Ship Handling Under Power

Grade III

Intro
This lecture mainly deals with the use of
engines when docking and undocking, and
any other tight-quarters manoeuvring.
Use of engine in open water is
straightforward, though any principles
discussed here can be applied to those
situations.

Dont think that this is boring and

easy though.
Have you ever
watched someone try
to bring their 50-foot
motor yacht into a
berth?
Even bringing in a 15foot tin boat with an
outboard can be
difficult if you dont
understand the
principles involved.

Basics
For the rudder to turn the ship, there needs to be water
flow.
There is no such thing as brakes, the boat will always
be moving somewhat, even if all forward way has been
taken off.
Factors affecting how a vessel will move are:

Wind (Dont forget CE vs. CLR)

Current
Momentum
Transverse Thrust
Lines/Springs/Anchors

During approach to a situation where tight manouevring

will be required it is important to assess what factors will
be affecting the vessel, and in what way.

Basics
For the rudder to turn the ship, there
needs to be water flow
When the ship is not moving through the
water the rudder has no effect
The faster the ship is moving the quicker she
will respond to the rudder
The rudder is most effective when the
propeller is actually engaged, and forcing
water over the rudder's surface

Fluid Dynamics
Water and air are both fluids. They behave
in very similar ways.
Air is not very dense relative to water, but it
still has an effect. This is particularly evident
with strong wind.

Water is quite dense, and will exert a lot of

force even if it is a slow-flowing current

Momentum and Inertia

It is important to realise that a ship does
not stop when the engine is put in neutral.
With any larger boat, stopping the prop
spinning will have little effect on the speed of
the vessel for quite some time (30 sec)

Likewise, a ship will not move immediately

when the engine is put in forward or
reverse.

Relative Motion
Unlike being in a car, your motion relative to
visible points on shore is not particularly relevant
to the way the ship is acting. It is much more
important to understand your vessel's motion in
relation to the fluid medium of water.
A boat moving through a heavy current and a
boat moving through still water are doing entirely
different things, even if their motion apparent to
a fixed point on shore seems similar.

Momentum
Because you are moving through a fluid,
you must always keep this in mind when
judging your motion in tighter spaces.
Sometimes your momentum can be used to
your benefit though, i.e. getting the boat into
tight spaces (drifting sideways gets rid of the
need for parallel parking)

Windage
Windage is the area of a vessel exposed
to the wind, upon which the wind will push.
Even with all sails struck and furled, there
is still considerable windage due to the
spars, lines, other rigging and the sides of
the ship.

Current
Current is the flow of water. This can be
the result of various reasons:
River flow
Tidal currents
A large volume of water flowing through a
small area (such as at the town of Little
Current)
Wind blowing a long time in one direction can
also create currents, even in relatively large
bodies of water

Transverse Thrust
This is the sideways force generated by
the propeller spinning in the water.
The water at the bottom of the prop is
denser than that at the top, meaning that
the sideways motion at the top is not as
strong as that at the bottom
This creates transverse thrust

Transverse Thrust
This force is much more evident when in
reverse, particularly at high revolutions
It is still acting upon the vessel when in
forward, but is much less evident due to
the rudder acting more efficiently

Transverse Thrust

Transverse Thrust
Both Pathfinder and Playfair have lefthanded propellers. This means that they
spin counter-clockwise when in forward
In reverse they spin clockwise, pushing
the stern to Starboard. (The bottom blades
are pushing to Starboard, the top to Port,
bottom wins)

Reversing
Single-screw vessels do not reverse very
well
The rudder has little effect
The stern will attempt to face windward
You need to stay in low revolutions to prevent
transverse thrust from overpowering your
intended course

Power Turns
To turn in a very short length you can use a power turn
Put the rudder hard over, put the transmission in fwd, then
throttle up to close to cruise
Hold this for a few seconds, then go back to neutral before you
pick up speed
Repeat as necessary
To turn in even less length make sure you are turning to Port, so
you can use reverse and use the transverse thrust to bring the
stern to Stbd. With this you can turn inside the length of the
vessel

This works because the prop sends a lot of water past

the rudder, allowing a turning action to begin without any
forward motion.

Docking with Wind

The wind will be either blowing you off the dock,
on the dock, or it will be blowing along the dock
If you are being blown off the dock, it will require a
sharper approach, turning out later than normal
If you are being blown onto the dock you will want to
do a shallow approach, coming parallel to the dock
further out and coming against the dock evenly
If the wind is blowing along the dock, try to dock head
to wind so you can maintain good control with little
speed.
If you have to dock stern to the wind have a midship spring
or sternline ready to stop you with out tripping the bow into
the dock. You will want to minimize your speed.

Docking with Currents

This is very similar to docking with wind, except
current is much stronger for a given velocity due
to the density of the fluid.
Docking head to current is quite easy. You can
maintain a high Speed through the Water while still
having a low SOG. You maintain a lot of control this
way.
Docking with stern to current can be very difficult. You
need to keep your SOG low, so your STW is also low,
resulting in slow reaction times with the rudder, and
therefore low levels of control combined with higher
approach speeds.

