Ericson 27 Pulls to port under engine
- Thread starter JEZ
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HerbertFriedman
Member III
I have an e 34 which also pulls to port under power but I see little or no pulling or prop walk in reverse, strange.
Kindred spirits:
ericsonyachts.org
E27 Veers to port underway
Hi all--I've been learning on the forum for a month or so now and will start by saying thank you to all who post responses and share their experience and wisdom. It's been a great resource for a relative beginner--been around boats for most of my life, but first time I've owned a sailboat. For...
I have an 1977 Ericson 27. It pulls to port under power. I'm no expert regarding differences with engines, transmissions, props etc. but most of these models also have a good deal of prop walk to port in reverse. At first it irritated me. But now I just use it to my advantage. I use a spring line to safely get out of my slip (i'm almost always solo) in reverse because I like to head out of the fairway in forward. If I would just switch to a slip on the other side of the fairway the prop walk eliminate the need for the spirng line. But then I wouldn't be near my drinking buddies. ha!
Alan Gomes
Sustaining Partner
It's not a bug; it's a feature.
Teranodon
Member III
Ditto.
Every explanation of "prop walk" that I have ever seen has been completely unconvincing. Unfortunately, this applies to almost all of the "physics" of sailing, especially the ability of a sailboat to go to windward. I would never admit to this (I'm a retired particle physicist) but we're all friends here.
Ha! ;-)
My 35-3 pulls to port as well. After staring at the shaft alignment from above and being thoroughly confused for my first two years of ownership, I finally confirmed during the last haul out that the shaft is not parallel with the centerline of the boat. I'm sure this is the source of the pull to port. I've only motored from the yard to my slip which isn't far and I kept it at idle, but I think I noticed less pull to port. This makes sense to me because the new strut changed the shaft alignment to better align with the shaft log which is still off parallel, but not as much as the original alignment (the shaft wasn't straight in the shaft log). The down side is I can no longer pull the shaft without removing the rudder. Maybe this "design feature" was used on the 27 as well. If you're checking, I had to look from the aft edge of the keel back to confirm. Looking from behind the rudder did not provide a good enough view of the slight offset.
In reverse my 1976 E27 pulls to starboard with a lefthand prop and pulls to port with a righthand prop. The prop shaft is not on the centerline, (I think the shaft is offset to the starboard side) and does make it so I can pull the shaft without removing the rudder.
Mr. Scarlett
Member III
I was doing a Rockford turn every time I went out. The last thing I did before winter set in was dock in a new slip. It's not going to work like before.
I have a plan but I'd like to hear how you use a spring line when leaving in reverse.
if you zoom in on the pic looking bow to stern you see the piling off the stern to starboard. You can see the spring line I coil on the piling. before I back out i bring that line on board. Carefully fake the line on the starboard side of the cockpit, having also run the line from the piling and under the starboard cleat on the transom. When I back out I simply let line pay out. I will alternate between holding the line and dropping it when I need to use the controls. I hold it loose or moderately tight to keep the boat straight. As I get more and more out of the slip I tighten up my grip and eventually hold fast and swing the bow. When I do this I'm usually well into the fairway so I can clear my own dock. Finally, I take what line is left on the boat and pretty casually coil it and toss it toward the piling. It sinks down next to the piling. Trick is to remember to pull it out of the water when I return. Not sure if this sounds simple, but it is!
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I have a similar slip and I don't see the need for a line.
A bit of reverse to get the boat moving backwards. The boat tends to turn to port (prop walk). Walk to the bow as the boat slowly exits the slip. Because of the slight turn, the pulpit will tend to scrape the other (starboard side) piling. Apply hand pressure to that piling to adjust the backwards course. Then use subtle bursts of power to achieve sternway, at which point the rudder will work.
Here's a clip of me coaching my daughter (yeah, I was accused of yelling at her, but she's used to it). Select [CC} for YouTube
Closed Captions.
A bit of reverse to get the boat moving backwards. The boat tends to turn to port (prop walk). Walk to the bow as the boat slowly exits the slip. Because of the slight turn, the pulpit will tend to scrape the other (starboard side) piling. Apply hand pressure to that piling to adjust the backwards course. Then use subtle bursts of power to achieve sternway, at which point the rudder will work.
Here's a clip of me coaching my daughter (yeah, I was accused of yelling at her, but she's used to it). Select [CC} for YouTube
Closed Captions.
I highly recommend using a floating type of line as a spring if you are going to leave the line on the dock. I often miss throwing if to the dock when leaving and it ends up in the water. I have seen and had mishaps where a sinking line with get sucked into the prop and can cause a lot of damage. Yellow nylon works well but will not last in the sun over time.
Yep, our '73 E27 pulls to one side while under power. That said, while motoring we usually let the robot (A Simrad TP32 tillerpilot) drive.
One of the tricks I've learned when doing low speed maneuvering is to use bursts of engine power, then let Sir Isaac Newton (aka momentum) do its thing. The walk to one side or the other only occurs when the engine is actually applying power. Once she's under her own momentum, the rudder works as one would expect.
Andrew James
Junior Member
Hello,
I dive my boat regularly to clean the hull, I have noticed my prop is offset to Port as well, and I believe that is what causes the pull.. especially when motoring. Under sail I don't notice it much unless I'm heeling.
I dive my boat regularly to clean the hull, I have noticed my prop is offset to Port as well, and I believe that is what causes the pull.. especially when motoring. Under sail I don't notice it much unless I'm heeling.
I think the offset is deliberate to try and reduce the pull while under motor. Our E27 is an inboard conversion (shipped as an outboard version, retrofited to a yanmar 1gm10 in '83) and the shaft comes out about an inch to starboard from center.
Andrew James
Junior Member
E27 by chance or?? My E27 was retrofitted to a Universal Diesel 3-20B.
More likely to remove the shaft without dropping the rudder.
HerbertFriedman
Member III
My "87 E34 definitely has a prop that is centerline and my boat pulls strongly to port in forward. Strangely in reverse at low speed I notice no prop walk. I still do not understand this.