Sent in by charterer December 23, 1999
My previous article dealt with the general aspects of cruising the Hawkesbury River and Pittwater, which are approximately 40 mins drive north of Sydney. I wrote that article back in 1997, and its content still holds true today. I have recently returned from another nine days cruising the same waters, and what I witnessed in those days prompted this article.
This article deals with the simple requirements of handling a cruiser or houseboat which you may be thinking of chartering. It will explain some simple boat handling techniques and at the same time should allay any concerns you may have that chartering a self-drive vessel is beyond your capabilities.
Simple Nautical Terms
These terms may be familiar to "seasoned boaties" but, let’s face it, to some they may not.
Helm – the steering wheel Bow – the pointy end at the front Stern – the blunt end at the back Starboard – the right side of the vessel (if you’re standing at the helm facing towards the bow). The starboard side will have a green navigation light. Port – the left side of the vessel. The port side will have a red navigation light. If you can’t remember port from starboard - just remember that port wine is coloured red and that a boaties worst nightmare is when there is no RED PORT LEFT !! Anchor light – the single white light atop the mast. If anchored away from a general mooring area at night, then turn on this light to warn other vessels that you’re anchored. There is no need to turn on this light if moored at a buoy but some people like to anyway. Running lights – the port, starboard, stern and mast lights that should ONLY be turned on when travelling at night, and because a charted self-drive vessel can not travel between sunset and sunrise except in an emergency, you should never turn these one – especially when moored.
Before you head off
The charter company will instruct you in the simple steps required to start and stop the engine of your particular vessel before you head off. This introductory lesson will also cover the simple operation of all facilities and equipment on board, from the marine toilet through simple navigation rules, how the anchor winch works, to where the dishwashing liquid is stored. Now is the time to ask those questions – no question is silly, especially if you are not familiar with boating. The charter company has seen "all types" of people, from the boating beginner to the one who (supposedly) "knows everything", so don’t be embarrassed to ask any question which concerns you.
No controlled reverse
Any vessel with a fixed propulsion system, using a rudder, is uncontrollable when in reverse. That is, frantic turning of the helm will have little, if any, affect on the direction the vessel will head in reverse. This is not true for vessels with outboards (such as houseboats), where the rudder is replaced by having the engine(s) swivel to give directional control in both forward and reverse motion.
When manoeuvring a vessel (with a rudder) in reverse, the vessel will tend to head in more or less a straight line, regardless of where the rudder is positioned. Wind will affect this movement and will tend to "push" the bow of the boat in the direction of the wind.
This lack of control with a ruddered vessel should cause no undue problems if you remember the above fact. If you are in a tight manoeuvring area, such as a group of moorings, you can still have excellent control of your vessel by utilising reverse and forward gears. Here’s an example:
Suppose you are drifting away to the right of a buoy and wish to bring the bow back over the buoy. Turn the helm fully counter-clockwise (to port) and leave it there. Reverse slowly away from the buoy until you’re more than ten feet away from it. Select forward gear and give it half throttle for a two seconds. The stern will swing sharply to the right and the bow will swing towards the buoy. As you near the buoy, repeat the reverse and spurts forward until you are again over the buoy. This manoeuvre can be thought of as like a "three-point turn" in a car, but unlike the car you can only go straight back in reverse.
Hooking up to a buoy
The easiest way to moor is to hook up to a floating buoy - the alternative if no buoy is available is of course to drop anchor. When no wind is blowing, hooking up to the buoy should be no problems and can be tackled from any direction, but when a wind is blowing extra attention is required to avoid frustrating attempts to capture the buoy rope.
Have a capable person already at the bow with the gaff as you approach the buoy at slow speed. If need be, apply some reverse throttle to slow you down. Once you are at the buoy, apply gentle reverse to stop the vessel. Reach down with the gaff and hook the buoy rope with the gaff, bringing up the gaff with the rope attached. Grab the rope and loop the end over the mooring point. Turn off the engine and stow the gaff.
Because the person at the helm can not see the buoy, simple pre-arranged hand signals given by the person at the bow can aid the helmsman to apply the correct rudder and vessel motion (forward or reverse).
When the wind is blowing, it is easiest to approach the buoy from downwind, heading the bow into the wind. The floating buoy rope will be trailing in the water behind the buoy away from the wind, so you can easily determine the wind direction by seeing where the rope is positioned. If other vessels are in the immediate area already moored, they will be facing more or less into the wind as well.
When approaching a buoy in a wind, give yourself ample time to turn into the wind towards the buoy. The stronger the wind the more affect it will have on your vessel, and the slower you are moving the greater the affect, so in a strong wind allow a faster approach speed towards the buoy than usual, remembering you will now have a greater stopping distance so also plan to use more reverse earlier than normal. In a strong wind, once you have stopped, the wind will immediately want to push your bow away from the buoy, so if you haven’t come up to the buoy directly downwind, try to have the bow stop above the buoy upwind so the person at the bow with the gaff has that little bit of extra time to hook the rope and bring it on board as the bow swings over and downwind of the buoy.
One final point – if you find yourself missing the buoy and struggling to bring the vessel back to the buoy, simply steer away from the buoy completely and come back for another clean approach. This year I saw a houseboat take over ten minutes to attach to a buoy in a medium wind – but they calmly persevered and eventually did it – to the good-humoured cheers and raising of drinks from the other boaties. *grin*
Using the anchor
This simple act can cause problems if you fail to remember a few basic rules. This year I saw another cruiser repeatedly drop anchor (when no moorings were available) only to repeatedly drift towards other boats, requiring the cruiser to raise the anchor in a hurry and try again (eventually another boat left a nearby mooring so I yelled out to the hapless skipper that a mooring was now free).
