Quote:
Originally Posted by Hartley18
TD, without meaning to break your chain of thought.. 
Our Hartley is a pig to manouever going astern, to which I've always blamed the outboard, but I'm starting to think that the substantial full-length "keel" could be at least partly to blame.
Is there much difference in reversing manouverability between a full-keeler and a cutaway-forefoot? Or is reversing always an issue until you get to a fin??
.. and I'd love to know if a winged keel makes any difference to docking ability, but I guess I'll find out for myself in a couple of weeks.  |
Cameron,
Better minds than mine could give you a more technically correct answer but as far as I'm aware it's all to do with waterflow over the rudder. A fin with no skeg has clear flow from prop to rudder so they will steer in reverse. Full keel has seriously disturbed flow so will be a pig, fin and skeg neither fish nor fowl. I've found that fin and skeg will steer in reverse if you are brave, meaning if you give it a bit of stick they will behave but I do add that it takes a brave soul to reverse a 40'er into a confined space at 2000rpm.
I am as bold as a lion in the middle of a calm bay practicing my reversing but seem to be more small rodentish when surrounded by a few hundred thousand dollars worth of other people's plastic.
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