Some coaching on backing Moombas

[millerda68]

I am sure 90% of this is just me and being newer to this type of boat (my previous boats have been outboards or I/O's).

Reverse in the Moomba seems weak and very hard to steer reliably. It lacks power and does not maneuver as well as outboards or I/O's. We have been in a couple pinches this year where the inability to reverse well has been an issue. We had once instance with the river current this summer that reverse wasn't strong enough, and I have had one instance at Hagg with the wind blowing and launch area full of boats where it was a bit stressful navigating out of.

99% of the time we can launch, I can spin the boat and drive straight out of the launch. The wife and I have a pretty good system down for the launch and pick up and we are in and out in a heartbeat. The couple of instances mentioned above, I had passengers on board, so everyone could take a corner of the boat and make sure we did not bump any other boats, etc. Just created a lot of stress for the driver and not wanting to ding up my boat or someone else's.

How do the long time owners handle reverse and steering?

[maxpower220]

As your prop is located in front of your rudder, it works great in forward with power on the prop. However, all other situations require planning and practice. In reverse, the prop doesn't pull enough water across the rudder to have any effect on the boat. So all you get is backing. However, the prop pulls water from the side, which causes the boat to move to one side (the right in our case). This is called squawt (same things as P-factor in a plane). Knowing that the rear always moves right in reverse, you plan to use that to manuever the boat.
The keys are: practice, patience, and practice.

[rdlangston13]

exactly what max power said. once you know it only goes back and to the right then you just plan your maneuvers around that. i have never had an issue backing

[wolfeman131]

Not much more to add other than don't be afraid to abandon what you're doing and simply start again. You can practice turning the wheel and bumping the throttle in/out of forward/reverse so that you "spin" the boat 360 degrees.

[you da man]

Not much more to add other than don't be afraid to abandon what you're doing and simply start again. You can practice turning the wheel and bumping the throttle in/out of forward/reverse so that you "spin" the boat 360 degrees.

Agreed, you can spin a v-drive with practice in a very tight spot. I was very confident in tight quarters with my 23' XLV. Oh, you can reverse to the left...just need more speed in reverse but the delay is longer than reversing to the right.

[skiyaker]

coming from and I/O the first time we took our moomba out I wondered what kind of mistake we had made- getting an inboard instead of an I/O. Now I can spin my boat in ways that I never could with an I/O

#1) practice spinning on axis
#2) always plan ahead- never put yourself in a position where you need to move the rear toward port. The times I've gotten in trouble is when I had an obstacle in front of me, wind blowing the rear of the boat toward shore on the starboard side
#3) have a paddle handy- I keep one of those telescoping orange paddles under the driver seat- it takes up minimal space but can be a prop saver if you get in a pinch. If above happens shut the engine down and push off. You can also use the handle end to push off of the dock or other boats

Have fun!

[walb0244]

I thought this when I first got mine. I am getting alittle bit better with it but still. Once you learn the reverse you can start using it to your advantage. Just like when you go up to the dock you can bump it in reverse and fish tail the boat up to the dock. I know some guys on here fish tail the entire boat around and have people step on and off the back swim platform onto the dock. I'm not to that point yet. I have had a few times that I was worried.

When I was down in Missouri the boat ramp was way back in a cove. Well the dock was on the left side and the wind was blowing into the cove really bad. When I pulled off the trailer and got past the trailer poles the boat started turning with the back end going to the right. Well with the wind blowing once the boat got sideways it started pushing the entire boat toward the boat ramp. I was really worried. Between going in reverse and hammering the throttle in forward I was albe to get the boat away from the ramp. But I was worried.

Can someone explain this spinning on axix?

[kaneboats]

You are just alternating between fwd and rev to turn the boat in a counterclockwise direction without really moving other than spinning.

[lsvboombox]

Can someone explain this spinning on axix?

Technical term is called a "back and fill" you use prop walk to your advantage. Your stern walks to starboard in reverse so in forward u can turn to port .. u can literally do circles all day long.

[bergermaister]

I will crank the wheel and burp the throttle fwd to spin the boat, then quickly into reverse to spin and aim the direction I want when backing up. Thought at first that I looked like a doof doing it until I got complimented on my "handling skills" one time at a launch that is pretty tight with a nasty current. I don't like it but have learned to live with it... Just gotta make sure everyone is seated when you're doing that sort of maneuvering.