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Docking with an outboard

13K views 36 replies 30 participants last post by  biology 
#1 ·
I have a 6hp nissan mounted on the back of my Coronado 23 MkII. I am interested in hearing other peoples methods of docking and how they switch between their tiller and motor controls. I feel like my outboard demands a frustrating amount of attention as I am docking and maybe some of you fine folks out there have a method that will make the end of my trips a little easier on me and my wife. Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
We had an outboard on our 22 footer. Turning the handle of the outboard too far meant it had interference from the rudder. We solved that by removing the rudder and tiller before we entered our marina and relying solely on the outboard for steering. It was easy enough to slip the tiller and rudder off and lay it in the cockpit while we docked.
 
#3 ·
Donna's idea is an interesting one.. Some people also have the rudder and outboard linked - a complicated business that is bound to fail at the wrong moment.

In our Hartley we normally just kept the outboard centered and use the tiller/rudder as usual. It was only if we really needed thrust in a particular direction to stop us hitting the dock that would I push the outboard handle across - but then our outboard never really allowed us to go astern and reverse was more like a brake.

It seems to me like you need to forget about the outboard for a bit and spend some time getting used to the way your boat manouvers under power - forward and reverse.
 
#4 ·
I feel your pain, that was my situation last year.
Can you give us some specifics regarding your situation?

Is the motor fixed or can you turn it?
You may have better luck locking the tiller and turning with the motor or locking the motor and turning with the tiller.

Trying to do both at the same time is harder.
Also I have seem some folks rig up a connecting rod between the rudder and the motor so they turn together.

Do you have current issues?

It will get better the more you do it.
One trick is to imagine that you are steering the mast not the bow of the boat. Since the boat pivots somewhere near the mast it is easier to visualize what the boat will do.
 
#5 ·
I do what Hartley does, leave the engine centered and steer with the tiller, using just enough throttle to maintain steerage.
The other thing is that neutral is a gear too, meaning that when I feel I have enough way on to get me into the slip, I reach back and put the engine in neutral. If I've misjudged, just reach back and engage the prop again.
 
#6 ·
+1 for Tempest/Hartley, I leave the outboard centred and steer with the tiller on the way in, dropping it into neutral when about 3 boat lengths from the slip and just coast gently in. Don't even bother using reverse to stop, just step off and take off the last .2 knots by hand. Gotta love a relatively light boat :)
Departing I use the tiller and the outboard to steer depending on how tight I need to turn, trick is to do everything slowly enough to give you enough time to think about what you're doing and push/pull/twist the appropriate bit on the appropriate thingy at the appropriate time.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Man, I feel the pain too.

I charter with a company that has cruising boats from 30' to 50' and they are great, with wheel steering, diesel engines, combined throttle and shift on the binnacle. easy, ergonomic, and well thought out, even if I still find backing into a slip to be a learning process.

They also have keel boats though: sweet, nimble, quick, and fun Colgate 26 with my much preferred tiller steering. The only problem is not only that it's not easy to coördinate the outboard and the tiller, but the outboard can't be locked in the centered position, so it either requires getting two people to work together, or *reverse the tiller so that you can have the tiller in one hand and the outboard control in the other*, which is tricky, and there are still some issues with running out of hands to change the outboard from forward to neutral to reverse (as needed).

So far the best solution I have found is to have two people working together and keeping the speed as low as the wind and current will allow when docking. so far so good, but really awkward.

Or rather, it's easy with experienced crew, and rather challenging with newer crew.
 
#8 ·
The standard propellers on the Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury outboards are next to useless in reverse. Their lack of thrust makes stopping the hull or moving the hull quickly in confined spaces an issue.

I generally back into any jetty or dock so I can use the forward thrust to escape trouble if something goes wrong.

I did this modification some time ago and the outboard's reverse thrust is no excellent.

• View topic - Making a Mercury high thrust propeller perform in reverse.

I had a keel boat with an outboard on the stern, I had a piece of string on the gear lever so I could select forward without the acrobatics over the push-pit.

Some people talk about drifting into docks etc. that has issues because you are not really in control while your drifting, you need flow over the rudder and keel to keep steerage.

One good habit is stop the hull away from the dock before moving into the dock, it leaves less chance of mistaking speed or currents once your close to the dock.

Always have the dock lines ready before you approach the dock.
 
#16 ·
The standard propellers on the Tohatsu/Nissan/Mercury outboards are next to useless in reverse. Their lack of thrust makes stopping the hull or moving the hull quickly in confined spaces an issue.
FWIW, that isn't strictly correct: There's plenty of thrust, it just isn't used very well.

