Quote:
Originally Posted by thomm225
Quote:
Originally Posted by kayakerChuck
About the only thing that gives control of a vessel is the rudder being moved through the water.
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Actually docking (or undocking) with an outboard can be done with the rudder locked in place.
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It's not exclusive to OB's. I think many people understimate how propwalk can be used to your advantage. I
dock, stern in, with the rudder locked in place with an inboard. At very slow speeds there is very little steerage without propwash. Steerage is better a higher speeds without propwash, but those are far faster than I would be going while docking. My prop walks me to Stbd in reverse, which is the same side that I
dock on whenever possible. I lock the rudder all the way to port. In reverse the stern walks to STBD despite the rudder beeing all the way to port. When I bump it into FWD, the stern continues to walk to STBD and slows my speed in reverse. I rarely touch the
wheel when docking. Admittedly, having a bow thruster helps with this process.