Bow or Stern?

[mattyc]

I am just going for my Skippers license and was wondering if you could settle or at least shed some light on the following issue. When going into a marina berth or when navigating around marinas is it best to go Bow first or best to go Stern first? I have heard many arguments either way and m not sure. What do you guys think?

[Jeff_H]

There is no one right answer here. It very much depends on the boat and the docking situation. Fin keel/spade rudder boats will often be more precisely manueverable in reverse even though you don''t have water from the prop flowing over the blade of the rudder. But there are situatuations where only one or the other will work.

Regards,
Jeff

[JEFryar]

My s/y is slightly underpowered with the prop in front of rudder. This arrangement gives good forward maneuvering even at low speed because the rudder is deflecting the flow of water generated by the prop. It is quite a different story in reverse. I need to have enough water flow past the rudder so that it will be effective. Also because the prop is much more effective in forward than it is in reverse, stopping is much easier utilizing forward.
In any situation with a following current or brisk wind I feel I have more control in forward. I simply match the forces of wind and current and bring back the throttle ever so slightly to "back" into the slip. With a small amount of forward I can stop or hold position.
Going into current and or wind I would do the opposite. The key for me is keeping my bow into wind and current.
To answer this question on a vessel you need to know the characteristics of the particular vessel. This is what the question is trying to get you to express. Good luck on the test.JEF

[BigRed56]

Ahoy Mattyc, Iffin ye was goin for yer Pirates License I''d say always bow first cause yer bowsprit is an effective weapon in close quarters. Since ye aint'' and your question is sillier than a captain''s license on a bridge wot''s skipper prefers to turn his arse into the wind(?) when he obviously don''t know the pointy end of the vessel goes first for a reason. Stay out of my waters ye backward beach comber.Big Red 56 the Pirate of Pine Island.

[KIKO]

I preffer stern since my transom is open and therefore entering and exiting is easier.
But that''s not why I choose this option.Wind is my factor in choice.

I allways try to point to the wind.

[SHIMSHON]

It really depends on the manuvering characteristics of your boat as well as current, wind direction etc. Remember, when stern to, you are also exposing yourself to all those board walkers and giving up a lot of privacy

[harvh]

From a safety stand point, go in bow first. In the area that I sail, people that want to be social go stern in, those who want privacy go in bow first. I have from time to time gone stern in when we wanted to watch a 4th of July fire works display. In all cases I had lots of room to get lined up. I have also seen some real disasters as sail boats don''t respond as quickly in reverse.