Practical Boat Owner — November 2017

A right-handed prop

will tend to kick the stern

to port in reverse

...whereas a left-handed

prop will tend to kick to

starboard

Prop-walk

will often

override the

rudder when

a boat starts

in astern...

...but if the

engine is put

into neutral

or the revs

are cut right

back once

speed is

built up...

...many

boats will

respond to

the rudder

Owners of long-keelers will generally be well aware which way
their boats kick in astern. A right-handed prop should induce a
kick to port, whereas a boat with a left-handed prop should kick
to starboard.
Because prop-walk often pulls the boat one way or the other
almost immediately, and the long keel makes it reluctant to
change direction, it can seem as though you’re trying to fi ght
the inevitable.

Using neutral
One trick, applicable to boats of any underwater confi guration, is
to build up speed in astern and then knock the engine out of gear.
The rudder is then no longer fi ghting the prop-walk and, with
suffi cient water fl ow over it, will start to have an effect. Long-
keelers often respond to this technique, though again in a marina
there isn’t always enough space to make use of it.

Multi-point turns
Another approach is to use reverse gear simply as a means of
going astern, and to do your steering in ahead. Engage reverse,
go astern as far as space allows in whichever direction the boat
pulls, and then use full lock and a burst of ahead to bring the bow
round using prop-wash over the rudder. With the stern pointing in
the right direction again (or offset to allow for the prop-walk), go
astern again and repeat the process.
No matter what you do, there will be situations in which the boat
simply won’t respond. Long keels mean limitations.

Understanding

prop walk

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