How to steer with outboard motor Hunter 23

[scott hall]

I have a Hunter 23 with 9.9hp mercury on port side. Someone said to steer with rudder only while keeping motor in fixed position. Another told be to lift up rudder and steer with motor only. I also heard to tie motor and rudder together. Any help appreciated-Scott

 

[justsomeguy]

Someone said to steer with rudder only while keeping motor in fixed position.

When you've got room to maneuver, sure.

Another told be to lift up rudder and steer with motor only.

Not this.

I also heard to tie motor and rudder together.

You can do some slick maneuvering this way, but I've always just turned the tiller and motor independently.

 

[dlochner]

When I had a boat with an outboard I found it easier and more comfortable to steer with the rudder.

A big advantage to using the rudder is maintaining steerage when the motor is not in gear. If the rudder is out of the water, it is necessary to rely on the throttle, gear shift, and steering arm to control the boat. When approaching a dock or mooring, put the motor in neutral and coast to a finish using the rudder to steer.

Learn this now in a small light boat and there will be one less thing to learn when you get a larger boat without an outboard.

 

[shemandr]

Rudder mostly. As said, you will have very good control of the boat at slow speeds. Sailboat rudders are enormous compared to powerboats and maintain very good control going slowly. Also you won't need to turn around to move the motor. Maybe you don't have to turn around on your boat but on my Mark 25 the motor was difficult to reach from the helm.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

First the motor is on the starboard unless someone moved it over. Good suggestion not using motor unless in close quarters maneuvering in a marina for example going into a slip or backing up and then a use of a connector rod from motor to rudder would be a good suggestion (never use when sailing)

 

[Ken Cross]

We used to have a MacGregor 26d and I usually used rudder only when not in a tight area. In close, I could almost turn in it's own length using both. I never tied them together.

Many small boats do it this way.

Ken

 

[Kermit]

First the motor is on the starboard unless someone moved it over.

Mine was on the port side.

 

[Kermit]

I mainly steered with the rudder while keeping the motor straight. But dang it was helpful at times to be able to turn them at the same time. They were close enough that I never felt the need to connect them. And don’t let anyone tell you that you SHOULD do one over the other. Except that you SHOULD do what works best for you.

 

[isaksp00]

My 23 has the outboard to port as well. I use just the rudder 95% of the time, and when in a tight place or when just starting I may reach down and steer with the outboard's tiller as well. For example, when backing away from alongside a dock - you can steer the OB to pull your stern outwards. I have never felt the need to tie the outboard to the rudder with a rod, as it is easy (on my boat at least) to reach to the OB's tiller arm. You will need to reach it in any case for throttle (unless you have a remote throttle rigged).

 

[Charlie Jones s/v Tehani]

I always used the rudder on my 21 footer. Except as others have said, when backing out of a slip, or something like that

 

[Sumner]

We use a ...

http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/macgregor2/outside-29.html

... connector docking and usually when going on or off anchor especially in a tight spot. It goes on or off in seconds....

Most of the time the connector is off and the outboard is set straight ahead and steering is done with the rudder only. I have used the connector a few times motoring in really bad conditions where the tiller pilot couldn't handle the conditions connected to only the tiller. With the outboard turning also the tiller pilot then could keep up with the conditions.

The connector is really nice in tight conditions if you have someone on the helm that doesn't have the arm length to reach both and/or doesn't have much time on the helm and forgets which way to turn them. Sometimes saying turn them the same way doesn't get through if they start to become overwhelmed by the situation. I also use it in any tight situation as it is easier to control both tillers with one hand and have the other free for the throttle and forward/reverse,

Sumner
===================================================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Canada, Florida, Bahamas

 

[Benny17441]

Simplicity. A sailboat has an auxiliary engine to get to and from sailing waters but the main object is to sail. Having engine thrust and rudder to operate simultaneously requires too much thought. Have seen many rudders chewed up by props as a result of dyslexic operators. To tie rudder an engine to operate in unison leaves a clumsy tiller when under sail. I find the simplest is to set the engine in a fixed position and just steer the boat with the rudder. There is learning curve as how to maneuver the boat in close quarters much similar to an inboard powered sailboat. You will need to be aware of winds and current and learn how to use drift; docking will require the formulation and execution of a plan. You will also need a bail out plan. It takes practice but will give you immense confidence once you master the task.

