BWY Steering Quick Disconnect

[markh1f]

Brian,

I have one of the BWY kits on my M with an Etec60 motor and it works just fine. I remember it took a little while to adjust it correctly and I may have taken and 1/8 of inch or so off the end of rod to get it the way I wanted but nothing major.

Mark

[seahouse]

Great!
Thanks Mark!
-Brian.

[1st Sail]

Jim,
I have an '06 M. I have taken all the length out of the quick disconnect. However, I can turn to port full rudder but cannot turn to starboard full rudder as the quick connect ball strikes the side of the motor well. The end result is my starboard turning radius is significantly less than port. Did not realize this until I attempted to dock in a cross current and wind. When I attempted to turn off to starboard and come along side the dock I found out the hard way.

I'm curious do you have full rudder hard over to port and starboard? Otherwise I think it is a great addition. Sailing with the motor disconnected is like power steering.

[seahouse]

Hey 1st Sail!

What engine do you have on your M?

- B.

[c130king]

Jim,
I have an '06 M. I have taken all the length out of the quick disconnect. However, I can turn to port full rudder but cannot turn to starboard full rudder as the quick connect ball strikes the side of the motor well. The end result is my starboard turning radius is significantly less than port. Did not realize this until I attempted to dock in a cross current and wind. When I attempted to turn off to starboard and come along side the dock I found out the hard way.

I'm curious do you have full rudder hard over to port and starboard? Otherwise I think it is a great addition. Sailing with the motor disconnected is like power steering.

I think I might have a little bit of this issue...can't remember which way but I seem to recall that I can turn the rudders a little further one way then the other. But I seem to recall that I had this same problem with the old system as well.

But it is not significant enough to bother me very much.

And I definitely agree with the "power steering" comment. I almost always sail with the motor disconnected now...I didn't my first couple of years. Much less stress on the steering gears and the autopilot...and of course on my arms.

Cheers,
Jim

[1st Sail]

SeaHouse,
Etec 50. sips fuel, starts instantly, best part is no maintenance, no oil change, filter etc. 18-19 mph top end @5900rpm, 14 x 11 prop. (very seldom run WOT though)

Fair to say however, it seems everyone on this board is very satisfied with their OB's respectively. Honda, Suz, Yami, Etec, Merc, ToHots etc. Only occasionaly does someone post an issue.
Enough said don't want to hijack this good thread.

Outside of the lesser starboard turning radius the BWY is excellent. This weekend I'm going to look it over and see if I can mod the shaft length so I have min. turning radius to starboard as well.
I would like to hear from some one with an X. I suspect the BWY works well with the X since the motor well is wider therefor the pivot ball on the shaft end can retrac several inches further before making contact. The Mac OEM steering arm allows the motor and rudders to hard over to the lock position when turing either way. I should be able to add a pivot ball to the OEM arm and remedy the problem. I suspect the BWY quick disconnect will have to be shortened some. This will require a change to the motor lock mount on the well or just lock the motor in a slightly tilted positon.
I'll keep you all posted.

[aya16]

because of the prop rotation, boats will turn very well to port, starboard will be sluggish and wont turn as well. Unless of course you have left hand rotation on the prop, then the boat will turn better to starboard. In tight slow maneuvering this is something to keep in mind. Even with rudders full down, the boat still turns better to port.

I don't think getting full turning radius will help much.
Mike

[seahouse]

Hey Mike!

Of course you meant to say that turning to starboard, not port, is easier under power. Turning to port is easier when backing in reverse.

Both with Macs, and the majority of power boats. More prop walk in reverse, not as much in forward. Macs don't behave like typical sailboats, I've noticed. Back and fills don't really work on it.

-Brian.

[Crikey]

Yes, doesn't direction of motion connect with direction of rotation?

[Kittiwake]

Yes, doesn't direction of motion connect with direction of rotation?

Just as you say: the 'rule' that prop walk is greater to port in reverse is for props that turn clockwise when in forward gear ... as I gather is the case with most outboards. But the opposite will be true for motors whose shafts turn counterclockwise when in forward gear.
Kittiwake

[aya16]

Only had a 50 percent chance to get it wrong, ohh well....
Mike

[Crikey]

Twin outboards on jack plates - contra rotating props.... Problem solved!