The main issue is that in forward gear, prop thrust is pushing the drive leg against the mounting bracket which, in turn, pushes the boat. In reverse, the prop thrust pulls the drive leg away from the bracket and tries to 'tow' the boat, but the outboard's lifting/locking mechanisms aren't strong enough to withstand the pull and the drive leg tends to pop up instead.

Unless you buy a new outboard with a better locking mechanism, it's something you learn to put up with.
 
#9 ·
When I'm helming a tiller / outboard combo I lock the rudder/tiller and use the outboard to steer.
It's sharper and easier in reverse, not so quick turning in forward.
The first time I ever, and I mean ever docked was the day I bought my first boat - a Grampian 26 with a tiller and 9 horse outboard.
The previous owner had it bow in - awkward to get on.
As soon as I signed the papers I jumped on and backed it out - did a complete 180 and parked it stern in - with no lines, no hands on the dock and absolutely no extra wiggles or bumps.
I've never done that again to this day despite having tried many times.
 
#10 ·
Hey all,

I have to agree with Donna, I was struggling with my clipper 21 loading and unloading the boat. fighting the tiller and outboard. Part of this summer I left the boat at the lake tided off to a tree. Went out to recover boat as my brother backed in trailer. I got ahead of myself and pulled the rudder and boom waiting on him. When it was time to move I just used the outboard and all went much better. I will do that in future, don't know if that is feasable in a large marina.

good luck

Dan
 
#11 ·
I have a 10hp outboard on my Catalina 27. I leave the motor ALWAYS looked straight and use the sailboat rudder/tiller for everything. Actually, the most awkward thing is backing out of the slip. The rudder usually wants to pull over one way or the other - quite hard - and I have to be on the tiller pretty firmly to keep it backing straight.

Coming INTO the dock, I generally leave the outboard at an idle and in forward gear. About 50 yards out, I will pop it into neutral and "coast" in the last little bit. However, I can easily pop it back into forward gear if I need a little more "uumph", or reverse if I need some "brakes". If there is a good crosswind blowing, I'll have to come in a little "hot" and grab a line quickly.

I feel strongly it's better to leave the OB straight all the time. Use the tiller/rudder on the sailboat for maneuvering. If you're trying to do both (tiller and OB), you're going to feel like a one legged guy in a butt kicking contest.

Now . . . that sounds wonderful and easy . . . we've had our share of messy dockings though too!!! grin.

~markb
 
#30 ·
Coming INTO the dock, I generally leave the outboard at an idle and in forward gear. About 50 yards out, I will pop it into neutral and "coast" in the last little bit. However, I can easily pop it back into forward gear if I need a little more "uumph", or reverse if I need some "brakes". If there is a good crosswind blowing, I'll have to come in a little "hot" and grab a line quickly.

I feel strongly it's better to leave the OB straight all the time. Use the tiller/rudder on the sailboat for maneuvering. If you're trying to do both (tiller and OB), you're going to feel like a one legged guy in a butt kicking contest.

Now . . . that sounds wonderful and easy . . . we've had our share of messy dockings though too!!! grin.

~markb
That's how I do things. Coast in while in neutral and use the rudder.

If I didn't have the engine rudder connection, I'd have the motor locked straight. I attached a pic of the model boat I have so you can see where the outboard is. Yes, you have to practically hang upside down to shift it. The throttle of the motor is on the port side, the gear lever on the starboard. Needless to say, you don't do anything fast.

I keep the handle of the motor up so I can adjust the speed easily. I put the motor in neutral and coast in using the rudder to steer. I've got some lines rigged to catch the boat and prevent it from hitting the dock if I have to come in hot.
Mine handles like complete a** with just the outboard.
 

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#13 ·
We discovered that removing the rudder and tiller worked best for us by accident really. We returned to our slip during an extremely low tide and the rudder was scraping the bottom and wouldn't remain in an upright position. That's when we took it off and discovered how much easier it was to maneuver with the outboard alone. Plus, as I mentioned before, we then had more clearance for the swing of the outboard tiller and prop as there were some sharp turns to get to our former slip.

What works best for anyone else really depends on how the transom is configured on their boat I would think. Ours had an off-center transom cutout that held the outboard.
 
#14 ·
A good topic as we All have had issues docking with outboards! I have read some good alternatives but still prefer leaving both the tiller and outboard free to maneuver! I have recently changed docks because of weed issues earlier in the summer. I now face the opposite direction and find it intimidating. Where I used to use the dock to bump off in emergency I now turn into carpeted posts and a powerboat behind them. I come in much slower now and have the outboard in reverse at an idle when entering the well. I once jammed my lifelines coming in to sharp and almost took out a stanchion on my 24 C&C. It was a hairy situation stepping of the boat to release the stuck lifeline. I find docking with an outboard a judgement call and everyone has their own preference. I would suggest not coming in any faster then you are willing to hit the dock!
 