To work properly the anchor must embed itself into the bottom of the river bed. The anchor is designed to bury itself into the bed when pulled at an angle. The anchor is designed to come free of the river bottom when pulled upwards. The words "at an angle" and "upwards" are important to remember here. You must let out enough rope and/or chain so that when the vessel pulls against the anchor, in a wind or by the tide, the anchor is not pulled up but rather is pulled at an angle which tends to bury it further into the bottom.
The minimum angle to have the rope/chain when it is taut is 45 degrees – any less of an angle and you risk the anchor being pulled up and out of the bottom, and then the vessel will drift. This was the problem experienced by the hapless skipper described above – he had let out only enough chain so that the angle was less than 20 degrees, so when the boat was pushed back by the wind which was blowing, the anchor was at the wrong angle to embed itself and was simply dragged along the bottom.
Before dropping anchor, remember three things:
Approach the drop point from downwind or downstream, so after the anchor is dropped the wind or tide naturally causes the vessel to drift away from the anchor and not over it.
Allow enough clearance from objects – the shore, wharf, other vessels – so that after the anchor is dropped and the rope/chain is taut, you still have ample space away from any object on any side of the anchor. Allow some distance for the vessel to drift before the rope/chain becomes taut. Remember also that when the tide turns or the wind changes, the vessel will swing on the rope/chain into the opposite direction so enough clearance on that side (all sides) is required as well.
After the anchor has been dropped and the rope/chain has been secured, it is a good idea to wait a couple of minutes to ensure that the anchor has "grabbed" and that you’re not drifting. Look around at the shore and determine your current position – pick a tree or landmark as a reference point. In a few minutes check that you have not drifted. Allow for the fact that with little wind or tide movement the vessel may just float above the anchor, but with some wind or tide movement the vessel will eventually tether itself the length of the rope/chain.
A little common sense and care is also needed when retrieving the anchor before heading off. With a 34’ cruiser you’ll have a 7 tonne vessel tethered at the end of the chain in a wind or tide. Don’t expect to easily bring in the rope/chain & anchor by hand or by simply relying on the electric winch – you’ll need to aid the process by bringing the vessel towards the anchor which is firmly embedded in the river bottom. Apply gentle forward throttle as the person in the bow retrieves the anchor manually or by the winch. This will take the strain off the anchor and make retrieving much less stressful for the human and equipment. Don’t go berserk and apply too much throttle so that the vessel passes over the anchor as you’ll now also have water pressure and back tension of the rope/chain against you. Keep it slow.
Coming up to a pontoon
You are not allowed to tie up to a fixed wharf or another vessel – this is a restriction of the vessel license and insurance. However you can tie up to a floating pontoon – one which floats on the water and raises and lowers with the tide. You may need to do this if you’re holidaying for a few days and need to restock the food or water supply.
Coming up and tying to a pontoon is not as easy as pulling the car into the kerb, but on the other hand with some patience and common sense it is not difficult at all. As with mooring and anchoring, the wind determines how we go about it.
One thing to remember about boats – when at slow speed the stern will move away from the direction you are turning. This is caused by the fact that the rudder (or outboards) push the water in one direction thereby causing the stern to be forced in the opposite direction, which then causes the vessel to turn.
If you can, approach the pontoon from downwind. As stated above about buoys, the strength of the wind determines the approach speed of the vessel, and the vessel speed determines the stopping distance. Approach at a slight angle. Have a capable person at the ready with the bow line under the rail and in hand. As the bow comes up to the pontoon, apply reverse to stop forward motion, and at the same time turn the helm hard over away from the pontoon so that the stern goes towards the pontoon (you’re forcing the stern away from the direction of turn into the pontoon - gently). The person with the bow line can now hop aboard the pontoon and secure the bow and then do the same for the stern line (or two people can do this). The person at the helm never leaves the helm!
Approaching the pontoon from upwind will cause the stern to be pushed away from the pontoon as you stop, so secure the stern line first. The direction of a cross-wind will determine the action on the vessel – it will either be pushed towards or away from the pontoon – so allow for this.
The fact that the stern moves in the opposite direction of the turn at low speed is most important to remember when leaving a pontoon! If you simply untie the vessel and then turn the helm hard over and throttle forward, you will find that the stern bangs and scraps along the side of the pontoon because it is being pushed into the side of the pontoon. To leave a pontoon, gently push the stern away from the pontoon and then reverse away – when clear of the pontoon you can move forwards away from the pontoon
.Mind that wash!
Here you are, moored securely in a small cove, up on the top deck with a glass of your favourite drink enjoying a peaceful summers day, when some clown comes barrelling into the cove at 15 knots and the resulting waves causes you to spill that drink all over you.
Remember that the stern waves will follow you into the mooring area where you’re heading, so ease off that throttle well before entering the mooring area. Along the Hawkesbury/Pittwater area there are a number of No Wash zones (eg. Brooklyn, Cottage Point, Refuge Bay, southern part of Pittwater) and it seems these are sometimes ignored by "the locals" but don’t allow their ignorance to lull you into not respecting the rules. No Wash means no discernible bow or stern waves and these areas are simply areas where you should be able to relax with the gentle roll of the water, so keep that speed low!
