Ep 10: How to Back Up in Control

Welcome to Episode 10 of Carpe Diem Sailing. In this video I talk about and demonstrate techniques that will enable you to skillfully reverse your sailboat under power. I also discuss all the benefits of being able to comfortably back your boat up under power in all conditions. I rarely dock bow in, the reasons for backing in are quite compelling. Let me know what you think. Please leave a comment. Thanks
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[@antknee8695]

This is a great video. I’ve watched many videos primarily about docking and backing out of a slip but not one of them discussed the important topic of controlled steering and the effects of oversteering. Thanks so much.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thanks for the comment Anthony. Glad you enjoyed it

[@yanivlavy3308]

Thanks Marco for this sailboat steering tips

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Any time!

[@MonoJaviX]

Excellent video, thanks for sharing!

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@anesthesiabeyond8519]

Awesome! Now I understood what happened to me when I try to back off yesterday! Thank you for making such a video with clear explanation! 🙏🙏🙏

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

You're very welcome!

[@wanagiandme]

Another Great video Thanks!!

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thanks again!

[@volkerkonig9376]

one comment on going backwards into a marina. I agree completely and do this most of the time, so I can reach my place at the pier in the mediteranian without risky manouvring lmmediatly before the pier. But NEVER go inside a narrow marina backwards in very strong wind from the bow. Because there is a dangerous risk that you loose control of the bow either by going too slow or when changing to forward move again.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

That is a very good point. Thanks for sharing. I agree completely

[@waynesimmonsdmd41]

you are so right. Boat speed has to be greater than wind on your back whether from the bow or the stern to maintain steerage.

[@PondusdeCopenhague]

Very helpfull, thanks!

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you for the kind comment

[@captainivan7008]

I moved boats for a Sailing club allday for about 6 years, backing in and out of slips. I love to back those bad boys in. Good key points Cap! All Boats have different personalities, some are more friendlier than others when it comes to manuevering.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Very cool! I bet you were pretty good at moving boats around. Thanks for the comment and support. I appreciate it

[@SoundzAlive1]

Hi Marco, Another use is to pick up a mooring bouy when solo. André in Sydney

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Yes. Very good point. I will be doing a Mooring Buoy part 2 this summer and will be mentioning that.

[@edmorgan5006]

Very helpful

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thanks for the kind feedback Ed. Glad it’s helping you

[@kujon1968]

Thank you! I had the unfortunate experience of backing out of my marina and it was a nightmare...lost a boat hook pushing off boats. I realize from watching this I was 1) oversteering and 2) not under control as the prop walk immediately had me panicking and oversteering...then stopping with forward the trying reverse again with prop walk...a huge mess.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thank for the comment Bart. I'm quite excited and pleased to hear this (sorry it was such a mess for you but it looks like you learned from it) because that is exactly what I'm trying to help people with. We do have a full docking course that focuses on this attitude of strategic thinking to avoid problems on our website www.carpediemsailing.com

[@thephantomBJ]

Thanks for the videos. Do you have one that covers when dealing with higher winds than a mill pond like that video? It’s the cross winds that make me the most nervous and counteracting them. So hard to not have the forward/reverse momentum and do everything in time before being pushed out to quickly in a tight pen arrangement.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

@@thephantomBJ I do but as I mentioned in the video at this point they are part of a course that we are selling online. Right now it's called Docking Made Easy and it covers all aspects of what I call strategic docking. It's available on our website at www.carpediemsailing.com It's $49 US and the course is evergreen which means that when we add content you automatically get that update next time you log in. I wanted to demonstrate the basics and for practice it is best to be on a mill pond but I do talk about how to deal with cross winds as well as winds on the stern or the bow which can also be problematic. This past summer I added two videos while docking in crosswinds, One docking astern and one departure bow out. The course is risk free so give it a look for 30 days and if you're not happy we'll give you a full refund no questions asked.

