Swerving at low speed

[cheejudo]

3.0L mercruiser



when i go between 0-10 mph it seems like i am "swerving" and i am pretty much constantly having to readjust my steering.. i mean its definately manageable but i would just like to chill while i roll out of the marina instead of constantly being worried bout swerving into something. any ideas? i have a 21 pitch prop if that matters


i shoulld add that steering other than at the slow speeds is good... nice and responsive

 

[nikon]

Re: Swerving at low speed

Trim tabs will help....put them full down when you are idleing...it'll stop the wandering.....

I've never used them, but people seem to have good luck with smart tabs.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Swerving at low speed

3.0L mercruiser



when i go between 0-10 mph it seems like i am "swerving" and i am pretty much constantly having to readjust my steering.. i mean its definately manageable but i would just like to chill while i roll out of the marina instead of constantly being worried bout swerving into something. any ideas? i have a 21 pitch prop if that matters


i shoulld add that steering other than at the slow speeds is good... nice and responsive

Ayuh,... It's known as V-hull Wander...

Less operator input usually helps...
Don't fight it, drift with it...

 

[fossill]

Re: Swerving at low speed

Yup, normal

 

[not enuf toys]

Re: Swerving at low speed

this is very normal

try adjusting the outdrive up or down. i have gotten less wander on some boats with the outdrive completly down and some just a little bit up...

 

[reddogg]

Re: Swerving at low speed

It's just the way a V-Hull is, get used to it, compleatly normal. Tabs or a whale's tail may help a bit.

red

 

[joncrisler]

Re: Swerving at low speed

What everybody is telling you is correct- at non-planing speeds, the hull will wander back and forth. On all of my boats with trim tabs, I have not noticed any difference in wander with the tabs down or up. The slower you go, the more it wanders. I cannot see how a whale tail will help since that affects the vertical characteristics and this happens at the horizontal axis. If you can keep the wheel perfectly centered and still, you will find that it wanders pretty much an equal amount right and left, so they tend to cancel each other out.

Trawlers and sail boats do not do this, only planing style hulls. I read somewhere a good technical description of why it does this, but the reasons escape me at the moment.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Swerving at low speed

You just can not over steer, Little to left, little to right to keep it straight!

 

[Icyharp]

Re: Swerving at low speed

Ya this is normal, I let my 16yr old sit behind the wheel and he said this going slow is way too much work......lol. I told him, "boating is not about going fast all the time". So now he does not even bother to ask if he can drive if we are going slow cause of the wandering the V-hull does.

 

[Doernuth]

Re: Swerving at low speed

If your boat is a single wheel boat there is a certain amount of perpendicular thrust created by the prop. You can compensate some of this by adjusting the annode that looks like a rudder on your lower unit.

You can't really eliminate it without using a dual counterrotating prop set up.

Just deal with it.

 

[mcleaves]

Re: Swerving at low speed

It's normal. The trick is how to handle it. Using what I call the "bump, return and wait" method is best. Most people, when confronted with this issue, turn the wheel until the boat begins to respond. If you do that you have already over-corrected and will be looping through this process until you are weary. What you want to do is when the boat starts to move off course, give the wheel slight nudge and then RETURN it to center. Leaving it turned until you see the boat turn will start the over-correcting. Boats always have a delayed response when operating at slow speeds, so "bump it, return it, and wait for it". If it needs another then repeat.

Every boat is different so some may need more of a bump than others, but the key is to return the wheel to center and then assess the situation again. After a little practice it'll be second nature and you'll make hardly any adjustments.

I will agree that tabs and drives should be down for best handling. You'll also throw less wake and avoid the ire of fellow boaters in no wake zones.

 

[jkust]

Re: Swerving at low speed

Yup having an OB bowrider with zero wander at any speed and also having an I/O with normal wander it took a bit to get used to the idea that doing nothing is the solution. You will move ahead in a slight zig zag pattern and less is more here. Lengthy no wake zones are more enjoyable when you aren't constantly fighting wander.