Hello,


I have a 31 1966 Commander Express and when I have anchored or when on a mooring ball, the boat does not swing or stay pointed into the wind the same as the other boats in the area. Since the boat swings in a very large arc, I do not anchor close to other since I know the boat will end up swinging close to 180 degrees. I have looked at larger heavier boats and smaller lighter boats and I am frequently "out of phase" with the other boats. The tide or wind does not seem to matter but my boat is frequently the only one pointing that direction. I have replaced the rudders with larger ones (almost double the surface area). Any ideas, not that I can change the hull (underwater/above waterline) and the rudders were changed so I could maintain a heading using one engine only.



Timmy Burke
1966 FXA 0031H

Timmy:
Good question! Here is a poor response: I need some more data to consider. But, in general, the way your boat lies will be with regard to direction of rudders, wind, current, and tide. It is a function of which one of these 4 over power the other 3, which also have different degrees of strength. Think, not about the other boats around you, but which one of the overpowering forces logically (process of elimination, maybe over time)is affecting the direction you boat points, also knowing that any one of the 4 can take over at any time. Your large rudders are suspect in a current or tide situation relative to other boats. Your hull and superstructure are affected by the wind direction and speed.

Do you tie your rudder over to one direction or the other? Do you center it? Centering it and tieing it makes the most sense. But you can tie it to one side to make the boat point the way you want.

Boaters usually try to find a spot where the current and tide have the least effect on the boat when swinging in a crowded anchorage. But really, the wind is more important, in terms of comfort, because it sets up the wave action that affects how stable the boat sits and how much or how little it rocks. Tell me more about the 4 forces affecting your boat, i.e. what are the usual conditions?
Jerry

Not sure how one of these would work unless you were in a current.


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JB

At first I was hard over left and then I tried putting the rudders in the neutral postion and I put the anchor line to the left and right of the bow and the boat continued it's wandering path regardless of rudder input or line over bow.

1. Wind was Westerly 10 kts, fairly steady
2. Tide was an outgoing



There are bigger and better issues to worry about, but it always gives me food for thought when I am side ways to everyone else at anchor



Timmy

Timmy:
Because you have about the same superstructure to hull ratio as the others, whatever is going on must be below the surface and I would guess it is the extra large rudders. Try tieing them in neutral, and leave the anchor rode straight off the bow. That is optimal. If the boat still swings 90 to the other then it has to be the strength of the tide and current at your site, which then must be differnt from the others.

Other thoughts... Are you putting out plenty of rode? 3 times the depth of the anchorage is the usual. A shorter rode will surely cause you to swing more violently.

You mentioned that you anchor away some distance from the other boats because of the swinging issue. Could you be anchoring in an area that has a different current or tide effect due to the unseen bottom?

You mentioned that the tide was going out. A 10 knot wind is fairly strong and should keep your boat headed into it. However, it may be just on the margin between tide, current vs. wind and is going from one to the other. A longer rode should help. Or:

Another way to handle the wind and tide is to set up the boat so that you "heave to". Tie your helm so that the rudders are pointed upwind as much as possible. This acts to keeps the bow pointed towards the wind. You then run a second line from 15 to 20 feet down the rode to the aft of the boat and and adjust the direction of the boat from the aft section. This should hold you in place, especially in heavier weather and decrease the rocking a great deal. When you get the direction just right, the boat will almost suddenly settle down.
Jerry