Jump to content

Anyone in Waikawa who could help me boost my confidence?


Recommended Posts

Hi everyone!

 

A little while ago, I bought my first sailboat, a beautiful 1986 Sadler 32 called “Honey”, currently in Waikawa. I have only sailed her once, because she’s out of the water right now for repairs, and I’m replacing the rigging as well. But if everything goes according to plan, she’ll be back in the water before Christmas!

 

I’ve been sailing on friends’ boats for a few years, and I’ve done some sailing courses (including a "cruising skippers" course), so I’m not a complete novice, but I still have a lot to learn, especially because I’ll be sailing singlehanded most of the time.

 

Honey is really well set up for singlehanded sailing, but there are things that are tricky when I’m by myself: I don’t really know how to pick up a mooring ball alone, or how to drop or raise the anchor on my own. And getting my boat in and out of her berth is still pretty scary!

 

I think I would really benefit from spending a day on the water with someone experienced, who could talk me through practicing the things I mentioned. But I live in Wellington (I want to sail Honey across and keep her in Wellington) and I don’t know anyone in Waikawa.

 

If you're a salty sailor close to Waikawa who would be happy to show a passionate first-boat-owner how to feel confident on his boat, get in touch!

 

Cheers,

Gert

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thanks for the advice, that sounds good. I've sent an email to the Waikawa boating club, and I'll stop by to see if anyone's around next time I'm over there. And I'm grateful for kiwipilgrimnz's offer as well!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Good to see you looking for some assistance Gert, that is what the smart people do.

 

Maybe drop a note or ring the Waikawa Yacht Club and see if they have a stray crusty old salt lying around, many clubs do. Those crusty older salts may not move as fast as they once did but they do contain a lot of very good knowledge and old school knowledge, a lot of which is still the best stuff. Many can be lured away from their roses or bowling club for a day or 2 by the promise of a nice sail and cool beer.

He is probably lucky you and I dont live in WAikawa
Link to post
Share on other sites

Good luck. Just do it. Practice in calm conditions by yourself till you build up confidence. Always have a plan B in mind, eg always prepared to drop the anchor if the engine fails. Do things exactly the same in exactly the same way - it creates a good habit. Habit will save you when you're tired and the sh*t hits the fan. You will then by on autopilot.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Agreed. Always have a plan B ready.ie motoring along, what would you do if engine suddenly quit? So dont go too close to hazards.Answer is to get sail up quick or else throw anchor over.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Thank you for your good advice, and encouraging me to go out and learn! I'm a pretty careful sailor — I always like to give myself plenty of searoom. Learning to sail my own boat singlehanded, I only want to get out in calm conditions and slowly work my way up from there. I'm sure I'll build up my experience and confidence, and a couple of years from now I hope I can help other new boat owners with some salty nuggets of practical wisdom! :)

 

But getting in and out of the berth is still the most stressful part of the journey, especially on my own. I've only done it a couple of times, and even on a calm day I made a dog's breakfast out of it. Fortunately a friendly bystander on the jetty saved me from damaging my boat / the dock / my neighbour by grabbing the lifelines. And yes I had fenders out all over the place and I took it as slow as I could, so the only thing that got damaged was my pride. :)

 

It has me a bit nervous about getting out, so I would love to practice it a couple of times with someone else on board who can a) talk me through it, and B) push my boat away from the dock and my neighbour.

Link to post
Share on other sites

docking is something many find a bit difficult. Remember that to steer, you need water flow over the rudder. In fwd gear, this can be achieved with prop wash, even as the boat just starts to move. In reverse, you need a bit of speed to steer. Also, when just starting off, the stern will swing slightly to one side or the other. It will always go the same way, so figure out which way that is, and use it too your advantage. Its know as prop walk, and all boats do it to a greater or lesser extent. Very useful for coming alongside, or leaving a wharf?pontoon. 

Single handing means being prepared when coming in to or leaving a berth - Have the lines ready, and fenders out in plenty of time. Be aware of wind and tide, and use that to advantage as well. 

Practice bringing the boat up to an anchored fender or similar, and stopping almost touching it, its remarkable what you will learn about your boats handling in a short session, where there is no risk or pressure.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Practice turns and going backwards in a clear area. Different boats will behave very differently. When I did my boat training one of the exercises was to hold position in a current on a windy day - think vectors. And if you are practising on a mooring buoy, don't run over it whatever you do or you'll cut it off or entangle the mooring rope in your prop. I sometimes took me three or four attempt to sail onto my mooring and I didn't care how many people were watching and laughing because I was having fun and learning.

 

From my notes from other forums:

"Boat Handling Under Power," John Mellor, Sheridan House, Inc., 1993. .. p. 37 "It is essential to appreciate that a boat with a rudder can best be turned at low speeds by driving a powerful flow of water from the propeller across the rudder; the slow water flow past the boat will produce very sluggish steering. A tight turn can thus be made by using a succession of short, sharp bursts of power, maximizing the turning effect of the slipstream while minimizing forward movement."

