Park Your Ride
Avoiding dock dings this summer... you gotta have a plan to park. Parking & maneuvering inboard-powered boats is a little more challenging than just backing up or steering a car in reverse. Since the propeller is fixed on inboards & can't be turned like an outboard or I/O's, you have to drive, steer & reverse differently. In reverse you can only really turn the boat in one direction. Argh! Not to worry, though – here's how to protect your investment when dock bound.
Reverse – How it works... Inboard boats only reverse well in the direction of the prop torque. The prop scoops & slings some water in the direction its spinning. This scooping motion pulls the back of the boat in one direction depending on which way the prop is spinning. You will only notice it in reverse. When the boat is in reverse, the prop moves the water in the opposite direction & the water doesn't travel past a rudder, so there is nothing to deflect the water. That's where the prop torque takes over. The prop torque pulls the boat toward its favorable side while the prop is spinning. You can reverse hard with the rudder straight, put the throttle in the neutral, & then steer with the rudder a little, but you are very limited. The direction of prop torque is based on the brand of boat.
When to use it... when approaching a pier or another boat to park, don't use a forward thrust the swing the boat in sideways or to seeing the back of the boat toward a pier or other boat. Forward is an accelerating motion that will swing the rear of the boat in a fast whipping motion, which promotes hard impact & gel coat dings. In reverse you will still be able to move the back of the boat in the direction for parking, but in a decelerating or slowing motion.
Steer your rear... watch the back of your boat when you are idling around in forward. As you turn the wheel to the left, for example, you will see the back of the boat swing right first. Keep in mind when picking up a fallen rider or driving away from a dock or another boat. I’ve seen some pretty nice collisions caused by drivers who don’t anticipate the back of the boat swinging first as they steer.
