[C320-list] Bow Thruster

[Pat Moriarty]

I don't follow you if you have a port turn that is ok but if your 
slip is12 ft wide why is it a port tie? I have a starboard turn and a 
port prop walk so I have a little problems with cross winds half the 
year and the other half is ok. We have the same basic layout of 
marinas but not sure I even have 50 foot. Will agree that when I got 
to move into a 14 ft slip it took the stress way down with the 30MPH 
cross wind.

Pat #130

At 01:44 PM 7/12/2006, you wrote:
>Mark,
>   Hello from a fellow Lake Erie 320 owner.  We have Harmony at 
> Toledo Beach Marina on the Michigan shore not far from Bolles Harbor.
>
>   Don't know if you've been there or what you consider barely 
> enough room but Pelee Row of TBM does not have gobs of room 
> either.  Our slip is just under 14 ft wide for a just under 12 ft 
> wide boat.  The fairway leading to the slip is 50 ft wide from the 
> end of our pier to the end of the pier of the slip directly across 
> the fairway from us.  It sure doesn't look or feel like 9 ft in 
> front of me and 9 ft behind me when I've made the final turn to be 
> pointed into the slip.  Probably at least partly because most 
> everyone sticks out a foot or two beyond their pier.  And, of 
> course, we have a port turn into a port-tie slip just to make it challenging.
>
>   It can be a nail-biter in any kind of breeze (especially 
> cross-breeze or tail wind) but you get better with practice.  So 
> you'll want to practice, practice, practice.  Take a day when you 
> don't have family or guests and just do it over and over.  There is 
> no substitute for developing a feel for how the boat responds to 
> your actions and conditions.  The more you do it the easier it 
> gets.  Not only practice entering/leaving the slip but also turning 
> the boat 360d in its own length, how long does she take to stop, 
> how much does she continue to turn after you've "completed" a 90d 
> turn, etc.  Are you familiar with the maneuver of wheel hard to 
> starboard and alternating fwd and rev to spin the boat with no 
> forward or reverse progress? That's a great one for retrying a 
> botched slip entry before you hit anything.
>
>   Avoid the mistake of dreading it so much that you don't go out 
> when you should and won't go out singlehanded. If you only leave 
> the dock when there is no wind to make the return easy, then the 
> sailing won't be much fun.
>
>    -bill
>    Harmony #859
>
>   Mtimney at aol.com wrote:
>   We recently moved our 320 to a new location on Catawba Island, Ohio. Our
>slip is located in a very narrow channel, where there is barely 
>enough room to
>make the turn in fair conditions. Has anyone investigated or installed a bow
>thruster in their 320? If so, which manufacturer/model, and what has your
>experience been with the unit?
>
>FYI, I couldn't locate any past threads on this subject in the archives.
>
>Mark Timney
>Second Wind #349
>
>
>
>
>---------------------------------
>Do you Yahoo!?
>  Get on board. You're invited to try the new Yahoo! Mail Beta.