On 8/7/08, Chris Hulin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Controlling small GRP cruisers with the engine in a lock is hard - > they are almost impossible to steer at low speeds.
? Outboard motor boats are some of the easiest boats to control at low speed - you do need to know what you're doing however (I've stuff that would make your blood curdle). You want to try driving a 30 ft steel narrow cruiser boat from the front, with unbalanced hydralic steering (i.e. no center point). The only saving grace - the outdrive allowed full control over steering in both forwards and reverse (even if there was a bit of frantic wheel turning to get it pointing in the right direction). > It's also nice to > turn off the engine in a lock, particularly when it's a 2-stroke. Agreed. I must admit that if you didn't want to rest your boat against the gate when single handing they might be useful but for a light boat the gate railings are always useful and don't trip you up! Cheers, Mike -- Michael Askin http://shoestring_DOT_zapto_DOT_org/
