Low speed steering

[TAHOE is for sale]

I have a 2006 19ft Tahoe Q4 with a v6 io  at trolling speed I have to be constantly turning the steering wheel to keep it straight. How do I stop that 

[Bozeman Bob]

If it's a I/O the best thing you can do is put as much weight in the bow area along with removing as much from the stern. One  battery at 50 lbs would be a 100 lb difference if moved up front.  You might have/want to put sand bags up front. The I/Os have a natural tendency to wander ,mostly because of all the weight in the stern area . That creates bow lift which takes the deep V of the hull out of the picture. The deep V in the bow helps steer it -tracking straight at trolling speeds. It may still wander a bit after that and sometimes the best thing to do if it wanders is to wait and see if it comes back to the course you were on before making constant over corrections.

Edited February 17, 2019 by Bozeman Bob

[sherman brown]

yeah it sounds like you might be over correcting. I trolled for yrs with an I/0 before getting auto pilot. you do have to stay alert and not let the bow get to far over before making a small correction then wait to see if it was enough. try to always troll with the wind or at a angle with the wind. trolling against the wind is just asking for steering problems.

 

I once fished by myself in pretty rough water. I angled the boat with the wind, tied a 6v flashlight to the bottom of the steering wheel. and it did most of the steering for me. I only had to adjust once in a while.

[guffins fisherman]

If you are running trolling bags, shorten up the lead lines, putting them closer to the bow. That will help with the steering, and put weight up front. I know a guy that wrapped a sand bag or two in a contractor garbage bag and put it in the anchor locker to keep his bow down.

[Frogger]

Is this style boat a ski boat type? Just wondering if your plagued with this problem because of it. Not to say you can’t help the issue with the suggestions.... also does it have hydraulic steering on it?


Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[rolmops]

The steering problems with my I/O went away when I started using otter boats. With the pull that they provide on each side the boat can go nowhere but straight.

[Jack]

Sounds like deep v wander. Any boat I had with a fair amount of dead rise tend to wander at slow speeds. Only seems bad in close quarters , when I’m trolling in the lake I don’t notice it as much because it will correct it self without much correction at the wheel.