[@billgiles3261]

I like only to get up to steering speed in reverse and then get out of gear. Coasting in reverse and moderate steering input works for me.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thanks for the comment Bill. Yes that technique works for many people. For me I get up to speed then slow down but I leave my engine in gear. I mention this technique in my video on propwalk.

[@1977jelliott]

Great video, perhaps you can touch on how the pivot point of the boat changes when going ahead or astern.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Good question Jake. For me I think of the opposite of a car so when I am in forward since the boat steers from the back it acts somewhat like a forklift and pivots more than when steering in reverse which is similar to a car following its wheels, since the boat follows the rudder but you still have a bit of pivoting due to the bow skidding off.

[@1977jelliott]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine thanks for your response, the forklift analogy is great, I have seen a lot of skippers mess up when heading astern into a dock when they go to the opposite side of the wheel and face the stern to go aft in, the bow of the boat will swing a lot more due to the pivot point also going aft and they don't have their eyes on it.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

That's a great point Jake, I personally hate that advice to stand on the opposite side of the wheel and face aft. I cringe every time I hear someone suggesting it. I did a zoom seminar yesterday for the Vancouver International Boat Show and I really wanted to mention that I think it's bad advice.

[@1977jelliott]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine glad you aren't the only one that hates that advice

[@waynesimmonsdmd41]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine yes , great video and good insights . I think I knew some of the points in the video, but great for crew info. Am sending the video to all my grandkids. I use the analogy of a shopping cart. To practice take a cart and steer the cart, standing in front of the cart and pushing and steering it from the front of the cart. Eye opener. Talking about carts with front wheel steering.

[@pshenichkamisha7006]

Thanks

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

My Pleasure

[@idahobob180]

You can use a forward burst to stop the bow drift, also you can use your prop walk to move the stern into the dock also depends on left hand or right hand , I believe right hand to starboard, left hand to port.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thank you for your comment and for watching.

[@williamreymond2669]

"Keep a firm grip on the wheel or tiller..." Yes. If you happen to have a tiller and if you happen to be standing facing forward or abeam, don't be shy about using your thigh and body weight to backstop your grip on the tiller. Just lean into it a little bit, or pull against it a little bit.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Agreed

[@Ctworkinjurylawyer]

Mark, I love your channel. Can you tell me who makes your chart spotlight at your nav station? I have been unable to find similar. Thank you.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thank you for the kind comment. I’ll take a look and get back to you. Could be that they’re not made anymore. Mine came with the boat when I bought it in 1998

[@Ctworkinjurylawyer]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine thanks. Even if not currently made, I’m pretty good at finding items on EBay, etc…

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

It’s an Aqua Signal. I found this link on EBay www.ebay.ca/itm/304637576736?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=706-89093-2056-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=304637576736&targetid=1656417413990&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9001620&poi=&campaignid=17297476241&mkgroupid=135489415143&rlsatarget=pla-1656417413990&abcId=9300870&merchantid=10252592&gbraid=0AAAAAD00iIBl_c-5tPS7dEwwn0a6RBT1e&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI1u-7gZ_k-wIVegWtBh2eLQKuEAQYASABEgJGI_D_BwE

[@grouperfish1]

I have a Tanzer 7.5 with a tiller and a 9.9 outboard. What issues should be considered when backing into or out of a slip with a motor mounted off-center on the transom? I have my own methods, but I'm always ready to learn a better way.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thanks for the comment Dan. A boat with a tiller and transom mounted outboard is in my mind more difficult to dock than a wheel steering inboard boat even though those are usually bigger. The biggest issue is that since the motor is mounted beside the prop you do not get the benefit of the the thrust from the prop washing over your rudder which can be quite helpful in tight quarters. Otherwise things are similar. Tillers must be firmly held when backing up so they don't knock you over. One benefit for some is to use the outboard to steer. On my old boat I couldn't do that but I have done that on other boats. Hope this helps.

[@grouperfish1]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine Thanks for clarifying the differences. A few outboard owners in my marina back into their slips, but most (including myself) go in forward but back out by steering with the motor. I'm reluctant to back in due to fear of damaging the motor in a collision with the dock.

