Advice docking a boat with throttle mounted down low?

[j314erre]

I'm considering sailing some boats such as Jeanneau or Hanse that I noticed have the throttle mounted at the lazarette down at knee level or lower.

It seems these boats require one to bend down and take your eyes off the prize during the crucial moments when you are trying to stop the boat.

I've seen videos of people handling these boats sitting down the whole time during the docking procedure, but when I'm docking I like to have a good 360 view, which requires standing, especially if the dock is on the opposite side of the throttle.

I'm wondering if people with experience on these type of boats can provide some advice on whether or not this setup is as awkward as I am imagining it to be and/or some tips for handling it?

[rslifkin]

I'd probably do it sitting and accept the bigger blind spot, save for maybe moving to take a look in a particularly tight situation. In my mind, knowing what you can / can't see and being able to control the boat effectively matters more than being able to see every inch of the boat.

However, I do think that the engine controls on many sailboats are poorly implemented. Either hard to reach, hard / clunky to operate, or engine instruments are placed such that you can't see them from the wheel, engine can't be stopped / started from the wheel, etc. Some get it right, but on many, the engine feels like an afterthought to the point of "oh, I guess we should give it an engine, maybe someone will use it once or twice"

[Snore]

The low throttle controls are scary. Takes practice and planning. But you learn to overcome it.

Don't let the throttle location "get inside your head". Practice moving it- keep in mind, you don't have to look at the throttle to use it. Also on the newer boats, using them thruster, makes it easier. The purists (those who don't have thrusters) will eschew the thruster. But when I dock boats with one, I use it!

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by j314erre

I'm considering sailing some boats such as Jeanneau or Hanse that I noticed have the throttle mounted at the lazarette down at knee level or lower.

It seems these boats require one to bend down and take your eyes off the prize during the crucial moments when you are trying to stop the boat.

I've seen videos of people handling these boats sitting down the whole time during the docking procedure, but when I'm docking I like to have a good 360 view, which requires standing, especially if the dock is on the opposite side of the throttle.

I'm wondering if people with experience on these type of boats can provide some advice on whether or not this setup is as awkward as I am imagining it to be and/or some tips for handling it?

My single lever control is at ankle height on the starboard side of my aft cockpit.

When docking I am standing on the aft deck, usually on the port side, so the control is 4 feet way from me, below the level of my feet.

1. When coming into a dock (either bow first or stern first) I start by bending down and engaging the gear with very little throttle, to start getting some way on sufficient to coast to the berth.
2. Then I stand up and steer for a few seconds
3. Next I bend down again and disengage the gears (put it into neutral) before we get too much speed
4. With the boat coasting I am standing up where I can see and steering. Another crew person near the railing is available to give me directions. If we get too slow I can kick the control into gear (or out of gear) without leaving my position or losing sight of the destination.
5. When we are alongside I bend down and put it into reverse with enough soup to stop the boat
6. When I see we are stopped I again disengage the gears.
7. As we get lines down I sit near the gear shift and work the gears and throttle and helm to position the boat, if needed. At his point I don't need to see.

The key to this is the final approach: I am away from the control but the boat is coasting. I can concentrate on getting alongside close enough for lines to be placed then I can bend down and stop the boat.

You have to be agile and move fast to do this successfully.

You need to know exactly where the control is and how to operate it so you can spent the minimum time looking for it and operating it (practice this)

Success tips:

• Have lines ready and instructions to your helper about which line first, or give clear instructions to a dock worker.
  t
• in the above med-tie scenario you must start backing in well out from the dock to get your steering control established before you get between the adjacent boats.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by j314erre

can provide some advice on whether or not this setup is as awkward as I am imagining it to be

You imagine correctly. Our first boat many years ago had such an arrangement and I still remember how much of a pain it was. Never again!!


Why any designer put it there is a mystery but it's relatively simple to move it if you have room at the pedestal which is certainly simpler than the contortions necessary when docking.

[cal40john]

Cal 34 and 40 are tiller steered with the throttle mounted on the side of the cockpit seat. Stand on the seat, steer with a hiking stick, operate throttle with your foot. Good visibility, and no bending.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

You imagine correctly. Our first boat many years ago had such an arrangement and I still remember how much of a pain it was. Never again!!

