Boat leaning to one side

[tocostew]

I saw another thread somewhere on here about this but cannot find it. This past weekend me and my wife took our new to us boat out and it seems like we were leaning to one side while driving. Im pretty sure we were ballanced I was in the drivers seat and she was in the passangers seat. No water was in the boat, what could it be?

 

[Andy'sDelight]

Re: Boat leaning to one side

Likely prop torque. Was it leaning to port? Also, what size boat and motor? Do you have trim tabs?

 

[Hit It]

Re: Boat leaning to one side

I agree with Andy'sDelight, sounds like prop torque to me. Some boats are really finicky with balance, you have to have things just right to get them to sit level when underway.

 

[tocostew]

Re: Boat leaning to one side

its a 18' 2000 Aquatron with the 3.0. I do not have the trim tabs just yet but that is next on my list of things to get for it. It seems like it was leaning starboard more. So is this a prop issue or should I really worry about it?

 

[Alumarine]

Re: Boat leaning to one side

My tin boat wants to lean to starboard but levels out as I trim out.

 

[dingbat]

Re: Boat leaning to one side

Prop torque and hull lean are two distinctly different things. Prop torques is the force you feel thru the steering wheel. Hull lean is the hull physically leaning to one side or the other.

All boats with allot of wind area tend to lean into the wind...but only in crosswinds and on while on plane. The surface area above the the boats center of gravity catches the wind which tends to push the boat downwind. You probably don't notice that you?re steering into the wind to keep the boat going straight. This steering force of the outdrive below the CG which causes the boat to lean into the wind.
Deep V hulls which single power are notorious for this. The good news is that trim tabs easily remedy the problem.

 

[LWD]

Re: Boat leaning to one side

I had a similar problem years ago, and adjusting the trim tab made a lot of difference, especially if you do not have power steering.