#15 ·
I typically set the outboard to face straight forward and use the tiller for steerage. I also leave my OB in the up position as the cavitation plate is still under the water by 4 or 5 inches like this. DON'T rely on reverse to stop you from hiting the dock. I dock bow first and back out from my finger dock. When I cast off I take my port bow line and bring it back along the toe rail and tie it off at the aft end of the cabin to the toe rail. When I come back in I approach my dock pretty much straight in unless there is a strong wind when I will come in slightly upwind. I come in slowly and allow forward inertia to carry me in and wind to ease me into the dockside where I tie off the stern with a single hitch and jump off the boat and untie the bow line from the toe rail and walk forward,pulling the bow in if required, and tie off the bow. I actually prefer to dock without help as more often then not others will tighten the bow line to much and I have to untie it in order to bring the stern in to my liking.

c_witch
 
#17 ·
I have a Gloucester 20 with a 8 HP NS8B nissan and use both techniques depending on the "tightness" of the situation. I can leave it locked and tiller steer when the situation presents itself to have more room, but will lock the tiller and just use the OB if I need to turn on a dime. Everything has it's pros and cons and a pro to an OB IMO is that it can be turned with directional thrust, something a lot of people with fixed thrust don't have the luxury of. To me, there is no need to go one way or the other as an operating mantra.

I am well aware that the 8 hp OB I have is a bit over powered for my boat but I got a KILLER deal on it, 280 bucks, and its got the 25" super long shaft and a generator on all while weighing in around 60 pounds.

Anyhow, one of the reasons it was so cheap was the original tiller handle/throttle was missing. I built my own aluminum extension with shift and throttle controls at the far end. This lets me steer when needed and have my shift/throttle controls easily accesable when needed. To me it works far better than the standard OB twist throttle setups! I also probably have the only 8 HP OB in the world with a used 150 dollar sparco sports car shift knob for the gear selector! The clear straight acrylic lever is the throttle. Easy to feel which one you need and keep your eyes on the ball. :D
 

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#18 ·
I also use both. Me preference most of the time is to leave the outboard straight and use the tiller. The boat tracks better and I can still steer even after I've switched to neutral and am coasting in on final approach. But if there's a cross current or strong wind I appreciate having the option to turn the motor and have directional thrust. The folks in my sailing club with big-boy boats are wildly jealous of ability to drive backwards accurately over relatively long distances using the rudder and engine in concert.

I have a kickup rudder which can only interfere with the prop when the rudder is in the "kicked up" position, so I have to be careful when operating in shallow water. I lash the tiller if I'm going to be in that situation for long so that I don't get distracted and chew up the rudder.
 
#19 ·
Great thread, but I think a lot of the replies are missing the OPs issue. He (she?) is concerned about the way you have to take your eye off the ball and turn halfway around to put the motor in neutral at a time when you should be facing foward because the dock is about 18" (0.5m ;) ) away.

I wrestle with this as well. On my 18, I only had to turn around; the 25 sits much higher off the water* and I need to reach down as well. It has been impossible so far to accomplish this without moving the tiller and affecting my approach (sometimes for the better, I admit).

Long term, I'm going to install remote engine controls and do it the way the pros do it. Short term, I'm going to rig up some sort of extension for the shift lever. I'm thinking of a short piece of PVC on the lever itself and an old tiller extension connected to the top of that. I worry that it won't be 'crisp' enough and I'll be flopping from F to R and back, missing N. I'll try it.

Single handed docking with an outboard will be very challenging. Stay tuned!

Ken


*Oh, the problems I have! :laugher
 
#23 ·
Long term, I'm going to install remote engine controls and do it the way the pros do it. Short term, I'm going to rig up some sort of extension for the shift lever. I'm thinking of a short piece of PVC on the lever itself and an old tiller extension connected to the top of that. I worry that it won't be 'crisp' enough and I'll be flopping from F to R and back, missing N. I'll try it.
Good luck.. seriously! :eek:

One guy just down the dock from us tried this on his Catalina 25 with his outboard permanently mounted on the back - the end result was no end of grief. Not only did the remote throttle/shift lever (from a ********) system get jammed each time he tried to use it for real, doing this 'mod' prevented operation of the normal controls on the motor in an emergency, making getting in and out of his pen - at the only speed he had: full throttle - quite a dockside spectacle indeed. :cool:

I'm afraid the only safe way to do remote engine controls is if the manufacturer has designed the engine to have them - and they usually don't for small sailboat (Macgregor excluded) outboards.
 
#20 ·
Practice, practice, practice. Go to a fairly open area and try different methods. I had an O'Day 23 with the rudder and motor separate. I loved the maneuverability it gave me I always docked stern first and after a while, everything became send nature. It wasn't that way when I first got the boat.
I agree with INMA. At your size boat and motor, you should be getting lots of thrust. If not, you probably need to get a prop with more pitch.
 