[raycarlson]

come on now, prop walk with an outboard motor,your kidding right? mac's dont turn well in forward or reverse because of the cheesy steering system that has nothing in alignnment( rudders and engine all point in different directions from each other) unless you've taken the time to rework the entire system yourself. also you can't utilize the entire steering arc of your outboard,your limited to about 60% of it on the M if your using the mac engineered steering components.I'm pretty sure prop walking is mainly only applied to fixed props on a shaft pushing water at a rudder, not related to our little boats where you just pointing the prop in the direction you want to go, not that there's any harm in daydreaming that your piloting a 40foot island packet or something of that nature.

[Kittiwake]

come on now, prop walk with an outboard motor,your kidding right? .... not related to our little boats where you just pointing the prop in the direction you want to go, not that there's any harm in daydreaming that your piloting a 40foot island packet or something of that nature.

Heh Heh. Actually if I had an Island Packet I'd trade it in on a Mac and pocket the change: simple is good, and as I have said before, the Mac is kind of the ultimate canoe/kayak.
But I quote below:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Propeller walk is the term for a propeller's tendency to rotate a boat as well as accelerating it forwards or backwards.
A right-handed propeller (which rotates clockwise [as viewed from the stern] when in forward gear) will tend to push the stern of the boat to starboard. When in reverse gear, the effect will be much greater and opposite. A right-handed propeller will now push the aft of the boat to port.
Knowing of and understanding propeller walk is important when maneuvering in small spaces. It can be used to one's advantage while mooring off, or it can complicate a maneuver if the effect works against the pilot.
Propeller walk is a complicated effect …
Kittiwake
ps. I think though, that as you suggest, prop walk can be magnified when the drive shaft is at a non-zero angle to the horizontal - as in many boats with a thru-hull propellor shaft

[seahouse]

Hey Guys -- My experience has been that the skills needed in the low-speed handling of a conventional outboard or outdrive boat translate nicely to those required for outboard-equipped Mac under power. Much more so than to other inboard sailboats, which, because of a variety of other prop/rudder configurations, require another, somewhat different skill set. The use of prop walk is one of those skills that can be used on our Macs.

Prop walk is a sum of a lot of interacting factors, at least one of which I have considered myself and not read or heard anywhere else.

The difference in angle of attack between the upward moving, and downward moving blades resulting from the angle of the driveshaft, while the most familiar and most often cited, is only one of many sources of prop walk.

Outboard engines experience prop walk mostly from sources other than this. I use prop walk every time I back out from my slip and it’s a breeze, (even when there is a cross-breeze). Plan your movements so you are always backing to port. (I happen to prefer ballast in, ~25- 50 % dagger or centerboard, and rudder(s) down).

You can demonstrate it to yourself on your own boat. Centre your steering out on the open water while stopped, and apply reverse thrust, with a good quick burst. With any conventional engine/prop configuration your stern will pull or “kick” to port. Use this to your advantage when manoeuvering. It can be your friend, or your enemy, it can surreptitiously make a fool out of you in close quarters or in an emergency; it’s your choice, but ignore it at your peril.

The pilots on this forum will recognize this as “p-factor”, the term for it in aviation. You cannot ignore it on a small airplane (as you might possibly on a boat)- during full-throttle climbout you need to apply right rudder to keep the plane on a straight heading.

Back on the lake, apply heavy throttle forward and your stern will kick to starboard, but to a much lesser degree than reverse because the lower unit and prop design have been optimized for forward movement, and the slipstream has no opportunity to interact with the hull or keel.

If you ever need to make a minimum radius turn, say in a narrow channel or fairway, you will require less width if you turn to starboard, using the automotive equivalent of a three-point turn. This recommendation applies to all conventional (right-hand prop) power boats and Macs.

It’s called “walk” because the stern’s movement is in a direction that it would take if the prop where “walking” on, or contacting the lake bottom. So that little tidbit will help you if you are in a boat and trying to visualize which way yer butt’s gonna get kicked.

- Brian.