Jim Strange ä

Jim Strange

Well, the point I was making was that at no point prior to 4:27 did the instructor mention turning the rudder AWAY from centre. To say, "Now I'm going to centre my rudder" implies that at some point it wasn't centred - where was this mentioned?

But also, to answer your point - if you're springing the bow out, you're not relying on the rudder at all - you're not making way so the rudder isn't doing anything. If you were springing the stern then you'd use the rudder to create propwash to drive the stern out - springing the bow you simply can't achieve this effect. The turning effect is achieved by the leverage of the spring and - a little later - the tide hitting the leeward bow. So there's no value in having the rudder anywhere other than centre when you're driving astern against the spring. As soon as you start driving forward then yes, you use the rudder. But that would already be centred.

In my experience.

+David Wheatley All techniques are subject to conditions. You may find with your vessel in stronger winds you may need a longer stern spring, more power astern or assistance from a bow thruster or use of your tender to pull the bow around. The technique however is used often and successfully by vessels much larger than the one in the video in strong winds