Backing up a 31 ft sail boat

[Solomons]

Anyone have tips on backing up a sailboat into a slip?

My husband has been doing it and has been successful on several occasions but has trouble sometimes. We know we have to take wind and current into account. I am usually on the foredeck but would like to learn more and eventually take it in myself with his help. We’ve practiced in some empty slips but still having trouble with back up process

Please send me your techniques....Short bursts of energy and then straighten things out using forward gear?


One newbie question as we back up should we be facing forward or backwards?

Also does the wheel on the sailboat work like a wheel on the car when you’re backing up?When I turn the wheel left does the boat go to Port?



Please also tell me the difference between prop walk and prop wash.

[Kim Gregory]

It is difficult to advise you, you have not mentioned your boat in this message, or in your profile. What make and model?

[Solomons]

Hunter 1987

[Sailmonkey]

First, what sort of keel? If it’s a fin keel with a spade rudder you can more or less just drive it backwards with little concern.

If it’s a full keel this gets a lot more tricky.

You face the direction that works for you.

The boat will move in the direction that you turn the wheel. It may help if you diagram the boat then work out what the forces are when the rudder is angled one way or another.

Prop walk is the tendency of the propellor to move the stern left or right.

Prop wash is the water that is moved by the prop.

[Sailmonkey]

Originally Posted by Solomons

Hunter 1987

Ok, this thing will backup no problem.

Easiest thing to do is get it moving astern in a wide fairway and drive it backwards all the way into the slip.

Just be aware that the faster the boat is moving, the greater the force you’ll be fighting with the wheel. Small helm movements will make big things happen.

[Solomons]

Shoal keel.

So the wheel on a boat operates the same way as a cart wheel would when you’re backing up

[sailorboy1]

Go out in the open and just practice backing up. Do at low and high rpm and learn how your boat prop walks. Do the same in forward and learn how to turn the boat with prop walk.

[Cheechako]

Yes short bursts etc to align the boat. But then backing, most often you need to just let it get moving at idle first. Of course with wind and current, this is often not an option. But the boat in my avatar, with a long fin and big skeg on the rudder, and in calm weather if you let it get moving slowly and gradually increased speed you could back up fast and a long ways.

[flyingfin]

Find a fellow sailor with a similar boat who backs all the way in to their slip. Ask them to come aboard and give you some tips

[Don C L]

Welcome aboard! I recommend..more fenders!
But seriously this is a good video for your boat and prop wash (the water flowing over the rudder helping you,) and prop walk (the tendency of your boat to go one way or the other (when in gear) in reverse): The less you have it in gear in reverse, the less prop walk. With a long or full keel boat I OFTEN use quick bursts of prop wash to kick the rear end around as needed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TMB4-EPMAI

[Pizzazz]

I have the same boat. It backs beautifully. The easiest is to give yourself enough space to gain speed going back and then just steer into the slip.

A more advanced technique is to move slowly forward, parallel to the dock, about 4-5 ft away. The slip is on my port side. As soon as the middle of the boat passes the slip, you switch into reverse, give it some power and the stern will turn into the slip (intuitively does not make sense as the rudder is to starboard), then continue backwards. This with American marina style slips.

In Greece, you need another technique, you need to anchor first. So what you do is you go bow first toward the dock, drop the anchor and continue at slow speed or full speed if you trust your skills. The anchor will grab and turn you around. You switch into reverse and back into the slip. Can be done at speed. If the anchor does not hold or you do not measure the rode out correctly, typically you say all sh*t and make a fool of yourself going around. But if you do it well, you get accolades.

SV Pizzazz

[The Perfessor]

When I first started sailing, a captain had me back up through a mooring field for practice. The technique he showed me was to use bursts of reverse and then put the gear in neutral to help counter prop walk, which on most sailboast pulls the stern to port. When I back into a slip, I always try to back in such that I am turning to port and using the prop walk to help pull over my stern, so sometimes this means turning around in the canal and then backing in.

On my full keel boat, the prop walk is so bad that I basically can't back up to starboard unless there is a lot of water over the rudder i.e. it takes some distance to get backing control. I found that I just don't fight it; I will keep the rudder hard to starboard when backing (stern still goes to port), put it in forward and the stern continues to port. I can actually spin the boat in a nice tight circle this way, as long as it's a clockwise circle!

As other posters have said, it just takes practice and getting to understand what you boat wants to do when in gear and in neutral.

[Greg Mason]

I used a simple principle on my 16 ton 3/4 keel sailboat. I had a Max prop, but immediately upon selecting reverse, it would walk sideways 3 feet before going backwards. So I compensated, starting 3 feet from where I wanted the back of the boat to go and letting it walk into the line I wanted. Teaching this to my wife was important, because in an anchorage, we could end up backing down in a direction not favourable. Why not try some attenpts in open water? Throw out a buoy of float and try to retrieve it in reverse. You will soon figure out what you need to do, so when in a marina situation you can resolve what the boat is going to do without having an army or 6 fenders aside, playig bumper cars. I love having help, except when they get a line in their hands and start pulling, often, they pull me out of the route I need to get in the slip, so telling people what to do is important. Good luck.

[PuttingDoctor]

Good advice above.
1. Learn which way your prop walks and use it to advantage.
2. Practice out in the open away from obstacles.
3. Learn how to back with sufficient way over the rudder to give it effectiveness.
Take a look at this video and note the control this captain has. The docking will demonstrate how much way is sometimes required to give the rudder effectiveness. I would likely hit forward a bit earlier than he does in this video. Note also that he has moved forward of the wheel and now has more intuitive control and good sight of the target.
https://youtu.be/Swq0Q5Pywnc

[scotty c-m]

Good advice. One thing I have not seen mentioned that is VERY important:

In reverse, the faster you go, the more pressure there is on the wheel. If you are not holding the wheel solidly, it can twist out of your hands and be quite dangerous. The wheel (or tiller) can whip around, which can be dangerous, and there is a lot of pressure and shock load on the rudder, which can cause damage. Each boat will have a different spot where this happens. It is a combination of the boat speed, and the angle of the rudder. As you practice, find out where this spot is on your boat. Once you know where it is, you can take it into account, and it won't be a problem.

The best advice is to practice, practice, and then practice!