Question 4009 Deck General

The correct answer is C) The backwash of the propeller reaches amidships. When a vessel is coming to a stop after putting the engines astern, the backwash or turbulence generated by the propeller will eventually reach amidships, indicating that the vessel has stopped making way. This is a reliable visual cue that the vessel has come to a complete stop. The other options are not as reliable indicators. A) An azimuth bearing on the beam may remain steady even if the vessel is still drifting, and B) The ship's Doppler log reading zero does not necessarily mean the vessel has stopped - it could be reading zero due to the reversal of water flow over the sensor. Option D) is incorrect since not all the choices are appropriate indicators of the vessel coming to a stop.