Twin Screw

[Murdog]

New to the board--2nd post. Any advice for a guy with his first Twin Screw? Owned 3 prior boats--all single engines.

Thanks in advance!

[biggerseagar]

Murdog welcome again! As an owner of a 01 3000 with bravo 2's. I have learn to love twins and how they make docking very easy. Pretend you you are operating a caterpillar tractor. I also use the shifters as guides. The right handle points to the left as the left handle points to the right. Put the right handle in reverse the stern will go to the left...as the left handle in reverse the stern will go to the right. I think you get the idea. Make sure you have the steering wheel straight when maneuverING and don't touch it. You might have times where you have one drive in for ward and the other in reverse . Go slow and take your time. Practice practice practice!

Hope this help

Roger

[Murdog]

Thx Roger. I guess I should have mentioned that I own a 3200 SCR with 5.7 Bravo II's.

[CGG]

Drive it like a skid steer is the best advise I ever heard. Do a search and there are many videos for you to watch.

[Phillbo]

Twins make life so much easier.

[speedysprocket]

Originally Posted by Murdog

Thx Roger. I guess I should have mentioned that I own a 3200 SCR with 5.7 Bravo II's.

I'm curious as to how yours performs with 5.7s. I have the same boat with 7.4s.

[Murdog]

Thx guys. There are some great videos out there. I'll let you know this summer how the 5.7's perform.

[mrt214]

I also have the 5.7s in my 3200scr. I have no problem getting to 4800rpm. Sometimes I am totally amazed at the speed of this big boat. I am running with 18 1/4x19pitch props which is what is recommended by Maxum.

[RxPad]

My 3000 has twin 5.7s. Drive it like a caterpillar... a caterpillar on ice. Stopping the throttles won't stop your motion so always keep in mind you may have to give some counter thrust when rotating, backing up, etc... Also, make sure your wheel is straight. When i was first learning, I hired a captain and he must've asked "is your wheel straight" 100 times that day. I know it's 1.5 turns from all the way over to straighten my wheel, and it's definitely something you should get to know on your boat. Lastly, don't forget you can still use your wheel. It's a great way to kick the stern over when you're 95% docked.

Yet I still end up bumping a piling in my slip most of the time... Do what I do and blame the wind!

[Murdog]

RxPad--where do you keep your boat? I'll be in Mayea Marina.

[RxPad]

Harbor Club North. Smaller marina between Metro and Beacon Cove. Best bang for the buck that I've been able to find.
Keep an eye out for me. I'm usually at either Goose or the moot![/URL][/IMG]

[speedysprocket]

From driving big two and four screw ships in the navy, I've come up with my own technique. I usually use just one engine now to back in and turn the drives to where I want them to pull me towards or push me away from. Like turn it towards my finger dock to bring me closer to it in reverse, and if I start closing too fast or get too close, push it to forward and now it pushes me away from the finger.

[speedysprocket]

And my 7.4s top out at about 40 mph with mismatched props. Curious what matched ones will do. How fast do your small block boats go? You probably weigh 700 or more pounds less.