Prop Walk Bests You

There is one situation where you are just going to have to suck it up and admit defeat. Propwalk wins this game today and you have to come back and fight another day.

The situation is a combination of wind direction, wind strength, and your desire to land accurately stern-in into a slip.

 Below, the wind wants to push the bow down while the propwalk (for a right-hand screw propeller) wants to push the stern up. The rudder is hard over with boat speed rudder wash trying its best to get the stern downwind to turn into the slip. Sorry, ain’t gonna happen. This happens in winds about 12 knots and above.

To beat this you’ll have to come at it from the other direction. But sometimes that is not always possible. In the case below, propwalk and water flow over the rudder working together can overcome the desire of the wind to push the bow down.

It is a good idea to experience this so that you can feel this situation yourself before you make this mistake in a marina.

Exercise Propwalk-4

On a windy day, set up the above scenarios with a buoy and try to turn the boat in reverse where propwalk and wind are working against you. Now try from the other direction, where prop walk and rudder wash work together to beat the wind.

What You Learned

You’ll learn that life is easier when you work with the forces of nature and not against it. (This is not only true in sailing by the way).