my boat "hunts"

[fin-bender]

Hi, I have a 17' Sylvan Aluminum fishing boat with a 115hp motor. I am new to boating. This is a used 1998 boat with low hours.

When I am moving at slow speed (just putting along above idle - boat not on plane) my boat "hunts." What I mean by this is that it does not move in a straight line. It seems that the boat is constantly making slight left-to-right turns "hunting" for a straight course. The steering wheel is not moving at all, and as far as I can tell the motor is not moving at all. The boat will maintain a general (averaged) straight course, but it is basicly never in a total straight line. It 'hunts' the entire time.

Is something wrong?

I should mention that this totally disappears when the boat gets up on plane, if fact the boat is very, very stable then.

Thanks for reading this, any ideas?

 

[Rscardina]

Re: my boat "hunts"

at lower speeds the boat is suseptable to all things in the watre...flow, wind, waves, current..etc... its not uncommon

at higher speeds the boats hull is doing what its suppossed to do..cutting through the watre and keeping thing pretty straight..

if your motor has a fin zinc on it or trim tab is another name...you can slight turn it using an alan wrench.. however, from what you explain it doesnt sound that you have a problem at all..but certainly can adjust a bit..keeping in mind that at higher speeds tha trim adjustment is more pronounced

my opinion is do nothing since high speed is a straight line with no pullng in either direction

 

[Huron Angler]

Re: my boat "hunts"

In my opinion that is a normal phenomenon...they don't always track perfectly straight. Combination of wind, waves, weight shifting in the boat or people moving around.

Even leaning left to right will turn an aluminum boat similar to how motorcycles turn by leaning.

It makes it tough to troll sometimes, especially in a headwind.

Good luck

 

[ufm82]

Re: my boat "hunts"

Wandering is inherent in V-hulls and usually isn't more than an issue than being annoying. However, if it is bad enough to make you uncomfortable, you can minimize it. While I always see posts referencing Smart Tabs here, (and I do have a set on my boat) I will say that mine almost completely eliminated the wander. I have a 19' center console with a completely smooth bottom- no strakes, ribs, chines, bumps, lumps or anything else. It wandered pretty bad in the no wake zones. More aggravating than anything but I found myself seesawing the wheel bad and forth almost as an afterthought. I put the tabs on for other reasons but it really cut the wander down to almost unnoticeable.
You could drag a bucket on a rope behind you too.

UFM82