Why any designer put it there is a mystery but it's relatively simple to move it if you have room at the pedestal which is certainly simpler than the contortions necessary when docking.

You've got to start thinking outside of the box.

To where in this photo would you have the designer move the single lever control?

For that matter, where is the pedestal?

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by wingssail

You've got to start thinking outside of the box.

To where in this photo would you have the designer move the single lever control?

For that matter, where is the pedestal?

That looks more like an obstacle course where the throttle position might be the least problematic concern. I assume the is a wheel or tiller there someplace???

[kayakerChuck]

My O'Day 30 has the controls just above the deck. They are pretty easy to operate with my foot, but it does take a bit of practice.

[TrentePieds]

Start a campaign to have boat factories take a leaf from the book of the designers of such magnificent conveyances as, say, the 1957 Lambretta motor scooter.

On the right side of the handlebars was the throttle, a simple twist-grip as used today not only on motorcycles but on outboard motors. On the left side of the handlebars was another twistgrip that controlled the gear box: Twist it clockwise from the neutral position and you got low gear. Twist it counter-clockwise one notch past the neutral position and you got 2nd gear. Twist it counter-clockwise one more notch and you got 3rd (high) gear. No reverse of course, what with it being a two-wheeler'n'all. A squeeze grip controlled the clutch and the twist could not be effecte3d unless the squeeze grip had been pulled disengaging the clutch and simultaneously releasing the twist lock.

Eschew steering wheels in small boats, say up to about 45 feet, and use a tiller as God in her wisdom intended, fit the tiller with a twist grip for the throttle and a lever for the tranny control. Morse cables are quite up to the task as they were on the Lambretta.

There is nothing new under the sun. However, there is such a thing as cultural myopia.

TrentePieds

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

That looks more like an obstacle course where the throttle position might be the least problematic concern. I assume the is a wheel or tiller there someplace???

The tiller is there just need to look closer

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Start a campaign to have boat factories take a leaf from the book of the designers of such magnificent conveyances as, say, the 1957 Lambretta motor scooter.

On the right side of the handlebars was the throttle, a simple twist-grip as used today not only on motorcycles but on outboard motors. On the left side of the handlebars was another twistgrip that controlled the gear box: Twist it clockwise from the neutral position and you got low gear. Twist it counter-clockwise one notch past the neutral position and you got 2nd gear. Twist it counter-clockwise one more notch and you got 3rd (high) gear. No reverse of course, what with it being a two-wheeler'n'all. A squeeze grip controlled the clutch and the twist could not be effecte3d unless the squeeze grip had been pulled disengaging the clutch and simultaneously releasing the twist lock.

Eschew steering wheels in small boats, say up to about 45 feet, and use a tiller as God in her wisdom intended, fit the tiller with a twist grip for the throttle and a lever for the tranny control. Morse cables are quite up to the task as they were on the Lambretta.

There is nothing new under the sun. However, there is such a thing as cultural myopia.

TrentePieds

That would be a novel arrangement on a sailboat, but as you say: there is little new under the sun...the folks at Yamaha figured out tiller mounted engine controls some time ago. Now just need to adapt them to a sailboat tiller!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by AKA-None

The tiller is there just need to look closer

...aft of the traveller and just above an open deck hatch!

[hpeer]

I struggle with this on our long keel barn door cutter. Only turn to sbd, I need to back and fill to maneuver. We seldom dock preferring to anchor off, so I have little experience in tight conditions. Our single lever controls are low on the port side. Difficult to bend down and operate effectively, especially when backing and filling which needs to be aggressive at times. A couple of times I have put her hard astern instead of forward, embarrassing at best.

[mholtzberg]

Our Sea Scout boat is a WestSail 32.... It is a 20,000 pound barn door rudder cutter rigged boat with a 3 foot spear on the front of the boat. The trottle control is on the side of the cockpit pit and I have docked the boat myself after making several passes at the end of a dock.

It takes patience and knowing how the boat reacts to windage and current. You drive the boat so it will stop where you want it, where you need it. This requires practice.

Spend a day with a friend and practice... Never come into a dock faster than what you want to hit it. It is ok if your boat rubs pilings... just not hit it so hard that the piling or the boat breaks.