Hold a heading?...is that possible?

[blyter]

Big Howdy,

Bought my first I/O last month, a '06 Bayliner 185, 3.0Merc, Alpha 1 OD. Being a newbie to I/O's, Bayliner, and this forum, please do excuse any obvious dorkiness....this said on to the problem: I can't hold a heading with this sucker at low, set rpm's. I understand a bit about "hunting" and props (aircraft) and the sort but this is a challange!...especially on trailer loading. The outdrive is OK, virtually unmovable with the wheel held. Is there an acceptable amount of play in the wheel at low speed chugging along? So far the only way to relax at low speed's is to put the sucker in a turn and leave it. Help appreciated!
Blyter

 

[werthert]

Re: Hold a heading?...is that possible?

You've lost me.

Are you talking about sway, wind, current, etc. having an affect on your steering? If so, some of that is normal. It's not a car. This will get better as you get used to your boat and it's handling. tabs and load also play into this.

 

[divimon2000]

Re: Hold a heading?...is that possible?

You just get better at overcompensating with the lower speed "sway". My wife is about 180 degrees out of phase on the steer compensation and makes the situation worse! If you mean the wheel doesnt stay put, I have a "no feedback" (NFB) system that eliminates that.

 

[Billdc]

Re: Hold a heading?...is that possible?

I feel the same way, at no wake speed I am constantly making adjustments to steering. I have a little play in the OD but only a couple of degrees. It doesn't seem to matter about wind/current, in fact if I'm going across the current it seem to help. This is my first year boating so I have no answers for you but I am dealing with the same problem and thought maybe a second discription might help.

 

[redone4x4]

Re: Hold a heading?...is that possible?

the low speed wander is normal. Smarttabs will help eliminate about 75% of it. other than that, i know the ramp i load at really well, so i just aim for the left taillight of my truck, and it pretty much drifts over just about right on the trailer after its wander. check out the general boating section of this site, it pops up quite often. theres tons of good info on this site, just not alot in the bayliner section. there are alot of bayliner owners in the other sections though.

 

[sho3boater]

Re: Hold a heading?...is that possible?

Boats are like that, they float aimlessly when not under power and half aimlessly when barely under power like trolling speeds. About all you can do is get it close to straight and when it veers move the wheel 1-5 inches from center. Figure out how far you need to move it on your boat so it veers back on course slowly, then you can correct less often that way. You need to take wind and current into consideration, especially when docking or trailering. The slower you go the more they will affect the boat, you will have to turn into the wind/current slightly to arrive where you want to go. Also know how fast your boat slows, you can run up to a dock/trailer at a high idle and cut the power at the right time, you might need to in high winds. Also know how poorly your boat stops when you do this and reverse it, and know how bad it steers when you do that. I recommend you practice so you are familiar with it. It takes good timing and you need to know your boat. Also know the right depth to back your trailer into the water, be sure the trailer does not bite your boat if you miss, etc, and you will have a better time with your boat. They also steer worse with the drive up, another thing you should practice.