Boat Tilting

[majed1965]

Hi,

I have a 15ft V150 Nautiglass Cuddy Cab. Hull and outboard are in excellent condition.

I am only new to boating. Took my kids out for the 2nd time today on Georges River. A bit of wind and water a bit choppy.

Boat was quick getting up on the plane. It would lift a lot from the front, so i trimmed it a bit.
When the water is calm, it runs steady as a rock.

I am having trouble keeping it level when i am cruising along when there are waves or other boats beside me. The boat seems to lean to one side. I slow down cause i am worried about tipping over.

This is annoying as i then have to get the boat back on the plane. This happenned all day.
Maybe i am not controlling the boat right or am a bit scared of tipping over. Or maybe i am not hitting the water correctly or something else? Please assist....Thanks.

I did experiment with the trim, same thing. The load was evenly shared along the boat. It seemed to tilt to the right side. I checked the tilt setting at the engine, it it was set at the last notch towards the boat. Not sure if this is correct, but this is how it was when i bought it.

[trueblue]

Was going to comment, but someone will only take the p!ss out of what I reckon...

[Ninja]

The boat could be leaning into te lee side of the wind, the weight could mabey be adjusted around the boat better or perhaps it's just the normal rock from the chop or other boats wake. Either way....you'd have to lean bloody far over to worry about tipping. Being 15'......trim tabs shouldn't be required....just try moving some of the weight to the other side?

[seabug]

My V150 did the same thing when new.

SCARY.

I had an 85hp Mercury motor with the rainbow hockey stick paint on the cowl.

I ended up putting wedges between the motor and the transom.

Never had the trouble after that.

Definately not caused by wind.

I made the wedges out of close grained hardwood.
Took out the top 2 bolts and loosened the bottom bolts untill the gap at the top was abouit 15-18mm
Made sure the wedges were a snug fit and marked the holes by tapping a bolt through the motor mount onto the wood.
Remove the wood,drill holes,and then insert wedges and make sure all bolts are tightened.

Take it carefully for a bit untill you get used to it.


Worked for me.
Regards
Seabug

[seabug]

My V150 did the same thing when new.

SCARY.

I had an 85hp Mercury motor with the rainbow hockey stick paint on the cowl.

I ended up putting wedges between the motor and the transom.

Never had the trouble after that.

Definately not caused by wind.

I made the wedges out of close grained hardwood.
Took out the top 2 bolts and loosened the bottom bolts untill the gap at the top was abouit 15-18mm
Made sure the wedges were a snug fit and marked the holes by tapping a bolt through the motor mount onto the wood.
Remove the wood,drill holes,and then insert wedges and make sure all bolts are tightened.

Take it carefully for a bit untill you get used to it.


Worked for me.
Regards
Seabug

Hi majed
This article may help you.
Regards
Seabug

Chinewalking, what is it? - by Jeff Bristow
Can it be cured? Chinewalk happens when the boat has the ability to run with little wetted surface. The boat is trying to run on a small pad, once it falls off this pad, it falls to one side then bounces over to the other side. Hence chinewalking! If you own a boat that chinewalks, first look at your setup. Make sure that you have NO slack in your steering; this will promote chinewalk. Look at your jackplate - is it of good design? Is it cross braced well? A poorly made jackplate will flex, promoting chinewalk. If you are running an older motor, take a look at the rubber motor mounts; they wear with time, again promoting chinewalk. The loading of weight also plays a big role. While sitting in the water while you are in the driver's seat, have a buddy look and see if your boat sits level at rest. If it does not, move weight around until it does. My best tip on chinewalk is: CONTROL IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS! That sounds silly, I know. It's like riding a bike; how do you tell someone how to keep his or her balance? Here is what helped me learn to drive a 2.4 200 HP XB2002 Allison.
It had every setup problem that I listed above, but this is how I learned.
Drive your boat 5 mph under where it starts walking with little trim. Increase your speed by 5 mph or so. As speed increases you will feel the bow want to push into the water - this is where you want to bump the trim up to keep the nose from plowing. Play around with the trim at these speeds, once you're comfortable with it, increase your speed slightly and manipulate the trim accordingly.
At some point the boat will start to feel light - it is climbing up on the pad.
Once it starts feeling light it may want to chinewalk. If you hold the steering wheel in about a 1 or 2 degree sweeping corner, it will help balance the boat. The biggest mistake is jerking the steering wheel. It is more like a twitch! If the right side starts to fall, twitch it to the left. Over-steering will promote chinewalk. Drive around at these speeds and play with the trim.
Once you are comfortable with it, increase your speed and adjust trim angle accordingly.
DO NOT TRY TO DRIVE THROUGH CHINEWALK!! Get comfortable with it at a slower speed. It is true; once you have reached top speed the chinewalk will lessen. A major factor in chinewalk is the torque of the prop and motor. This is why it is important to increase speeds slowly and gradually. At top speed the torque will lessen because the motor/prop is no longer trying to gain speed, but just maintaining it.
DO NOT OVERTRIM! I know it looks cool with the bow flying 3 feet out of the water, but let's think about it. Picture the front edge of the running pad as a fulcrum point of a teeter totter. The higher you trim the bow, the deeper the rear of the pad and gearcase go into the water. Not only are you promoting chinewalk, but you are also scrubbing off speed as well!
Going fast is fun, but you have to know how to turn, take boat wakes, and slow down too!
You never hear advice about this. It is much more important than just going fast!
This will apply more to Allisons and other lighter, faster boats. ALWAYS bump the trim down before you let off the gas! A couple of things are working against you when you come off the gas; when you suddenly let off the gas you will get torque steer on the steering wheel in the opposite direction that you get while accelerating. If the gas is suddenly let off, the bow may come down crooked into the water - you may experience bow hook in a very mild manner or one so severe that it can throw you or passengers from the boat! Trim the bow down, then ease off the throttle. By not doing so you are setting yourself up for a bow hook. This is a good practice for any boat that is capable of chinewalking!
While crossing wakes, try to hit them straight on, trim down and let the "V" of the boat work for you. While cornering, also trim down and lose some speed. Going fast is fun only if you can do it safely, without putting anyone else at harm!
Always wear your lifejacket and please, hook the kill switch up. In my opinion, a boat that is capable of walking NEEDS a foot throttle and tilt/trim on the wheel, so you will hever have to drive it with just one hand! Be safe.
I am not a pro, or claim to be one, but if I can help you, I will try!
CONTROL IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS !!!
JEFF BRISTOW Allison XB2002 - 2.5 260 HP EFI jbristow260hp@home.com