 

[Will Gilmore]

Advantages to rudder steering: Most comfortable position on a sailboat. Sailboats respond best to their rudder when underway. You can steer while coasting in neutral. This is the simplest setup.
Advantages to motor steering: Only the motor can change a sailboat's direction when there is no headway. The motor's controls are under hand.
Advantages to tying the motor and rudder together: You can get the best of both worlds for steerage and turning the motor and rudder in tandem can avoid rudder/propeller clash.
Disadvantages to tying motor and rudder to together: added complexity, harder to reach motor controls while steering.
Disadvantage to motor steering: Need to tie rudder down. No steerage when coasting.
Disadvantage to rudder only steering: Need to tie motor down. Difficult to reach controls. No steerage without headway.
Things to consider: Propeller and rudder swing, propeller guard. Ease of tying motor and rudder together. Getting remote or cabled controls for motor.

I would suggest moving from simplest setup to more complex as needs dictate. Lock motor and steer with tiller. If you find situations where that is not working, lock the tiller and steer with the motor. If you can steer both at the same time in comfort and still see where you are going (That seems awkward to me) try that. Then, if you still feel it might be worth the effort and expense, connect the two together. Buy or rig remote controls if you need them.
If you go with the locking one and steering with the other option, you may want to be able to lock either/or so you can quickly change over to take advantage or the different strengths as the situation demands. Look into a propeller guard so you aren't buying new rudders and propellers all the time.

-Will (Dragonfly)

 

[agprice22]

I have had rudder-only steering in my outboard-powered sailboats. The outboards were locked in place. Prop walk can be a nuisance in tight spaces. My current boat has the outboard tied to the tiller. It works and gives me great maneuverability in tight spaces. I definitely prefer it.

 

[Hydro Therapy]

My last 2 boats had outboards. I dock in an area with swift current. I would steer by rudder except when docking. Due to the swift current I found the boat much more responsive when steering by both rudder and motor at the same time.

 

[DayDreamer41]

Our first keel boat had an after deck on it (22 ft Viking) the motor hung off the transom and the rudder penetrated through the cockpit floor, there was almost no way to access both at the same time and even the craftiest engineering would not allow for any linking between the two, so I just learned to pilot the boat with the tiller, heck it was difficult even raising and lowering the motor on the bracket.

 

[Daveinet]

Anyone who says that tying the two together is complicated, has made it much more complicated than it needs to be. On my previous boat, it was very simple to add a bracket to the motor, and a cleat to the rudder. Tying a line between the 2 and cleating it down, is super simple, and quick to engage and disengage. I can tell you it helped immensely when docking and moving the boat in tight quarters. The boat would do a 360 pivoting on the centerboard, without any forward motion.

 

[jwing]

My OB does not have a reverse gear; I have to spin it around 180 degrees. Reverse is like a brake for when I misjudge my approach speed or I'm getting blown into the slipped boats. I think that precludes connecting my tiller to the outboard. Please correct me if you disagree.

My boat is configured such that the prop can tear into the rudder. I put a prop guard ring to prevent that, but before I did, I would lift my rudder out of the water and steer with my OB. It works fine. The only trick is steering while in neutral - it doesn't. What I learned: point the prop parallel to the transom and pulse it into gear. That gives a directional change without adding forward speed.

 

[Allowishish]

I use both for getting in and out of the slip but just the tiller/rudder once out.

Still trying to find what works best for accurate reverse.

 

[Daveinet]

My OB does not have a reverse gear; I have to spin it around 180 degrees. Reverse is like a brake for when I misjudge my approach speed or I'm getting blown into the slipped boats. I think that precludes connecting my tiller to the outboard. Please correct me if you disagree.

The photo above your post shows an outboard with no reverse. If the motor was running, the boat was moving. I put enough slack in the line, that the motor could flip 180 if need be. Any time I backed away from the ramp, I had to flip the motor the wrong way to back up. Even in the confined area of the launch area, it was still simple to flip the motor back around and yank the line tight to synchronize the steering when moving forward.