[@rexnicious]

I pull into my slip as well. Backing out consists of putting the outboard in reverse and goosing it once. MAYBE twice. Then steering with the tiller. I never steer with the outboard on my Capri 25.

[@TheKetamineSquid]

my boat has severe walk to starboard. she weighs well over 30 tons and thus takes a very long time to get moving, especially in reverse. this gives the walk plenty of time to put the boat in a place where i don't want it. any tips?

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Its tough without being on the boat. Some boats are clearly more difficult to backup than others. Yours sounds like a pretty heavy displacement, possibly full keel boat and those are never easy to steer in reverse. Having said that most of the same principles apply. One trick I use on all boats is to steer (oversteer) in the direction opposite to the propwalk when I shift in reverse and the boat is still carrying way forwards. Then as the boat stops and picks up speed in reverse you should be pointing roughly wear you want to go.

[@TheKetamineSquid]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine thanks for your response. while she is relatively heavy displacement, she has a cruising fin keel (about 4m long and 2m from the bottom of the hull to the bottom of the keel) so she's not quite as bad as she could be. i'll try that trick next time i take her out. any advice for backing up from a standstill? i'll give some context: due to the prevailing wind direction where my boat is moored, i'm bow in, port to. this means that the prop walk, at least initially, is pulling me in the direction i want to go. once i have started the turn however, i often have trouble with the boat continuing on the same arc despite having the engine in neutral and opposite helm, even after 30-60 seconds. my question being, am i better off getting more speed on to obtain steerage way sooner, or going slower and trying to take more time to guide the boat in the desired direction? once again, thanks for taking the time to respond.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

@@TheKetamineSquid Where is the boat?

[@F70498135]

I have a C&C designed boat with an offset screw to the Starboard side. The prop walk to port is nasty. Any thoughts?

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Hi Tango14. Thanks for the question. I've heard of these offset prop shafts but have no personal experience with them. My speculation is that while the prop walk will be bad to start with given enough way a C&C which is a fin keel spade rudder configuration should steer once steerage way in reverse is reached. I would suggest that you go out on a calm day with no wind, in a wide open area and put her in reverse with your rudder turned to starboard and see how long it takes to respond. Given enough space it should respond. I have done a second video on dealing with prop walk specifically. I offer some tips that you might find handy. Not sure if you've seen it yet but here is the link kzbin.info/www/bejne/omaYd6h7or1ri5o I'd love to hear if this works for you so please keep me posted and thanks for watching

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Is it an Ontario 32 by any chance?

[@F70498135]

@@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine Yes, she is an Ontario 32. Maple Bay

[@meatdog]

You never mentioned the importance of knowing if you have a left hand or right hand screw. It will make a huge difference in backing up so you can use it to your advantage.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Yes that is a very good point. In did make an assumption that people would know which way their prop walks

[@TOMVUTHEPIMP]

"Prop walk will dissapear" MY BOAT: "Hold my beer".

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Love it!!

[@1977jelliott]

"Prop walk will disappear" MY BOAT: "You've had too many beers"

[@montanainkfish5819]

Same, only way to stop the prop walk is to go out of gear. I have learned to use short bursts of power to get moving and then drift. During the short burst the stern goes stbd and , due to the pivot point, the bow goes a bit farther (feels like faster) port. 1984 Celestial 44 ketch.

[@TOMVUTHEPIMP]

@@montanainkfish5819 I have a full keel with barn door rudder. Reverse with any control is not possible. It just does what it wants. I can spin the boat clockwise pretty easy using throttle/reverse though

[@viarnay]

Monohulls are trickier than cats but they can turn in a dime If you know how.

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

You’re absolutely right but not the focus of this video.

[@jameslehane2270]

Try that in a Vega! No chance......

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Albin Vega? Full keel?

[@markbloxham1750]

🙏🏼🫵🏼🫡

[@CarpeDiemSailingMagazine]

Thank you