caltexflanc
Guru
well, nearly is the operative word where different boats and speed combos do require a little experience to guess the right spot and how fast to close the throttle.
having done it thousands of times and watched other pro captains and a few rec captains do it plenty...done right it works and is way more pleasant for all than a bad slow pass.
plus it is a close aboard manuever where a bow wave, if big, is on their quarter. While maybe noticeable, not uncomfortable.
I have been on the giving and receiving ends of this maneuver many many times, mostly the latter. Happens to us at least once week here in Morehead City harbor even now. Boats steaming in from the inlet or north bound ICW cutting speed at close quarters right at the beginning of the no wake zone. Many professional captains of all sorts of craft. In thousands of miles of narrow channel cruising, be it the ICW, various rivers or the California Delta, I cannot recall anyone pulling this off with kind results.
Most people can readily practice this and see for themselves, at the border of a no wake zone say, but even in open water, preferably using a buoy instead of another boater as the guinea pig. The buoy is stationary though, unlike a moving boat so it is not exactly the same because you have to make much higher speed to get by the moving boat.
That bow wake comes right up on their stern and yaws the boat, then exacerbated as it hits the quarter. And while you're at it, see how much "glide" room your boat can cover once the throttles are chopped.