Docking with Currents

This is all related to the water flow past the
rudder.
Say you have a 2 knot current.
If you head in the current a 1 knot over ground you
will be able to manuevre as if you were going 3 knots,
while still being able to approach the wall slowly.
If you go down current, you will be have to be making
at least 2 knots over ground, plus whatever you need
to maintain some steerage. You will approach the wall
quickly and have much less control.

Use of Lines
Mooring lines are very important during
docking.
Where the line leads from and which way
it leads will dictate what effects it will have
on the ship.
Length of line can also have an effect.

Mooring Lines
We have 4 lines we use normally:
Head rope (1)
Head spring (2)
Stern spring (3)
Stern line (4)

We also have the midship spring.

Head Rope
While the head rope is a key element to
maintaining an effective mooring system, it
is generally not used to control the motion
of the boat while docking or leaving. As
such, it will often be the last line put on,
and the first line removed in mooring
procedures.
A head rope can be useful for bringing the
bow of the boat in.

Head Spring
The head spring is a pretty important line
onboard.
For coming alongside, the head spring can be
used effectively as both a brake, and to
convert forward momentum into sideways
momentum, to bring the bow into the wall.
When leaving the wall, you can 'spring' off the
head spring, by removing the other lines,
putting the boat in forward momentum, and
allowing the boat to push its stern away from
the wall.

Stern Spring
While this line is not often instrumental in
coming along side, you can spring off the
stern in a similar way that one can spring
off the head spring. Putting the boat in
reverse with only the stern spring left on
will pull the bow away from the wall.

Stern Line
The stern line, like the head spring, can be
used as somewhat of a brake, and to pull
the stern into the wall, although it's more
commonly used to brake when coming
alongside under sail.

Midship Spring
Mainly a line that is put on after the rest
are secure, the midship spring can also be
used to 'warp' the boat alongside, in
conjunction with breast lines fore'n'aft.
To warp is to move the boat using only lines
and muscles or the winch. Can be useful
when there are factors brohibiting bringing the
boat alongside i.e. Strong winds off the wall.
The midship spring is also an effective sail on
tool.

Surging Lines
This is when strain is taken, but the line is
still allowed to run out. If you need to
reduce speed rapidly this is a very good
tactic.
Just snubbing a line while still moving can
often cause an overly drastic change in
momentum, and undue strain on the line.
Avoid doing this.

It can also be effective when warping the

ship to maintain control.

 The best docking is one where the lines go

on when you are already in place! Using
lines to affect motion is always a
secondary option; try not to rely on them
too much.

Use of Anchors
Anchors are available for use when
manoeuvring.
They can be dropped to use as a pivot point.
Or they can be used to slow the ship and help
keep her heading while approaching the dock.

The anchor should be cockabill (or on a

trigger lashing) and otherwise ready to
drop for use at a moments notice.

Use of Sails
When manoeuvring in close quarters sails
can be invaluable
To fall off the wind the Jib is very useful.
If you want to head up quickly then use the
Mainsail. It is a good idea to have it prepped
and ready to go if you intend to use it.
Haul the throat up about 1 foot, and then haul the
peak up to the point at which the end of the gaff is
just through the quarter-lifts.

Use of Sails
When manoeuvring in close quarters sails
can be invaluable
To fall off the wind the Jib is very useful.
If you want to head up quickly then use the
Mainsail. It is a good idea to have it prepped
and ready to go if you intend to use it.
Haul the throat up about 1 foot, and then haul the
peak up to the point at which the end of the gaff is
just through the quarter-lifts.

Motorsailing
Motorsailing is a very useful skill to know.
Unless you need to head directly into the
wind, then it is the obvious choice over
normal motoring
You reduce strain on the crew and vessel by
having a steadier trip
You go faster and use less fuel (up to 30%
savings by some calculations)
You still have sails up, which is a good thing
as we are sailing vessels

Motorsailing
Motorsailing really should be thought of as
motor-assist sailing, as opposed to sail-assist
motoring.
You need to tack to get upwind
Dont forget to brace as well, yards create a lot of
windage
Sail trim is still very important

While motorsailing, for the purposes of Collision

Regulations, you are a MOTOR VESSEL.

Bank Suction
While operation in narrow channels, such
as the Welland canal, one must be aware
of the fact that being overly close to the
bank will cause the boat to be sucked
even closer.
If you are getting to a point where contact is
imminent, don't try to rive out of it; you'll most
likely just pick up more speed. Take of as
much speed as possible, and get an officer to
fend off up forward before driving away from
the bank.

Bank suction is very evident especially when

leavin the lock walls. Make sure the bow is
well fended of before departing.

Squat
Because all of the motive force is located
at the propeller, the trim of the ship will
change as you use the prop in different
directions and at different speeds.
The stern sinks in forward, and the bow will
sink in reverse to increasing degrees as you
increase RPMs. In shallow water, everything
is better done slowly.