Recently, a customer expressed concern over his boat's desire to wander from left to right and back to left as he navigated at slower idle speeds. So, we felt the need to address his concern and those of you out there that have the same issue due to the age old characteristic known simply as bow wander. Bow wander is common to every boat at slow no- wake speed. Some boats do it more, some less depending on the hull. However, the bow wander one experiences actually has very little to do with the boat itself but rather with the boats single drive propulsion system. Most boats with a single prop Alpha I or SX drive will exhibit some sort of bow wander at slow speeds.
This can take some getting used to. We have found that you must be diligent in training yourself not to oversteer or you will continue to wander back and forth the entire time. We recommend you compensate a bit and let the boat correct itself. If you over steer it the boat never gets a chance to track straight. Don't forget you have a single prop spinning in one direction (righthand) where as the counter-rotating Bravo III and Duo-prop drives greatly improve these common low speed handling characteristics.
Yeah I've seen some guys sit there and steer like they're in the Games 2 you trailer. Fighting it back and forth until they almost turn a 180. Don't fight it guys, sit back, pop a top and keep your hands idle like your engine speed. Or better yet, one hand on the wheel, one around your sweetheart!
ReplyDeleteAs Jake says, fighting it can be very discouraging. You will just end up chasing the wander and frustrating yourself. Relax, take a deep breath, make slight corrections to maintain course and the boat will respond nicely to the direction you give it.
ReplyDeleteJake-
ReplyDeleteWe always recommend both hands on the wheel in all circumstances. Remember, unlike a car, your right hand controls throttle and your left the steering wheel. SO, you have no extra hands for sweetheart hugging when under way :-)