For many people, moving from a single engine to
a twin engine vessel is a big step. If you are used to an outboard or
inboard-outboard, it will take a mental shift when learning twin engines with
shaft drive.
The first difference you will notice is operating astern propulsion is not as
effective as on vessels with legs. The rudders are not effective when going
astern until you have the boat moving and water flowing across the rudders.
Rule 1 for beginners:
Neutral is your best friend - especially as the size and weight of the vessel
increases it is important to keep the speed of the vessel at the minimum
required to retain control. Speed is your enemy and when you go into gear only
stay in gear 1–2 seconds. This will prevent the vessel from gathering speed
which gives you less time to react and think. Usually the objective is to coast
the vessel to its berth. When you have 65,000 lbs. under you, that is a lot of
momentum.
Rule 2
To start we will have our engines at idle and the rudders centred. Mostly we
will use only the gear levers to steer the boat. There are a number of memory
aids to assist you in operating the controls.
1. Pretend the two gear levers are the handlebars of a bicycle. If you want to
turn to port, move the gear levers the same as you would with a bike. In this
case Starboard engine forward and Port engine astern.
2. Stand at the helm and grasp the gear levers, one in each hand. If you lock
your elbows and simply rotate your upper body so you are facing the direction
you want the boat to move, you automatically move the correct lever in the
correct direction.
3. Imagine parentheses (curved brackets) alongside the gear levers. For
example, if we use o to represent the gear levers and the parentheses
would indicate the direction the boat would move. (o o)
If we move the port lever forward, the boat would move forward and the bow
would turn to starboard.
4. Imagine the vessel as a shopping cart, if you push your right hand forward and pull your left hand back, the cart will turn to port.
To execute a slow turn to starboard, you would move the port gear lever
forward.
To
make the turn tighter, you would move the starboard lever astern (reverse).
For further information on many aspects of boat handling, visit our E-lessons page.
