Driving the Boat

[ifishy]

its always fun in my little starcraft if the person driving isnt paying attention and you switch sides of theboat while setting it can make the thing turn and if there is a bit of wind you actully troll at a 45 degree angle to the direction the boat is pointing so the lines look like your doing circles and if your nnt used to it you will forever be trying to correct when your already straight.  because I know this i have a lot of paitence for whoever is driving while i set but sometimes it is fun to tell them to look at the lines and make them straighten out

[kingslamon22]

i know this post is old but its brings up some good points that you the experienced fishers have already spoken.  i have to bite on this subject to sum it all up, experienced drivers dont just keep the boat straight.  also experienced drivers dont need visual focal points to aim for as well as compensating the simple physics of the "boat walk".  compensating for boat walk expecting instantaeous results will do nothing but frustrate you like your kids on a cell phone while there supposed to be raking leaves as well as wear out your steering components faster than normal, but it takes many hours to uderstand how much compensation is too much.  beginners beware.  this cant be taught.  conceps can be taught but situation dictates all actions on a boat.  nor can line direction and current compensation be taught.  only understood and situations dictate action.  these concepts need to be understood.  PAP, you say your boat doesnt do "the walk"  because of tight steering linkage but that is not the case.  if your boat really lacks the walk, you must be fishing flat water and have twin engines on your vessel that are perfectly syncronized with a vacume gauge at the same rpm which would require your engines be built in the same garage by the same guy at the same time with the same core parts. if that is not the case, you have "boat walk" plain and simple.  driving a boat and fishing at a troll are different.  as mentioned BY THE PROS HERE, there is no substitute for experience and some people can be taught to understand a few things but withought the knowledge and experience of the physics of water hydraulics and experience at the helm you got no chance of wiggleing your worm with a boat. 

Edited October 14, 2013 by kingslamon22

[Steve.e]

Since we are on the subject, I have a starcraft islander 191 that steers like a drunk sailor in pretty much all waves over 1 ft. Wind need not be present either. Any other starcraft islander owners have this same issue? Is it just the lightness and hull design? ie. nature of the beast? She just walks right to left constantly.

[Big Dave]

I think you may be over-thinking it.

 

Trolling is kind of a no-brainer, isn't it?

 

You're not stalking a fish feeding in clear shallow water, trying to get a drag-free drift with an exact imitation of the 4mm long insect that it's choosing to feed on that particular hour, which is what fly fishers face.

 

The electronics do all the work, and you don't even have to set the hook!

 

If you have people willing to sit and steer a boat, which is about the most boring thing in the world, why don't you just let them do it and quit worrying about trifles???

You  are stalking a feeding fish, except its in deeper water.   You have to watch the current so the speed is right , some lures work at different speeds .  You have to match the hatch if they are feeding on 3" bait 6" spoons or plugs won't work. And you are doing this with a bunch of rods not just one! 

  The speed , direction, depth , speed at the bait are all what the "driver" has to keep track off.  Not only what is out on the lake in front of you,  like weed clumps , sticks , and the other boaters.  Steering is far from boring if your doing it right.

[Xxx]

i know this post is old but its brings up some good points that you the experienced fishers have already spoken.  i have to bite on this subject to sum it all up, experienced drivers dont just keep the boat straight.  also experienced drivers dont need visual focal points to aim for as well as compensating the simple physics of the "boat walk".  compensating for boat walk expecting instantaeous results will do nothing but frustrate you like your kids on a cell phone while there supposed to be raking leaves as well as wear out your steering components faster than normal, but it takes many hours to uderstand how much compensation is too much.  beginners beware.  this cant be taught.  conceps can be taught but situation dictates all actions on a boat.  nor can line direction and current compensation be taught.  only understood and situations dictate action.  these concepts need to be understood.  PAP, you say your boat doesnt do "the walk"  because of tight steering linkage but that is not the case.  if your boat really lacks the walk, you must be fishing flat water and have twin engines on your vessel that are perfectly syncronized with a vacume gauge at the same rpm which would require your engines be built in the same garage by the same guy at the same time with the same core parts. if that is not the case, you have "boat walk" plain and simple.  driving a boat and fishing at a troll are different.  as mentioned BY THE PROS HERE, there is no substitute for experience and some people can be taught to understand a few things but withought the knowledge and experience of the physics of water hydraulics and experience at the helm you got no chance of wiggleing your worm with a boat. 

Kingslamon22 I was referring to the steering linkage, as he said his boat wheel turns a 1/4 turn before anything happens, OF course I got boat wander, I even made a post what to about it mines bad, I was told to add sea bags mid ship to pull the bow into the water more, as my engine weight makes the boat sit transom heavy and therefore bow light and tough to control. That's what I was getting at sorry for any misunderstanding. PAP