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Old 11-21-2011, 03:16 PM   #30
Bendit
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City: Auckland
Vessel Name: Pioneer
Vessel Model: Westcoaster 53 converted to pleasure
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 323
RE: Twin engines easier around the dock in a blow?

We had Riviera SFs (2) with twins and no thruster. Backing in with the wind on the bow was always a challenge as I never knew which way the bow was going to blow off. We once hit the yacht next door and folded a couple of stanchions. After that, in a real blow we*drove in bow first and turned the boat around on another day*- when there was less wind.

We have a friend with an similar SF (twins) with bow-thruster, and it's not that much of an improvement because he's going like a one-armed paperhanger (with fleas) with so many controls to deal with, and once the wind gets hold of the bow, it still goes sideways anyway.

We now have a single prop with 10hp hydraulic bow-thruster and an aft steering station.*This boat is by far the easiest to manage of*any we've had despite being the largest (53ft). I happily take it to the fuel wharf or even out fishing on my own and never have any problem getting back into the slip. The aft station is the key, because I can reverse in and reach the stern lines with a boat-hook from this station.
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