* Click thumbnails for larger photos

[Roughasguts]

Majed have you got a foil on the leg of your out board. If so that may be the cause of it, that and any free play in your steering.

Foils can be dangerous for the un initiated, but they also have there good points, just have to be aware of there limitations.

[finga]

Thanks for the info seabug but I think old matey is talking about listing not chine walking.
For clarification Majed, does the boat tilt one way then the other like a shaking or does it lean over and stay over??

[majed1965]

It seems to lean over back and forth. I think i may have to hit the wave head on.
When a boat passes by, the wave sways the boat back and forth.

And i dont have foils fitted.

[Roughasguts]

Yes boats will rock from side to side, ain't no stopping that, you will get use to it.

Or if side on, steer slightly in to the wave, and then slightly away from the wave as your passing it. You can use the steering to slightly help with the balance of the boat.

[seabug]

"Yes boats will rock from side to side, ain't no stopping that, you will get use to it."

That is the worst type of BS that I have seen on Ausfish.

I had a boat the same as majed's from new for 27 years.

It behaved the same as majed's

The wedges fixed it.

While the information given on this site is often helpfull it is not helpfull to insist on "guessing" what the solution may be.

In this case it is downright dangerous.

On another thread it was suggested that majed lift the bow of the boat.
This could have caused it to lose control.

The article that I posted from the BASSBOATS website included one written by the specialist for TRITON boats.

But I suppose some people do not bother to read facts.

Regards
Seabug

[finga]

I suppose it depends on the severity of the rocking if it's normal or abnormal.
How far over does it go from horizonal and how many 'shakes' does it do??
Does it continue to do the shakes no matter how far you go or does it stop naturally??
If the shakes continue no matter how far you go it's a problem.
If your uncomphy about the shaking it's a problem that needs sorting (either the boat or yourself, don't know which).
Don't get me wrong there. Sometimes what seems unnatural is quite normal and unless you know otherwise you naturally and normally assume the worst.
You say the load is spread evenly along the boat. How about across the boat??
PS. Up the Georges' is a really nice spot to do your boating.

[Roughasguts]

Sea bug obviously you have a crystal ball and know exactly what majed means by rocking side to side. As for the my BS advice I can only interperate what I read, and seeing as majed is new to boats, I just expected inexperiance has something to do with comming across his first wave or two.

As for the wedges I still think you have one firmly jammed somwhere, even though you no longer have the boat.

Majed look to see if you have wedges, that might be causing it.

[seabug]

Hi Majed
I have told you how I fixed the same problen in the same boat.

If you need any further info I would suggest you email this chap who has offered his advice.


I am not a pro, or claim to be one, but if I can help you, I will try!
CONTROL IT BEFORE IT HAPPENS !!!
JEFF BRISTOW Allison XB2002 - 2.5 260 HP EFI jbristow260hp@home.com

Regards
seabug

[finga]

Oh boy
Forget about the slinging match fellas and try and help old matey with this, maybe potentially, dangerous situation.
Ask more questions to get a clear view of what is actually happening before any remedies can are given.

[Roughasguts]

Your spot on the money there finga, we do need more information before we jump to conclusions. I am only reading between the lines St Goerges river ain't that wide and I wouldn't expect majed, to be travelling at warp factor 9 just yet.
Okay WOT, Just on planning speed I expect.

So Majed what speed are we taking here.
How many bods on board.

And is your motor loose in the steering bushes, and how much free play between the motor and your steering.

What i'm getting at is, if the motor can turn left and right an inch or two with the steering wheel held tight.
If it does then you might experiance something close to a chine walk at slower speeds once you hit a wave on the side, Yaw, followed by roll, you counteract and it may start again untill the wave has disapeared.
I know it may sound BS, put for every primary effect there is a secondary effect.

Possibly all you need to do is replace the steering cable, and have no free play in it, so the motor holds steady.