This following information was taken from this page under the fair-use doctrine.
I'm posting this and the next article because of Kook's problem with Chine Walking after installing a new 680 HP engine in his 24' Agressor listed in the Sunsation Section of the forum
http://www.land-and-sea.com/marine/faq-marine.htm
MY BOAT NOW HAS MORE HORSEPOWER THAN I CAN USE. WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE ITS HANDLING?
Well on outboards, after installing dual steering and properly adjusting out steering cable backlash, the next step is to add rigid motor mounts to reduce the fish tailing that causes dangerous chine walking. Chine walk is the tendency for your boat to oscillate back and forth between its port and starboard chines.
Installing a dash controlled jack to raise the prop at high speed will help top end and greatly reduce chine walking because it preloads the steering system with prop torque.
A nose cone and torque tab can help reduce the steering torque the driver feels at high speeds that are due to the "paddle wheel" effect of surfacing, high rake props, and the angle at which the engine has to run through the water. These modifications also can prevent chine walking.
For stem drive applications the most effective modifications you can make are the Stern-Jack, nose cone, and dual steering. The Stem-Jack improves handling for the same reason a hydraulic jack plates helps an outboard motor -- it preloads out the steering cables' backlash so that at high speeds the drive won't "fishtail" and causes chine walking.
Other items of importance to driving control are a foot throttle and steering wheel trim buttons. They allow you to keep both hands on the steering wheel all the time, and react faster to changing conditions. You will always be able to drive faster and safer under any conditions with these two easy modifications!
I'm posting this and the next article because of Kook's problem with Chine Walking after installing a new 680 HP engine in his 24' Agressor listed in the Sunsation Section of the forum
http://www.land-and-sea.com/marine/faq-marine.htm
MY BOAT NOW HAS MORE HORSEPOWER THAN I CAN USE. WHAT CAN I DO TO IMPROVE ITS HANDLING?
Well on outboards, after installing dual steering and properly adjusting out steering cable backlash, the next step is to add rigid motor mounts to reduce the fish tailing that causes dangerous chine walking. Chine walk is the tendency for your boat to oscillate back and forth between its port and starboard chines.
Installing a dash controlled jack to raise the prop at high speed will help top end and greatly reduce chine walking because it preloads the steering system with prop torque.
A nose cone and torque tab can help reduce the steering torque the driver feels at high speeds that are due to the "paddle wheel" effect of surfacing, high rake props, and the angle at which the engine has to run through the water. These modifications also can prevent chine walking.
For stem drive applications the most effective modifications you can make are the Stern-Jack, nose cone, and dual steering. The Stem-Jack improves handling for the same reason a hydraulic jack plates helps an outboard motor -- it preloads out the steering cables' backlash so that at high speeds the drive won't "fishtail" and causes chine walking.
Other items of importance to driving control are a foot throttle and steering wheel trim buttons. They allow you to keep both hands on the steering wheel all the time, and react faster to changing conditions. You will always be able to drive faster and safer under any conditions with these two easy modifications!
. Well, over the course of that summer I learned to drive the boat and keep it balanced on the pad eventually achieving speeds over 70 MPH with rock solid stability. I believe that most boats can be balanced like this once you develop the knack for the steering input required. This presupposes that your boat is equipped with tight steering and some of the goodies mentioned above. My boat already had solid mounts, Latham steering, foot pedal trim and foot throttle so the rest was up to me. When you first try this you will swear that it is impossible and I don't know your boat and no one could drive through the chine walk on (fill in your boat and motor combo here). I felt the same way but I KNEW that Kevin could do it so I couldn't say it was impossible. By all means make the mechanical upgrades first but if it still walks then try to learn to drive through it. If you succeed, you will feel a sense of accomplishment and self satisfaction.