#21 ·
My outboard doesn't have a gearshift, if it's running it's spinning... that's good and bad.

Anyway, I think what you are hearing is that how the rudder mounts affects how successful the rudder steering is in reverse. A transom mounted rudder will react differently than a under stern mounted rudder.

I have a narrow turn into my slip (probably not as bad as some), and I dock bow-in ...

The rudder on my boat is extreme in size, so my docking procedure is to motor up until I get to the outskirts of the dock, power down to 1 knot, then the last 100 feet or so I kill the motor, and steer exclusively with the rudder. If I find I have too much speed, I stall the rudder hard over and flop it back until I get a desired speed. I don't have 2 chances as I'd have to fire up my motor again to get me moving again, if I miss it (which thankfully I have not yet), I'll either be aground, or slamming the dock, or being pushed into other boats (depending on wind) by the time I get started again. I therefore keep my motor locked dead center for this (as I usually solo sail, and I am the one catching the boat). Keep in mind the boat is very light it gets blown around easy, but stopping it by hand is easy (makes this easier).

Backing out is another story... since I prefer to drive out of my dockage, I back up towards shallow water, spin the bow to port and drive out straight. This requires a strong coordination of motor spin (because my motor only runs straight, reverse is SPIN the whole motor around)... So with a 180 spin to the motor until I get moving in reverse, I back up halfway out of my slip then slowly turn the motor 90 degrees, this pulls my stern hard to starboard, sometimes I'll also turn the rudder if I'm not getting enough spin. Then I'll throw the motor another 90 (now dead straight forward), and gun it to stop the boat from backing anymore, this process naturally spins the bow around to port, it's a critical 2-5 seconds where the boat has no steering (via rudder OR motor) while I drift in between boats on either side to shoot out of the marina. Because of this, I may rotate the motor one way or another like a stern thruster to get pointed the right way.

I go through all this to tell you, there isn't "just one way." My boats rudder being in front of the motor and reversing causes a very touchy tiller, but it also gives INSTANT correction if I need it. The higher the throttle the worse that touchiness is. This has to be true of most outboards.

By the way my previous boat had a gearshift motor, and a stern mounted tiller. I still had to spin the motor some, and turn the tiller to make this tight turnaround especially when there is little progress (moving slow). Granted, I could choose to back out all the way, turning etc, but I've found the winds are usually light in my slip and significantly heavier by the end of our dock, and it's not unusual to get seriously waked while doing this (skiers).

You should definitely practice away from the marina with how the boat/motor/rudder combo reacts. For most situations a fixed motor pointed forward will work fine.
 
#22 ·
When you're at zero knots your rudder is useless except for sculling. So an outboard with a shift, that can be turned, can turn you when rudder can't. That's when you need both--for us it's after backing out of the slip and turning both motor and tiller to head out between piers. Exactly like backing out of your driveway. As soon as we gain speed up to one or two knots, motor back midships and rudder does all steering.

Also very useful to have that rotating thrust, in forward or reverse, if you ever touch bottom and have to get off in a particular direction.

Generally, I use the "steenkin' motor!" as little as possible, expecially with students, but when we do use it, we take advantage of its rotational thrust. Plus it makes the fixed-prop inboard boys wish they could do that and actually steer in reverse (just as we wish our little prop didn't jump clear of the water in a chop).
 
#24 ·
Yeah, we had remote engine throttle, and gear shift for an old chrysler 9.9 on my Dad's Kell's Coaster, they were a PITA to rig, and didn't give full range of throttle... they did not turn the engine, just forward reverse and throttle.
 
#25 ·
My 18 HP Merc has the gear shift in the throttle do it makes controlling it easy! I don 't think any of the smaller OB's have this feature and I have a 8 HP Yamaha on my sailboat and the shift control is awkward and doesn't always shift smoothly or complete. I try not to touch it while I am maneuvering into the dock as reaching between the rail and the tiller is not the easiest! Always a work in progress docking can be done safely if everything goes as planned!
 
#26 ·
Go as fast as you want to hit the dock. Have just enough speed to compensate for wind & current. I have a wheel & can control both the wheel and the outboard at the same time (controls on outboard). Steering the outboard will give more control to steer over the rudder at very slow speeds. Maybe steer the rudder with you foot and the outboard with your hand. I've got a Tohatsu 9.8 extra long shaft, w/ high thrust prop on my Sabre 28 & find it a lot easier to maneuver than it did with its diesel, sacrilegious I know. The reverse is amazing as well on this particular outboard. I don't know anything about the 6hp though.
 
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