Reversing a boat – Getting the General Feel
Reversing a boat has become quite a favorite of mine and is fun to teach. Once the student grasps the concept they also end up preferring to maneuver their boat in to dock spaces in reverse.
Why is reverse (eventually) easier? Imagine if the rear wheels on your car were the turning wheels instead of the front wheels. It would be mayhem sheer mayhem. But this is the case in a boat – and guess what – for most cases, it is sheer mayhem in a marina with most people having no idea how to effectively maneuver their boat. Let’s turn the boat around and put the steering at the front – that is to reverse the boat where the turning dynamic becomes the same as a car. You can now just drive your boat into any space and the bow (now the back of the boat) just follows.
So, get excited about reversing and actually, get out and do these following exercises — who cares if others are watching—you’ll be able to out-back and out-maneuver them any time after this. It’s a practiced skill that you’ll be glad you did next time you’re in a tight marina in some exotic place with 20 knots of wind on the side and everyone is watching you. The question is, will they be nervous or impressed? It’s up to you.
The practical exercises should take at least about 30 minutes so that you can get the general feel of the boat in reverse and is really fun to do. Please actually do it rather than just read it. You’ll learn so much and be incredibly confident afterward. It’s more effective to do this on a windy day. Pick a buoy (or ideally 2) that are about 5 boat lengths apart and are out away from the marina. And, of course, during the exercises keep a good watch out for traffic.
Note for inboard drive types
The rudder only responds to act on the boat when water is flowing over it. When in reverse, the propeller does not help to push water over the rudder, and thus control of the boat is only achieved by the reverse motion of the boat. This may take about 8-12 seconds of going in reverse before the rudder becomes effective.
Note 2 for inboards
Whenever the boat is reversing, do not take your hands off the wheel or allow it to spin. The fulcrum of the rudder is at the front. Water moving over the rudder will cause the rudder to slam sideways and potentially break the wheel controls. Always keep a hand tightly on the wheel. This effect is like trying to hold a sheet of plywood on the downwind edge against the wind without it flipping around on you—almost impossible. When it flips, it’s going to hurt. Same as the wheel: when the back-flowing water pushes against the rudder it can whip the rudder over, spin the wheel very fast, and slam the workings for the wheel-to-rudder connections very hard and very likely cause damage. Backing in a marina with high winds is the last place you want the rudder connection to come off. Scared? Don’t be. Just don’t let go of the wheel when backing.
Note 3 for inboards
Whenever in reverse, only put the wheel a maximum of 80 percent of the way hard over. If it is all the way over, the rudder acts more like a vertical bulldozer blade and reduces the turning effectiveness.
Note for all
When shifting from forward into reverse and vice versa, always stop in neutral for 1 to 2 seconds before shifting gears. Drifting in a marina under high winds and a sheared propeller shaft key is not something you want to experience. Scared? Don’t be. Just don’t shift the gear lever fast.
Windage
When wind is present and when facing bow to the wind, the wind will want to push your bow downwind so that your boat will most likely end up broadside to the wind. The exact natural angle of resting to the wind depends primarily on the combined effects of wind pressure on the superstructure profile and the boat’s underwater profile. If the superstructure is more forward then the bow will end up more downwind. If the superstructure is more aft then the bow may only rest perhaps 60-70 degrees off the wind.
Understanding windage on your boat’s profile helps to manage the wind which is a major factor when trying to dock in a marina.
When engaging reverse initially, due to windage, the boat might not act as you expect. You’re wanting to go straight back but your bow is getting pushed downwind.
Exercise R1 – Windage:
On a windy day, with the boat pointed at about 30 degrees off the wind and idling forward at about 1000 rpm, put the engine into reverse while attempting to hold the boat straight and then begin to back up.
What you learned
On a windy day, this is nearly impossible. As soon as the boat stops going forward, the wind will take over and push the bow downwind. Regaining control and trying to get the boat to begin backing up while staying on course is difficult and will use up a lot of space, which is at a premium in a marina.
Even if you try it the other way to counteract the prop walk, in high enough winds your bow will still be blown downwind.
A solution is to start with your stern facing to wind.
