Prop walk

[Tmacmi]

Would a three bladed propeller create more prop walk thank a two bladed propeller?

Our 28' boat has dreadful prop walk. Even at the lowest RPM the stern of the boat jumps 3' feet to port.

I suspect that at sometime in the past, someone changed the propeller from a two blade to a 3 blade and I wonder if that is causing it to be more pronounced.

[Searles]

Simple answer is yes ,a three blade prop will exhibit more side thrust ,prop walk than a two blader if the blade area is the same ,narrow blade props have less prop walk at low revs than big blades ,use prop walk to your advantage.⛵️⚓️

[rbk]

Shirt bursts in reverse helps.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by rbk

Shirt bursts in reverse helps.

Yep, that helped!

[rbk]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Yep, that helped!

Bloody auto correct. Although those short shirt bursts don’t hurt either lol

Thankfully auto correct didn’t change it to **** bursts, hate to think what videos you would have posted...

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by rbk

Bloody auto correct. Although those short shirt bursts don’t hurt either lol

Thankfully auto correct didn’t change it to **** bursts, hate to think what videos you would have posted...

[emoji1787]

[dfelsent]

Prop walk is your friend.
Short bursts in reverse, yes.
Your stern moves to port in reverse. So does mine. Big time.
For fun put your helm hard to starboard when stopped, on a calm day. Hold it there. Alternate a few seconds of reverse with a few seconds of reverse. Don’t move that helm. You just might spin in place. That’s a cool thing to be able to do. Looks like a bow thruster.
And useful.

So docking and in really tight quarters you have a new tool.

Yes before you establish headway in reverse it’s a nuisance. But you can spin in places you couldn’t.

[Charlie]

When I back into my slip I use the prop walk to my advantage. The boat pulls to port. I put the rudder hard to starboard. When the boat is too close to the port side I goose the throttle in forward. This pushes the stern to starboard. It has to be a quick shot so that you don't lose your reverse momentum.

The best thing someone on this forum suggested was that you should practice doing figure 8's in reverse. In both directions. Once I learned how to do that my boat handling skills under power improved dramatically.

[chrisr]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Prop walk is your friend.
Short bursts in reverse, yes.
Your stern moves to port in reverse. So does mine. Big time.
For fun put your helm hard to starboard when stopped, on a calm day. Hold it there. Alternate a few seconds of reverse with a few seconds of reverse. Don’t move that helm. You just might spin in place. That’s a cool thing to be able to do. Looks like a bow thruster.
And useful.

So docking and in really tight quarters you have a new tool.

Yes before you establish headway in reverse it’s a nuisance. But you can spin in places you couldn’t.

this works best with a hydraulic clutch. full ahead to full astern, without bits of gearbox flying out the companionway...

cheers,

[dfelsent]

Originally Posted by chrisr

this works best with a hydraulic clutch. full ahead to full astern, without bits of gearbox flying out the companionway...



cheers,

Yes. But a big pause helps!!

[Glory Days]

Hope this question does not creep the OP's thread and may be helpful to him as well as me.
Charlie; as a new boat owner I'm interested in exercises that will help me dock/undock etc. Can you expand on this comment ?

The best thing someone on this forum suggested was that you should practice doing figure 8's in reverse. In both directions. Once I learned how to do that my boat handling skills under power improved dramatically.

Thanks

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by Glory Days

Hope this question does not creep the OP's thread and may be helpful to him as well as me.
Charlie; as a new boat owner I'm interested in exercises that will help me dock/undock etc. Can you expand on this comment ?

Thanks

Yeah, a figure 8 is both directions already. Besides doing that, practice using the engine in combination with a spring line attached to the dock to get the bow to move away from the dock as well as the stern away from the dock.

When your stern pulls to port in reverse, it means you get a little push to starboard in forward. So whenever possible, when you are tied to a dock at starboard side, first use a spring line to move the bow away from the dock, then leave by going in reverse. When tied to port side, first move bow away, then leave in forward.

When pinned to the dock by hard wind, use the engine to move into a spring line to pull the stern away from the dock. You can do that all the way to perpendicular to the dock, using a fender to protect the bow. Then you can go in reverse moving away from the dock with the stern pointing into the wind.

For a “big boat” this is the only way to do it; for a small boat it’s still the best way to do it. I practiced this on a 29’ Jeanneau and it worked just as well as on our 64’ Sundeer

[Shrew]

Are you backing into a slip? What is the challenge that prop walk is presenting?

I back into a slip with a Stbd side tie. My prop walks to Stbd in Reverse. I pull up to the slip at a 90 degree angle with the slip and finger pier on my Stbd side. Rudder full to port.

Now I 'bump and fill' to get into the slip. Reverse slightly, then into neutral. reverse and walk to Stbd, bow comes to port. Fwd slightly then neutral. Stern comes to Stbd, bow comes to port. I repeat between 'Rev -> N', and 'Fwd -> N' over and over until I slowly start both turning and backing into the slip until I'm along side the Stbd finger pier.

similar if side tying. I come in at a 45 degree angle with the dock to my Stbd. I'm bumping into FWD then Neutral. A few feet away from the dock, the rudder goes hard to port and the engine goes into reverse. If I miss it a little, straight rudder and FWD, then N, then rudder back to port and Reverse again, until I siddle up to the dock.

Making u-turns I only turn to port. Wheel hard to port. Fwd -> N, then REV -> N and slowly turn in a tight radius.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by dfelsent

Prop walk is your friend.
Short bursts in reverse, yes.
Your stern moves to port in reverse. So does mine. Big time.
For fun put your helm hard to starboard when stopped, on a calm day. Hold it there. Alternate a few seconds of reverse with a few seconds of reverse. Don’t move that helm. You just might spin in place. That’s a cool thing to be able to do. Looks like a bow thruster.
And useful.

So docking and in really tight quarters you have a new tool.

Yes before you establish headway in reverse it’s a nuisance. But you can spin in places you couldn’t.

I agree, use it to your advantage. I have not found a huge difference in 2 or 3 blade but some.
To avoid "jumping to the side", ease into the throttle. Get the boat moving a bit... slowly!, then increase rpm if necessary. With motion, the boat will not walk so bad. Gun it when you need the walk.

[Tmacmi]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Are you backing into a slip? What is the challenge that prop walk is presenting?.

I have a long list of practice tests I've planned out: figure 8 in reverse, backing up to a stationary object, etc.

The challenge that I particularly had in mind was a problem last year.

We were tied up in a slip with the dock finger on the starboard. There was a port bow tie on land and pile on the port side at the stern quarter where you would expect it.

But the slip was also designed to accommodate a longer boat by having standing pilings about 10'-12' further back from the dock finger.

That required a long straight path backwards.

There was a strong wind from port to starboard. I tried to give it enough throttle to over come the wind

You know the result. Bow swings towards dock, stern heads directly for secondary piling. Lots of scrambling to fend off, embarrassed skipper.