 

I find that with our boat, the way to get her to go astern is to use short bursts of power, rather than continuous - if she is in continuous slow astern she will usually go where she wants to go, even if the helm is applied the opposite way./ right hand prop. If I shift into reverse while moving slowly forward she turns to starboard.

I need to do a tight turn to port to get into my berth too and the left hand prop. is perfect because as I shift to reverse to slow down it wants to kick my stern to starboard which helps getting into my pen. Under my circumstances, a rght hand prop would be a total disaster. [kmc seems he could be wrong on this]

 

The first "secret" to tight-quarter maneuvering the single-screw boat is to learn how to "back and fill" to "rotate" the boat, not "drive" her around. Using this technique, you can do 360-degree turns in EITHER direction in less than two lengths of your boat -- and, if you get good at it, it'll be 1.5 lengths or so. This technique consists of stopping completely and putting the helm all the way over and leaving it there throughout the turn. Then shift into forward and give the engine a quick "goose." You really have to hit it hard, so the first time you practice this, try it out in the harbor where you're close enough to objects to see the effect of what you're doing, but not so close you're likely to get into trouble. As soon as you've "goosed her" forward, throttle back, then immediately shift into reverse and "goose her" again -- hard enough to kill all forward motion. You will see that the forward goose has rotated the boat perhaps 30 or 40 degrees and the reverse goose has killed her way again so she's barely moved forward. Repeat the process over and over until you've rotated the boat ... because of stern walk in reverse, you'll find this works better in one direction than the other. For example, our boat backs to starboard, so rotating the boat to port is MUCH easier because BOTH parts of the maneuver (forward AND reverse) assist the turn. ... However, it CAN be done in both directions -- even in a breeze. #Secret2 let's say we want to back our boat (that backs to starboard due to propwalk) slowly into a narrow slipway. Start by lining up with your stern headed in toward the slipway and put your helm all the way over to starboard (and leave it there). (WHY put the helm to starboard? Because when you're backing slowly the helm has very little effect anyway -- especially with a full-keel boat, so putting it to port won't do much to counteract the natural tendency of the stern to move to starboard anyway, and we're going to need the helm to starboard for the "gooses" ... As soon as she's moving backward (and starting to turn to starboard), shift into neutral and coast. This will stop the propwalk and let you coast almost straight back. As you start to slow, shift back into forward and give her a quick goose. Because of the starboard helm, this will "hop" the stern to port without moving forward (completely offsetting the propwalk -- plus maybe a little more), and then you can then repeat the process. Now, this may sound a little complicated (you'll be following a slightly "scalloped" path), but you can back as slowly as the wind/current conditions will allow. Secret3# Weathercocking. How your boat behaves in the wind. when I planned my tight-quarters turn with the sailboat, I would intentionally stop with the bow at least 20 degrees or so off the wind IN THE DIRECTION I WANTED TO TURN ANYWAY. Thus, this turning effect aided the backing and filling rather than opposed it.
For some discussion on backing a single-screw boat into a slip with spring lines (which is even slicker), check out my Website:
http://www.his.com/~vann/KrgStuff/Krognidx.htm
 

Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes line from amidship is a very good method

Be assertive with application of power as others have mentioned.

You must have water flow over the rudder for it to have any effect.

Take note of wind direction/strength and current if any as these can have a big effect on which way your boat will want to go.

At Westhaven you can radio for assistance to dock - perhaps Waikawa have a similar facility ?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Also, when attempting to get the boat to go in reverse (when not in the dock, i.e. if you stern in to your berth), it pays to start the attempt with the boat stern into the wind. If you're side on or facing into the wind (especially if it's blowing a bit and you have a light/smallish yacht), the nose tends to get blown away before you get traction in reverse. So you end up going in a half circle before you get traction - and in a narrow lane that can mean you're aiming at the nearest boat when you finally get traction - and end up ramming into forward in a hurry and starting the whole cock up over again (don't ask me how i know this!)

This may mean starting the procedure in the causeway rather than your pier depending on wind direction. Doesn't matter to anyone else! Once you have traction it all becomes much easier.

I practised by spending hours reversing all around westhaven (to the amusement of the westhaven staff) until I was pretty sure I knew what I was doing, understood how my yacht reacted in different conditions (tides/winds/different speeds)

 

And don't sweat other people judging you. There isn't a sailor alive who hasn't completely cocked up berthing or anchoring on heaps of occasions. :roll:

 

I've been reversing/berthing the same boat for 6 years now and still occasionally have a ginourmous stuff up - but in my defence, I sail solo a lot! ;-)

Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Be assertive with application of power as others have mentioned.

You must have water flow over the rudder for it to have any effect.

 

 

I saw this example of using prop walk to your advantage a few months back, clearly not his first time in a tight space...

 

https://www.facebook.com/125068434229063/videos/1325531817516046/

 

I've only just started having to back into a no finger berth, learning to use prop walk is a very satisfying skill.  (not that I've by any means mastered it like our friend in the vid above)

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...