, I put the throttle "blindly" in what I thought it was neutral (but instead was min reverse), and jumped off with the line. I only realized that the boat was actually in reverse as I was struggling to keep her in place with the lines... Not a big deal, but still embarrassing (my slip neighbor will tease me about it for years to come)... (also, in most Jeanneaus, you cannot "see" the throttle handle once you are on the dock, since it is so low, so it took a good 30 seconds for me to realize that the boat was in reverse without anybody aboard...).

The issue is even worse on a port tie, since the stern is very wide and the throttle is quite far (in addition to being low) from the port wheel. The best solution is to avoid port ties whenever possible (this was actually the reason why I changed my permanent slip at my marina from a port tie to a starboard tie). If that is not possible and you have to do a port tie, it is indeed an additional challenge, as thee is no better solution other than jumping back and forth from port to starboard...

I find it hard to believe that at Beneteau (they have a similar arrangement) and Jeanneau they did not think about this issue...

By the way, to make things even more awkward, in my Jeanneau (not sure about other models), the throttle handle is not screwed nor permanently secured to the throttle/gear control, it is simply inserted in. Thus, if you grab it too hard with some upward motion (as it can happen when you "look" for it blindly...), it comes off (!), leaving you with a throttle control with no handle (!). I am sure Jeanneau's engineers got a good laugh (and probably still do) when they came up with such handle design...

[Scaramanga F25]

Single lever...use your foot.

[Traitch]

I have sailed a Tanzer 28 since 1978 with the low single lever throttle and have always used my foot while standing with no problem. Just takes practice.

[rmesfo]

You will get used to it, either way. Just remember, neutral is always your friend when docking.

[TrentePieds]

Hpeer:

No criticism meant, but if I may be so bold: "Backing and filling” is an evolution performed in square rigged ships, and refers to deft trimming of square sails in order either to go about or to wear in a confined space. Nothing to do with maneuvering under power.

I believe what you mean is what I, not knowing ,or perhaps having forgotten, a "proper" nautical term for it, call "doing a pirouette". i.e. alternately using forward and reverse gear in order to capitalize on prop-WALK when going astern and on prop-WASH (impacting the rudder) when going forward. The secret is to take advantage of the time lag between the slewing ("twisting") occurring, and the beginning a little later in time of making way, either head-way or stern-way.

J314erre and hpeer:

This is a standard evolution in handling single screw power vessels and not hard to learn, though of course, a certain amount of systematic thinking is required as well as a sensitivity to what the ship is actually doing at every moment of the maneuver.

Since you use the pronoun "we", I take it you are not single-handing. Take a leaf from the book of ship maneuvering where the helmsman and the conning officer are two different persons. In TrentePieds we do it just for the fun of it, and because it solidifies the teamwork that is desirable in a boat. Generally MyBeloved is the "engineer" and I am conning officer-cum-steersman.

There are, just like on a real engine room telegraph, seven positions: 1) "Stop" - This is shift in neutral, throttle at idle (950 RPM) 2) "Slow Ahead" - this is shift in forward gear, the "throttle" at idle. 3) "Half Ahead" - this is shift in forward, throttle at a position giving 1,250 RPM, and 4) "Full Ahead", shift in forward, throttle at a position giving 2,450 RPM. 5), 6) and 7) are, of course, the same as 2), 3) and 4) but with the shift in Astern.

Now, all MyBeloved has to do is execute my "suggestions" [women don't like taking orders :-)!] promptly and proficiently, and Bob's me uncle!

In a confined situation, the "normal" position of engine controls is "STOP", The boat moves on her forereach if she is permitted to move at all. Speed of TP is controlled NOT WITH THE THROTTLE, but by momentarily moving the shifter to "AHEAD", then returning it to "STOP". The same is true when making sternway. This is done on the conning officer's "suggestions".

In TP we do not (in common with most small boats) have a rudder position indicator. No need for a separate instrument. The wheel itself IS the position indicator by virtue of the Turk's head knot that is at the “12 o'clock” position when the rudder is midships. Steering orders are really simple, e.g “Port a hand”. Under power in open water, that constitutes the “standard turn”. “Port a spoke” yields a rather drastic turn if (at cruising speed of 6 knots) it is held. However, when lying dead in the water while maneuvering to dock, “Starboard a spoke” is the deflection that works well with “half ahead” to make the prop WASH kick the stern to port.