Exercise R2 – Stern To Wind:
With the boat stopped and positioned stern to the wind—just hang out for a second and observe the boat’s behavior. Then move into forward gear at about 1000 rpm and slowly move forward. Now put the engine in reverse at 2000 rpm. Watch the boat come to a stop and begin backing up.
What you learned
You’ll first notice that sitting there with your stern to the wind is a stable position for the boat to be in; that is, the wind really does nothing to the boat and you can hang out like this for a while— especially in a marina when you are waiting for other boats to clear out or deciding which slip to go into. Besides a bit of prop walk, once you start going backward the boat will hold course and will back straight without all the space used up in the exercise above. Therefore, whenever possible, always begin backing with the stern of the boat facing upwind. Let’s repeat that and put it in bold: Whenever possible, always begin backing with the stern of the boat facing upwind.
Note for inboards
There will be some effect from the prop walk which will turn the stern of the boat to port. So learn to anticipate prop walk; that is, you know the boat is going to pull stern to port, so angle your boat as such before you start to reverse. Do a preemptive strike.
Note for all
A simple rule of thumb for steering a boat backward: If you want the back of the boat to go one way, then turn the wheel that way. Actually, this is the same for going forward: If you want the front of a boat to go right, then turn to the right.
Getting Comfortable Going in Reverse
Exercise R3 – Getting the Feel of Reversing:
With the boat facing downwind and the helm centered, put the engine in reverse at about 1500 rpm and begin to back up. You’ll notice some prop walk (only on inboards) but continue to move backward. Turn the wheel to starboard a half turn and hold for 5 seconds. Now turn the wheel back to center and over to port for 5 seconds. Now repeat the exercise at 800 rpm and 2500 rpm. Continue this to get a muscle memory feel of how the boat reacts to various helm turn angles and throttles.
What you learned
For inboards, the boat walks to port initially, but after the boat begins to move, the flow of water over the rudder as the boat gains speed overcomes the prop walk and you can turn the boat in any direction. The higher the speed of the boat, the greater the ability to perform a turn. Simply, water has to be flowing over the rudder.
For stern drive and outboards, you will not have to wait for the boat speed to pick up before turning is possible. Due to the nature of pivoting the propeller direction, the steering reacts immediately and prop walk is minimally or not noticeable.
Jet Propulsion Drives
Jet propulsion drives on powerboats have unique characteristics when operating in reverse, particularly regarding turning and maneuverability. Here’s how they generally perform:
Reverse Maneuvering with Jet Propulsion
Lack of Propeller: Unlike traditional propeller-driven boats, jet propulsion systems do not have a propeller that creates direct thrust in reverse. Instead, they use a waterjet, which expels water at high speed through a nozzle to generate thrust. To go in reverse, a bucket or deflector is lowered over the jet nozzle to redirect the water flow forward, which pushes the boat backward.
Directional Control: In reverse, the steering control of a jet-driven powerboat is less direct and less precise than in forward motion. The redirection of the waterjet flow provides thrust for moving backward, but the steering response can be sluggish and less effective because:
Reduced Thrust: The reverse thrust generated by the deflector is typically less powerful than the forward thrust, meaning that the boat has less force available for maneuvering in reverse.
Delayed Response: Since the deflector mechanism takes time to redirect water flow, there is a slight delay in steering response when the boat is in reverse. This can make fine adjustments and sharp turns more difficult.
Turning in Reverse: Jet propulsion systems can still turn in reverse, but the turning radius is generally wider, and the control is not as sharp compared to propeller-driven boats. The waterjet’s reverse thrust is less directional, which can make it challenging to execute tight maneuvers, especially in confined spaces like marinas or when docking.
Freestyle Maneuvering
Keep in mind that the point of all this is to have fun, gain confidence, and become highly competent. Confidence and competence (and thus fun) come from experience using the theory knowledge. And thus we continue to advocate for using the Virtual Reality program developed for maneuvering and docking under power. Using this program, you can gain countless hours of maneuvering at essentially zero cost (once the equipment and app investment has been made) AND zero cost of mistakes.
