At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

[YankeeDiver]

My 17 maxim I/O runs fine and straight under power. As soon as I bring it into a no wake zone I am unable to keep it in a straight line. It's like I am driving drunk. The boat moves right and I steer left. No matter what I do the boat constantly zig zags back and forth. What am I missing.

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Welcome to the V- hull low speed wander! They all do it. Install Smart Tabs

 

[oldjeep]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Bowriders do that, and the worst thing you can do is try to keep correcting every little movement. Bunch of people will tell you to put trim tabs on it - and you could do that, or you could get used to letting it drift a little and stop trying to make it run perfectly straight.

 

[scottmm73]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Doesn't no wake speed generally also mean "to maintain safe steerage". I myself would consider adding throttle to maintain safe steerage. Though we should look into why your boat wanders. Is there play in the steerage system?

 

[spdracr39]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Its normal just point the wheel and let it wander you will end up close to where you want to go....

Or you could install smart tabs

 

[southkogs]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Doesn't no wake speed generally also mean "to maintain safe steerage"...

I've never heard that ... no wake, has always meant no wake (insert period).

Probably not as much in a true inboard single screw, but at least on OBs and I/Os you should have steerage with thrust. It may take laying the helm over harder to turn, or short bursts of power, but you still have steerage.

I agree with oldjeep - just learn it. Mine drifts, and I can actually make decent speed at no wake.

 

[YankeeDiver]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Thanks. That's what I was reading from other people. I was going to get smart tabs at the end of the season anyway.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Doesn't no wake speed generally also mean "to maintain safe steerage". I myself would consider adding throttle to maintain safe steerage.

May vary by state. In MN, it's the slowest possible speed that will allow steering, but never over 5 mph.

Mine wanders, it's simple to adjust to it after a while. Overcorrecting the steering makes it worse.

 

[generator12]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

+++ My 17 foot 4Winns did it too. Added smart tabs and now it's minimal.

 

[eng208]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

I agree with everyone else. Vhull I/Os tend to do this. It's kind of like driving a truck down a south Ga red dirt road after a rain. You just got to slide with it, don't fight it or you'll wind up in the ditch.

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Had the same problem with my Chaparral 240. Drove me nuts. Especially in the narrow channels of the Trent Severn System. A dock mate suggested I drop both trim tabs all the way down and it made all the difference in the world. Our current boat doesn't do it. I'm thinking because the port drive is counter rotating.

 

[scottmm73]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Well, I haven't noticed wandering on my 89 Maxum. I'm definitely going to pay more attention this weekend. Of course it is an outboard. Does that make a difference?

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

I have found that if i trim all the way up and don't have people in front it is a bit better (gets some of the sharp-V out of the water)

But generally if you just point it straight - the boat will waggle side to side in a 'S' shape -- net result = straight!

Through tight channels it can be a little intimidating to "let go"...but it worked for Luke Skywalker....it can work for you!

 

[NYBo]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Because of the almost instantaneous steering response we're accustomed to in cars, the delay in steering response that boats exhibit causes us to overcompensate, which just makes the wandering worse. It takes conscious effort to overcome this tendency until you get used to it.

 

[southkogs]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Well, I haven't noticed wandering on my 89 Maxum. I'm definitely going to pay more attention this weekend. Of course it is an outboard. Does that make a difference?

Yes, typically OBs don't wander like I/Os tend to do. My last boat was an OB, and while it would wander a little bit it was nothing compared to my current boat.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

No outboards I've driven have exhibited the wander, at least to any noticable degree. I only have my own I/O for comparison, it wanders, drove me nuts the first few trips, now its no big deal- I adjusted to it by not over correcting the steering. The patrol boats I drive are all OB's so I have a small adjustment to make when I go out in those boats.

 

[Jlawsen]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

No outboards I've driven have exhibited the wander, at least to any noticable degree. I only have my own I/O for comparison, it wanders, drove me nuts the first few trips, now its no big deal- I adjusted to it by not over correcting the steering. The patrol boats I drive are all OB's so I have a small adjustment to make when I go out in those boats.

LOL, drive an outboard with a delta pad bottom... Feel free to try mine if you want to experience it LOL.. Like the guys that have the problem have said. All you need to learn to do is stop fighting it with constant corrections. If I'm trolling on the main motor I'll often drop the bow mount trolling motor and point it straight ahead. That's like riding on rails.

 

[Boats-A-lots]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Oh, yeah.. gotta love that deep V drift. Had a passenger couple years back asked me if I was drunk. "Back and forth, back and forth".

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

Through tight channels it can be a little intimidating to "let go"...but it worked for Luke Skywalker....it can work for you!

I've noticed that if I'm distracted ( say someone talking to me ) while navigating our narrow mooring channel, the boat steers almost straight, but the minute I refocus on steering it, it starts to wander. May the force be with me

 

[dingbat]

Re: At No wake speed very hard to keep straight

As long as the water is reasonably calm, I can "steer" from the back of the boat by shifting weight from one side of centerline to the other. I've used this method hours on end while trolling unaccompanied.