Mike,
I don’t have a magic bullet for you.
If I remember correctly Salt Coats has a Volvo with a sail drive. Most Westerbeke, Universal and Yanmar engines take a right hand prop. My experience is limited but I believe most small Volvos take a left hand prop. This means that Nonsuch equipped with the former engines will prop walk to port in reverse and Volvo equipped Nonsuches will prop walk to starboard. No boat speed and more power combine to create more prop walk in both forward and reverse. In forward you will get some water flow over the rudder and therefore some steerage even if the boat is standing still. In reverse there is no water flow over the rudder until the boat starts moving, therefore no assist from the rudder until you are under way. Sail drives generally don’t produce much if any prop walk. Nonsuches have high bows, a large mast right forward and a fairly large stack of sail near the bow. The result is that wind from the side will push the bow around, more so in reverse than in forward. To carry out a standing turn as described by other commentators Salt Coats will need to be turned to port as opposed to starboard. You would turn the rudder to port (leave it alone for the rest of the maneuver) and give a good burst of throttle. This should start the stern moving to starboard and the bow to port. Before the boat gains any way slip into neutral and then forward and give a good burst of throttle. The wash over the rudder should continue to push the stern to starboard and the bow to port. Slip into neutral, before you gain any way and then reverse and another burst of throttle. Repeat the process and the boat should turn in place with no forward or backward motion. As noted above the saildrive will not produce much prop walk so the technique will not be as effective as it is on a boat with an angled shaft drive. If there is a cross wind it is unlikely that the maneuver will work to allow you to turn the bow into and through the wind.
La Reina has a right hand prop so prop walks to port in reverse. She has a downward angled and offset to starboard prop shaft so she produces a fair amount of prop walk in reverse. On a couple of occasions I have gone down dead end slipways in marinas that I was not familiar with. With no cross wind or current I was able to turn her 180 degrees in a slipway that was 30 feet wide. If you ever get the chance watch the boat hands docking boats at a charter company. They force the boats around with huge amounts of throttle but no way on.
When backing up in a cross wind, the wind pushes the bow down. With use of the rudder and throttle I can generally keep La Reina straight but will often be moving side ways while doing so. This makes getting into the right slip difficult
I see a number of options for you:
(1) The Paul Miller installed bow thruster - good news is Paul is only a B.C. Ferry ride away, no expensive flights. His hourly rate may be prohibitive:
(2) The Barry Stott spring line approach. I find it much easier to use spring lines if I have a bumper wheel on the corner of the dock and an extra pair of hands on board. Depending on how wide your slip is you may need a long sprig to allow you to back out far enough so that you don’t hit your neighbour when making your turn:
(3) Learn to back into the slip, al la Bob Gehrman, if you can solve the cross wind issues; Based on what you have said I assume your exit is to starboard of your slip when you are in the slip. If this is correct when you come back to the slip, motor past the and then shift into reverse and use the prop walk and the boat’s natural tendency to turn to starboard in reverse to assist in entering the slip.
(4) Sweet talk you marina manager into giving you a slip on the other side of the fairway so that the turn out of the slip is aided by the boats natural turning direction; or
(5) Give up fighting the physics. You want to leave the slip and go to starboard but the bow won’t come around. Don’t fight it. Let the stern come around to starboard and back down the slipway until you reach an area where you have enough room and speed to allow you to turn around.
Here is an article from Sailing Magazine that discusses this subject:
https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/walking-the-prop
Hope something here is of assistance.
Joe, I think the difference is left vs right handed props not sail drive vs shaft drive.
Mark Powers
La Reina 26C
Vancouver, B.C.