See this video we created maneuvering in freestyle around in reverse. Admittedly it is on a sailboat but the sailboat has an inboard shaft drive and so acts the same as a powerboat with a shaft drive.
Doing Donuts
Exercise R4 – Donuts in Reverse:
While backing up into the wind at 1/2 throttle, turn the wheel to starboard so that it is 80 percent of the way hard over. Allow the boat to do a complete circle.
What you learned
You’ll notice that the boat begins to turn quite easily and the radius of turn is again surprisingly tight.
And you can even do it in the opposite direction. Although you’ll deal with a little bit of prop walk at the start, once underway you’ll be turning the boat however you want.
Exercise R5 – Low RPM Donuts in Reverse:
Try to do the same backing maneuver at 800 rpm.
What you learned
You notice that on a windy day, you’ll be unable to achieve a complete circle. Again, the flow of water over the rudder is the determining factor and is only gained in reverse by boat speed. In close quarters, trying to maneuver the boat without water flowing over the rudder will cause damage to something or somebody. Get that water flowing. Don’t be afraid to use rpm. What you learned: It is relatively easy to back the boat around like this, and even with the wind abeam, you can hold a straight course.
Exercise R6 – Maneuverability in Reverse:
Pick a buoy and do 5 donuts in reverse around the buoy at 2000 rpm. Adjust the wheel position so as not to hit the buoy but keep it as close to 80 percent hard over as possible. Then straighten out the wheel and back up straight with the wind abeam.
What you learned
It is relatively easy to back the boat around like this, and even with the wind abeam you can hold a straight course. This means that you can start any reversing maneuvering procedure with your stern to wind and then once you have speed, you can steer the boat in any direction relative to a strong wind.
Exercise R7 – Figure 8s in Reverse:
Do figure 8’s around 2 buoys leaving the engine at 2000 rpm. Use imaginary buoys if none are present. The figure 8 should be about 5 boat lengths. Do this in both clockwise and counterclockwise directions.
What you learned
You should begin to gain confidence in how the boat maneuvers under power going backward.
Shifting from Forward to Reverse
For inboard engines where the rudder is the source of turning, when motoring forward through the water, water is flowing over the rudder from forward to aft – obviously, right.? What is not obvious at first to some is that when motoring forward through the water and you shift into reverse, water remains flowing from forward to aft even though you are in reverse gear. This is because the boat is still moving forward. Water flowing over the rudder will not reverse direction until the boat stops fully and begins to move backward.
This means that while maneuvering the boat for a lineup with a slip or slipway and preparing to go into reverse, you must resist turning the wheel over until the boat speed has stopped and starts maneuvering in reverse.
Conversely, for stern and outboard drives, in whichever direction you have the wheel and you have the gear in reverse, the stern will go that direction regardless if the boat is moving forward or backward through the water. For example, if you are in forward and turning to starboard but you want to stop your forward movement because there is a dock in front but you want to continue the turn, shift the gear into reverse and turn the wheel to port.
Exercise R8a – Shifting into Reverse While Moving:
Maneuver the boat in forward at 1500 rpm while turning to the starboard. Shift the gear into reverse (stopping for 1 second in neutral to protect the gearbox) and immediately turn the wheel to port and then back to starboard. Observe how the boat turns.
What you Learned
For shaft drive boats, despite being in reverse, while the boat is still moving forward, the boat turns according to the wheel position. Remember that reverse does not push water over the rudder. Water is still flowing over the rudder from the forward movement of the boat. For stern drive and outboard drive boats, the aft will move according to the wheel position almost immediately.
Exercise R8b – Shifting into Forward While Moving in Reverse:
Now repeat the exercise but with the boat moving in reverse instead. Once moving backward and turning to starboard, shift the gear (carefully) into forward and turn the wheel immediately to port and then to starboard.
What you Learned
The moment you apply forward thrust, the boat turns according to the wheel. This is because, for inboard drives, water is thrust over the rudder once in forward gear. For stern and outboard drives, the stern always moves in the direction of the helm regardless if the boat is moving forward or in reverse. This shows that you can make immediate directional changes when shifting from backward movement to forward movement.
