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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 250 Specific Forum

steering

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jeanetcarole
Deckhand

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Canada
17 Posts

Initially Posted - 07/09/2004 : 23:47:42

Poor steering from the dock under any kind of wind .

Gee weeez this Boat is difficult to handle at low speed from engine power leaving the dock.

Otherwise great under sail, had a 18 to 38 Knots 3 hours experience last week and it gave us tremendous confidence in the Boat reliability.

Edited by - on

coldducks
Captain

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USA
342 Posts

Response Posted - 07/10/2004 : 07:11:57

you are not alone! several of us have experienced the same thing. we installed our version of arlyn's soft link. it is a simple way to connect the motor to the rudder and allows the motor to turn (slightly) with the rudder, allowing more control when backing out of the slip.

Edited by - on

frogger
Navigator

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USA
184 Posts

Response Posted - 07/10/2004 : 14:46:59

Have a WK with a 9.8 hp Nissan. Control is excellent using Arlyn's soft-link steering. It's a must have setup for docking, particularly in tight quarters.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2004 : 12:13:49

Are all of the steering problems associated with wheel steering? Can people reach the motor when steering with a tiller?

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chris wray
Deckhand

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USA
22 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2004 : 17:33:29

Was having trouble as well at first but handling improved and control improved when I resolved to go faster, higher motor rev. My motions were more deliberate. Things happen quicker, true, but control is much better.
CW

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by jeanetcarole
 Poor steering from the dock under any kind of wind .

Gee weeez this Boat is difficult to handle at low speed from engine power leaving the dock.

Otherwise great under sail, had a 18 to 38 Knots 3 hours experience last week and it gave us tremendous confidence in the Boat reliability.

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Edited by - on

At Ease
Admiral

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672 Posts

Response Posted - 07/12/2004 : 20:08:03

People tend to forget that a boat rudder is like airplanes controls. Both must have water/air moving over the controls for them to have any affect. The advantage we have in our small boats is that we can physically move the outboard to make a turn.

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osmepneo
Past Commodore

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USA
1420 Posts

Response Posted - 07/19/2004 : 20:53:21

Chris makes a good point. And it doesn't matter whether the boat is a 250 or a 25 (or anything else) you need way to have control of the boat. At nationals I drove Steve and Charlotte Dube's 250 and with wheel steering and really liked the o/b (a honda) with the controls right at my right hand! I didn't drive in or out of our mooring space, but to it was evident at low rpm's that there was insufficient way to control in either forward or reverse.

Edited by - on

sdaly66
Navigator

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USA
143 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 11:47:42

I'll weigh in here again. It is MUCH easier to back this boat under nominal power than to steer it forward. Of course, you can't back in and then back out.

I turn around, face the stern, raise the tiller and steer just like a car. The back (bow) will follow wherever the front (stern) goes. Unlike in forward where the bow changes aspect based upon where the stern in going.

I'm also not ashamed, afraid or shy about looping a line around a piling and forcing the boat into the general direction I want to be going before putting the power to her (in forward mode).

Edited by - on

Tony Dillon
Navigator

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USA
168 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 12:27:40

Chris and At Ease are right, boats that use a rudder (at least single screw boats) must be underway to have any steerage.

When we back Mental Floss away from the slip we put her in reverse and run the moter up to about 3/4 throttle to get some speed right away, then idle back. This gives us steerage to get away from the slip. Prop walk becomes a factor here also. A soft link between the rudder and motor will make this easier.

As sdaly says a loop of line around a piling or cleat can be very helpful. Another great thing about the size of the C25/250 is they can be man handled with a boat hook if necessary.

Edited by - on

bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 15:10:34

I did not install Arlyn's soft link on my C 250. What I have found this year is a prevailing 90 degree wind coming in usually on the starboard side. When backing out I generally get all I can get out of the motor in reverse for an instant to get control then I turn the motor and rudder together generally backing out and turning 90 degrees backing into the wind . Coming in I have found if you go downwind from my slip and turn and come upwind turning into the slip it is easier than trying to turn down wind into the slip. I believe I can turn my Honda eight more just by raising the twist grip and turning the motor by hand then installing Arlyn's soft link. Understandably different conditions for different folks. Also I use a dock catcher a pole in the air on the dock about mid-ships that holds a rope attached to the dock. I can either grab it or use my my docking pole. If it is really bad I'll use the starboard winch to assist getting closer to the dock. "Bear" doin my thing on the Great Sacandaga Lake in upstate N.Y.

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Frank Hopper
Past Commodore

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Pitcairn Island
6776 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 15:56:47

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by fhopper@mac.com
 Are all of the steering problems associated with wheel steering? Can people reach the motor when steering with a tiller?
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">
Everyone keeps posting but no one has answered my question. If you can reach the throttle arm from a tiller then the soft link seems pointless, I assume the softlink is for wheel people? Everyone posts without stating whether or not you are a tiller person, isn't that a lack of communication? It sounds like Bear is a tiller person, Arlyn is not! Arlyn benefits from his softlink and Bear does the reasonable thing for a tiller person and turns his tiller and the motor together.

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willy
Captain

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USA
422 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 17:13:19

Frank,
I have a tiller on my 250WB and a Honda "8" mounted on a bracket that actually puts it further away than the standard transome mounting. This gives me much better turning radius with the motor but to answer your question...even with my motor being further aft than standard I can definately handle the tiller and motor at the same time...no problemo!
Willy

Edited by - on

bear
Admiral

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USA
909 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 19:27:56

Frank, Yes I am a tiller person with my Honda 8 mounted right on the transom. With out measuring I would say the tiller and throttle arm
are less than two feet apart. Once you get used to turning the motor
and tiller together it becomes second nature after a while. I also agree that backing a C 250 up with wind is a lot easier at slow speeds than maintaining control going forward at slow speeds. "Bear"

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Arlyn Stewart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
2980 Posts

Response Posted - 07/22/2004 : 23:48:32

Its hard to be an impartial advocate of a system that has your name attached to it.... and its equally hard to be a distractor from a system that has never been tried. Having said that, let me argue for it anyway.

The softlink or any link between the motor and rudder provides for a single effort compared to a more complicated multi tasked effort of turning both the tiller and the motor. The real problem is that its not just a matter of multi tasking two things. The demands are high, visual awareness to what the boat is doing must be maintained, the throttle may need adjusted, the gear shift may need moved, the kill switch may need hit, a line may need handled. Releiving one task goes a long way to allowing another.

The motor with its tiller handle necessarily in the up position to clear the fuel locker, has to be grasped by the cowling to turn and if the friction of the turn is adjusted so that the motor will hold its position once rotated, its takes some effort to turn it.

All of this tends to take ones eyes off of whats happening with the boat... whereas a single effort on the tiller allows the eyes to be ahead to watch what the progress of the boat.

Linked steering would be an advantage on either wheel or tiller models. Obviously linking isn't necessary if one had found a way that works for them. However, the system is so simple and cheap that the benefits are so much greater than the effort involved to have it.

Its my personal belief that the softlink has distinct advantages over a hard link. Not only is it simple and inexpensive, it deals with an issue that often results from the snug motor well. The turning limit to starboard is no big problem because that is the direction in which the bungee pulls rather than the firm line.... and when the bungee gives, there is no rudder restriction. The port turn uses the firm line and offers full motor turn so presents no problem.

The softlink has been popular for those who have tried it, and this is true for many other trailer sailors as well... it is very often brought up on the Trailer Sailor Site and as shown by my web site management software, it is the most visited tech tip.

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