Boat handling, manoeuvring and anchoring
The exam puts boat handling into short scenarios: which way the stern swings, how much chain to pay out, where the anchor drags, how to leave a berth in a crosswind.
Control under power
A planing hull pivots about a point roughly one-third of the length from the stern when going ahead. Propellers are not neutral: a right-hand propeller walks the stern to port in reverse, and prop wash over the rudder gives steerage only with power on. Use short, deliberate bursts rather than idle creeping, and use spring lines to turn or hold a boat in a tight berth.
Berthing and leaving
Approach as slowly as steering allows, into wind or current where possible, with fenders and lines ready and the plan briefed to the crew. With an onshore wind, come in at an angle, touch gently, and let a spring line hold the boat while you steer against it. Leaving: single up to a stern spring, helm away from the pontoon, ahead on the engine, and the stern swings out.
Anchoring
Choose sand or mud over weed or rock, and a spot with swinging room clear of fairways, cables, swimming zones and nature reserves. Pay out about 5:1 scope for chain and 7:1 for rope, more in strong wind or swell. Lay the anchor, set it by motoring gently astern and checking transits, then watch those transits for dragging. Weigh by motoring up to the anchor, not by hauling the boat forward with the windlass.
Worked example
You must anchor in 6 m of water with a rope rode, 15 knots forecast. Depth 6 m plus about 0.5 m freeboard gives 6.5 m; at 7:1 that is roughly 45 m of rope. Most crews guess half that - and drag through the night.
Traps
Too little scope; anchoring by the stern in swell; ignoring the swing circle when other boats are close; leaving the anchor light off at night; forgetting a trip line where the bottom is rock.