Backing up

[ballymack]

Hi - I was checking to see if any long-term double-ender owner has a good plan for backing one up. My wife and I have owned an HC 48 for about 4 years and everytime I run into another double-ender owner I ask this question and get a smile and subsequent laugh that it's guesswork.

Is there a secret to it that few have figured out?

And we have a bow thruster, so my sympathies go out to those who don't have that luxury (and no smart aleck comments about how lame we are!).

Mike

[ladyanne]

[SVTambadil]

[chickenbone]

[chuck]

[warmrain]

[SVTambadil]

[svandiamo]

Let me just quickly say that I read this post thoroughly to include the link provided earlier prior to driving our HC43 for the first time. I wanted to make sure I didnt bang up my new boat the first day out. At 52' 9" overall, we've got a lot of boat to clear. The tips and techniques here worked like a champ. We just moved our Andiamo from Port Angeles, WA down to Olympia this past weekend. I was a bit nervous and intimited to say the least. However, keeping in mind the things I had read here, handling the boat was a breeze. Pulling into the marina in Olympia, I even turned the boat around 180 degrees within about the length of the boat using the "back and fill" technique. It was easier than I anticipated. When backing out of the slip, I just used the space available and judged the wind and current as best I could. Indeed I had to gather "steerageway" in reverse before the rudder would be effective, but becuase of a strong engine and a great max-prop, I was able to stop our backwards momentum at a moment's notice, followed by the "fill" portion of the technique was then able to turn out and proceed out of the marina like a pro.

Thanks for sharing your experience and tips and saving me much embarassment. As soon as I get some sweet skills, I will share them with the group! Until then, I'll just keep cheating and using you guys as my cruch stealing your skills and playing them off as my own. Thanks!

[clonjers]

I have an HC34 and it always backs in to the wind.

[warmrain]

[SVTambadil]