Ralph,
Backing a twin engine powerboat and an under-powered sailboat are two vastly different tasks!  I never owned a sailboat that would back straight to save your life. In fact, one or two of them seemed to prefer corkscrewing sideways. They are the devil's handiwork!

Regards,
Randy Pickelmann
Morning Star
lying Marathon, Fl
www.CruisingMorningStar.com
Sent from my iPad

I owned many sailboats. Sailboat tracking (fore or aft) will vary with the
keel design. Spade keels will tend to make the boat rotate even if backing.
But this principle applies the same to sailboats because the prop is closer
to upwind and in reverse it pulls the boat.

If the boat is underpowered, then that is an entirely different problem to
be dealt with.

And we have to remember that backing invokes prop pull, usually to port. But
the experienced helmsman should know and understand this and apply it.

Flat bottom planing hull boats are hard to maneuver at low speeds because
they float across the top of the water. Deep V boats with higher dead rise
in the stern provide some better level of tracking.

I still maintain that backing into the wind affords more control at slow
speeds than bow to. But as I said earlier - it's a paradigm shift in
thinking for most folks.

R.

-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Pickelmann [mailto:rwp_48@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 7:50 AM
To: great-loop@lists.trawlering.com
Cc: ralph@alphacompservices.com
Subject: Bridge etiquette ICW

Ralph,
Backing a twin engine powerboat and an under-powered sailboat are two vastly
different tasks!  I never owned a sailboat that would back straight to save
your life. In fact, one or two of them seemed to prefer corkscrewing
sideways. They are the devil's handiwork!

Regards,
Randy Pickelmann
Morning Star
lying Marathon, Fl
www.CruisingMorningStar.com
Sent from my iPad

I sailed for 28 years before making the switch to the Trawler. My sailboat had a fin
keel and would spin on a dime. However you have to remember backing up you have to get enough stern way on the boat with water flowing past the rudder for the rudder to answer to the helm. You do not do that slow. Once you have the momentum going fine, loose the momentum you lost rudder control
backing up.
 
Now Back to cruising..
 
Bob

Capt Bob Kovach
M/Y ALLEZ! MT50 WB
MTOA 2631 AGLCA 1969
USPS CHARLESTON S.C.
EMail: my_allez@yahoo.com

From: Ralph Yost ralph@alphacompservices.com
To: 'Randy Pickelmann' rwp_48@yahoo.com; great-loop@lists.trawlering.com
Sent: Friday, March 9, 2012 8:40 AM
Subject: Re: GL: Bridge etiquette ICW

I owned many sailboats. Sailboat tracking (fore or aft) will vary with the
keel design. Spade keels will tend to make the boat rotate even if backing.
But this principle applies the same to sailboats because the prop is closer
to upwind and in reverse it pulls the boat.

If the boat is underpowered, then that is an entirely different problem to
be dealt with.

And we have to remember that backing invokes prop pull, usually to port. But
the experienced helmsman should know and understand this and apply it.

Flat bottom planing hull boats are hard to maneuver at low speeds because
they float across the top of the water. Deep V boats with higher dead rise
in the stern provide some better level of tracking.

I still maintain that backing into the wind affords more control at slow
speeds than bow to. But as I said earlier - it's a paradigm shift in
thinking for most folks.

R.

-----Original Message-----
From: Randy Pickelmann [mailto:rwp_48@yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, March 09, 2012 7:50 AM
To: great-loop@lists.trawlering.com
Cc: ralph@alphacompservices.com
Subject: Bridge etiquette ICW

Ralph,
Backing a twin engine powerboat and an under-powered sailboat are two vastly
different tasks!  I never owned a sailboat that would back straight to save
your life. In fact, one or two of them seemed to prefer corkscrewing
sideways. They are the devil's handiwork!

Regards,
Randy Pickelmann
Morning Star
lying Marathon, Fl
www.CruisingMorningStar.com
Sent from my iPad

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