As soon as she gathers way, we come to 'STOP”, while leaving the rudder a spoke to starboard. And then after a few seconds we come to “Full Astern”, that stops the gathering headway and the prop WALK takes the stern further to port. Again as soon as she begins to gather way, we come to “STOP”, and after a few seconds ”Half Ahead”, The stern kicks further to port due to the prop WASH.

Going through this procedure repeatedly causes the boat to do what I call “a pirouette.” She spins around her pivot point which is more or less midships, and I can easily do it in a thirty foot boat without transgressing on a the periphery of a 50 foot circle. And as many times in a row as you like :-)

I lie port side to, about 300 yards up a fairway with a 40 foot clearance. I come in forwards controlling my speed as described above. Opposite my berth which is now on starboard, I lay 'er dead in the water. Then I “do a pirouette” to present my port side to the pontoon. Due to local topography the wind is always across the pontoon and the tidal set along the pontoon. If the wind blows me onto the pontoon, all I have to do is wait, and the wind will do the rest of the job for me. If the wind blows me off the pontoon all I have to do is “nose in” obliquely, set a spring from midships leading aft and come to “Slow Ahead” with the rudder a spoke to starboard. The force-couple set up by the spring and the thrust then brings in the stern.

You will find that doing this evolution a dozen times will make it second nature. It's really quite simple.. But I do recommend that you practice in open water till you are absolutely confident in your boat's responses. Every boat will have a peculiar response, but it doesn't take long to work out what YOUR boat's responses are.

Have fun :-)!

TrentePieds

[Greg K]

Most, if not all, tiller steered oldies have the same arrangement. You'll get used to it.
Not having a huge crappy dodger you can't see thru helps.

[requiem]

I find the the low throttle to be somewhat annoying, but not too problematic. The bigger issue is reaching it from the other wheel.

When docking I've typically gone to neutral at least a few boat-lengths away; I'm not reaching down and making throttle adjustments as I enter the slip. By the time I need to give a burst of reverse the boat should be nestled in her final position, so I simply need to ensure motion relative to nearby pilings, masts, etc. is stopped.

For the pivot turn with a modern boat I would reach low on the wheel and smoothly bring it hard over. As this is typically performed in a narrow fairway I would be using the side of the fairway (pilings, other boats, etc.) as a guide. (In calm water you can also use bubbles, etc for a reference.) So, for a starboard turn I'd begin close to the left side, and as I apply reverse throttle (and later forward, etc.) I'm watching to ensure my distance to that side is staying relatively constant. As long as the boat still has rotational inertia I don't worry so much about its overall position; instead I'm indexing off an imaginary line parallel to the left side of the fairway. By keeping the stern on that line I constrain the width of the turn to the length of the boat.

Turning the other direction is slightly more complicated, but mainly requires understanding the cases where "steer then gear" doesn't apply.

[desodave]

I've had the same concerns as the OP and have regularly dismissed boats with floor level controls ... we had a Hunter with single helm mounted controls for 15 years. Then we found our current boat with absolutely everything we wanted ... but with starboard floor level controls and dual helms.
It's a European built boat and I realized it was probably designed to easily med moor. And it does have a bow thruster. So I now back in starboard tie instead of forward in port tie in my home slip. And mostly sitting down. I'm slowly learning to work the control with my foot but don't trust myself yet to dock that way on a port tie. Neutral is your friend as has been said ... just enough in gear to keep it moving.
I used to steer our H38 on docking by pointing the bow and adjusting with short bursts of prop walk . I now steer by pointing the starboard rear corner and adjusting with the thruster. I can actually see where the starboard corner is in relation to the dock unlike when I was standing at a centre helm.
Three months into the new boat and I'm still learning, but it's gone a lot more smoothly than anticipated. Realizing that the new boat was backing up friendly was definitely the eureka moment for me.

[singlespeed]

Why not just remove the ball or barrel on the end of the throttle and find a way to mount a socket for a removable extension onto it. Realizing the the end of the throttle would have a large range of motion, how often do you need to put in full power in either forward or reverse, while docking? When not motoring simply remove the extension for an uncluttered cockpit.

[boatman61]

It is what it is.. either modify it, get used to it or.. just don't buy the bloody thing.
Its simple enough to operate if one can be bothered..