boat wanders alot in No Wake Zones

Mine used to pretty bad but hydraulic steering helped a bunch. Do you have a lot of play in your steering? I have seen on some boats that when you move the outdrive it takes quite a bit before the steering wheel moves. I have heard it could be the gimble ring pins, and or the steering cables. Not sure what system you have.

No i dont have hydraulic steering, i`ve had the boat checked out, and just did an engine swap. my mechanic would of said something if he noticed anything. i keep meaning to ask him, I`ll have him look at those couple things maybe that will answer my question.

its not really bad but its getting old always having to watch the front keeping a hand or foot on the wheel at all times. just to go straight

I think that's pretty normal. Every boat I've ever been on wondered at no wake speeds.

stop looking at Bikini clad girls on other boats....

Other boats....? They`re on my boat

I havent been able to compare with any boats similar to mine in size. Its probably all in my head.

My single engine Baja Sunsport used to do that. After I put the trim tabs on, I found that at idle if I buried the tabs it helped with this alot, still did it some.

The new boat with twins doesn't wander at all.

Ok i`ve got trim tabs i`ll give that a shot thanks for the advice

I have twin screws with duo props and she doesn't walk.

single engine/single prop//V hull will wander by nature of the hull at idle speeds. Things like loose steering will only make it worse.

All single engine boats of any size, will "hunt" at low speed. My 22 Donzi does it too. I found if you don't constantly steer it, it won't wander far, before the water pressure builds up on the hull, and it will go back the other way. Try it one time.

Twins don't hunt.

cuda said:

Twins don't hunt.

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for some reason that just sounded funny..

:laugher:

SweetEmotion said:

I notice while idling through a No Wake Zone I constantly need to be on the wheel cause my boat wanders alot. is this normal?

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I have a single with hydraulic steering and NO play in anything and it does the same thing...

I just point it in the general direction I want to go and it will "hunt" around a bit but does go straight in the long run....


Doug

Shorter boats also do it worse than longer boats

yup mine does it too, putting the tabs all the way down definately helps. at least you got the i/o going for you. I used to drive a buddies single engine jet boat from time to time and I'd zig zag all over the marina trying to keep that thing straight.

My 251 Liberator also wandered badly at idle speed. Bump up the throttle as much as you can without causing a wake. A four lade prop also helped a little but it wont go away. Learn not to over correct. Make slight adjustments and you will get into a rythem with it.

Oh ya I got that. I just wanted to hear from others to see if this is normal. its not like im all over the channel. my steering is tight. im going to drop my tabs down that should help some.

SweetEmotion said:

Oh ya I got that. I just wanted to hear from others to see if this is normal. its not like im all over the channel. my steering is tight. im going to drop my tabs down that should help some.

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Tabs can help to track straight with a single prop but even a "duo" or BIII with single engine will wander at idle.
Simply put, it is the boat's displacement of water rushing around the corners of the boat to fill the void. At low speed the water will croud the boat from side to side while trying to flow back to a level surface.
Twins have a stronger track and hold more steady.
Single engine wander is perfectly normal.

Interestingly, neither of my single engine outboard boat has wandered at all.

Its also going to be dependent on swirling currents and how much other boats are displacing and moving water around.