impressive at 15

Summer Fun II said:
Yep, that was overkill and he was playing up to the cam. :smt021
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I don't know about that. We weren't there so we don't know who or how competent his line handlers were. You don't push a 58" Post off a piling and you are not going to stop it by grabbing a line; you pretty much have to put slack in a line with power to get a 3/4" line off a cleat that is holding a boat that big. As far as when he clears the slip, its a tight spot with lots of boats nearby. A 58 Post will probably run 10-12 kts at idle and that throws a big wake on a boat like this. The only way to control the speed and avoid waking the other boats in the marina is to take her out of gear.

Lastly, a boat that size can be a handful and will get out of shape very quickly if the operator loses control. They have to be under way to maintain control so it is a delicate balance of in gear and out to maintain directional control because the rudders are useless unless the boat is moving along pretty good. The operator's challenge is magnified by the lag in the controls. It isn't unusual for there to be a 3-4 second lag before the transmission goes in gear or the throttle responds.

Watch the video again and notice the lag, notice that the operator almost never touches the steering wheel, but the boat is under control all the time. I don't know if that many gear changes were really necessary or not………I just know this isn't hat kid's first rodeo.
 
My first thought when I watched this was ... How does anyone know how much shifting was needed or not needed? I watch large boats dock/move around at my marina whenever I get the chance. With my inexperienced eye I figure the smoother the boat moves the better. This looked pretty freakin smooth to me. For that sized boat it was slipped in some pretty close quarters too.

As always Frank, thank you for posting/sharing. For me at least, you shed a bright light on a subject that is somewhat dark to me.
 
I counted 24 shifts to get squared up in the fairway. Looked to me like he had plenty of room in front.

We have a 60' wide fairway and I shift 4 times to get a 56' Ocean out of the slip.

Granted he is 15 and there are million dollar plus sleds all around so i give him props for that.


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I don't get to see too many very large boats being maneuvered in close quarters, at least not as many as if I was on the coast, and have never done it myself, so I don't know, but last year when we were doing some work at the locks on the Erie canal in eastern NY, there was a crew moving a 60 something foot Viking through and every time the captain twitched the levers to "gently" come to the lock wall, the boat would lurch ahead and the stern would fall a foot from all the water that was being evacuated from under the stern. those props move some water. If I'm in the kid's shoes, maneuvering a 70,000 pound boat in close quarters, and there is no crunching, cracking, scraping, and yelling.....life is good, regardless of how many times I had to move the levers.
 
fwebster said:
Nearly all Sportfish/Convertibles have multiple control stations. You only see one control pod in the video, but there is probably a tower with controls above the bridge. Mechanically shifting and throttling big hp engines/transmissions (2 shifters/2 throttles) is a physical challenge because of the effort needed because a set of control cables are required fro each control station. The mechanical system is all connected to the engine/transmission so you have to move the levers at all the stations for every gear throttle change with mechanical or a 4 lever control set up. The controls you see in the video are electronic so the operator activates only the station he is running the boat from and his control is the only thing that moves, other than the throttle or gear selector on the engine/transmission. Merc's DTS system a few years ago was touted as a new innovation, but bigger boats had "control by wire" as early as 1990.
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thanks for this explanation, makes a lot of sense. i have a lot to learn in my search for a boat.
 
What we don't hear is...... his Father is telling him what to do.

Why that stupid music and no live sound ??.
 
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reminds me of when i was about that age and my father and his marina friends would throw back a few (read several each) beers then tell me to drive them to kelleys island....

the cool part was i got to drive all sorts of different kinds of boats before i got my drivers license.
 
when the older guys show up in the pictures i don't see any of them even looking at what is going on...we can't see off screen though.
 
Lots of commentary on video of a kid driving a boat, so here's some more: How about the video? The kid got a pretty good angle and put together a decent production. Was that the father at the helm toward the end? That would make the guy with the hat a hired captain would be my guess.

The kid probably didn't worry about not being able to do it because nobody told him he couldn't yet. Also, he probably didn't worry as much about making a scratch because at that stage in life you aren't aware of how many hours of labor it takes to earn back the repair bill. Pretty cool that he can get that type of experience, and pretty cool for dad that at least one of his kids is interested in piloting.
 
Excellent job kid!! I know that most of us could do it with a way lot less shifts, but who really cares? Remember that he is only 15 years old. Take offs and landings are never a competition in my books. Just bring everybody back safe. There is no shame in aborting and redoing a maneuver if it means saving damage to property and limbs. He was very careful and that impressed me a whole lot. We all had to start somewhere, so cut him some slack.
 
Kameroo said:
Lots of commentary on video of a kid driving a boat, so here's some more: How about the video? The kid got a pretty good angle and put together a decent production. Was that the father at the helm toward the end? That would make the guy with the hat a hired captain would be my guess.
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It's a family outing………..the older guy with the hat is the kid's grandfather!
 
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I think the young man did a great job. The intimidation factor alone is worth big points. I know alot of men that won't try to dock my little boat.

I've driven big inboards, sporty's and a 500da. I think I would be nervous to run that expensive a$$ boat and feel the intimidation factor also. But that's just me.
 
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