LAUNCHING THE BOAT TOMORROW!!!!

[Fat Tony]

Hi, thanks for the info on the twisting boat, as for the gas pedal I wanted to keep it , but the former owner must have been very short- and where he had it was so close to the seat and on an angle that I could not get my foot in , I had to put my foot on the top of the pedal- plus it didnt feel right. When I restore the boat I will make the correct mounting pad for it and move it foward. I wanted to take it out and this fix seemed to be the best answer at the time. So how do I stop the boat from chine walking (it starts at about 50-55 mph) ? I also would need to know how high the motor should sit? I have a hydraulic jack plate with a 7 inch set back on the boat. Could that be causing the chine walk? Also the top four holes in the water intake are blocked off, should the motor be raised so the cavatation plate on the motor be even with the bottom of the boat ? Any advise would great. Thanks

[jacklake2003]

The chine walking is normal. You will get better with seat time. Generally, chine walking is corrected by quick, short, timed inputs into the steering wheel, in the opposite direstion of pitch, at the exact moment the pitching begins. These inputs are sustained in a rhythmic pattern (roughly one per second) until the boat rides level; at which time it starts all over again. Atleast thats my experience.

That was the biggest shocker to me when I got my V-pad boat. I assumed it was just open it up and hang on. Oh no, take a lot of driver input. Enjoy, you'll get it.

[jacklake2003]

The chine walking is normal. You will get better with seat time. Generally, chine walking is corrected by quick, short, timed inputs into the steering wheel, in the opposite direstion of pitch, at the exact moment the pitching begins. These inputs are sustained in a rhythmic pattern (roughly one per second) until the boat rides level; at which time it starts all over again. Atleast thats my experience.

That was the biggest shocker to me when I got my V-pad boat. I assumed it was just open it up and hang on. Oh no, take a lot of driver input. Enjoy, you'll get it.

[idvette]

I'm still new at this myself, but I'll pass along what I've learned so far. For motor height, most guys are running about level with the pad, or within an inch above or below. The part you want to measure is the propshaft, not the cav plate. I don't have a water pressure guage, so I'm 1/2" below, where I know my motor's still picking up water. Do you have a low water pickup? If not experimenting with motor height might end up costly.....

As far as chine walking, that seems to be part setup, part driver. Have you seen the pad in the hull of your boat? It wants to balance on that pad to behave at speed. Anything that causes it to fall off to one side (wind, imbalanced boat, etc) will induce an oscillation, where the boat rocks from side to side, called chine walking. Get the boat dialed in as well as you can and just drive it. You'll start to get a feel for the boat on the pad, and eventually you will be able to feel the boat falling off, and correct with quick short steering inputs. My boat flies great up to about 65-70, but at that point my steering becomes useless, I need to replace it with a better setup. Take your time, enjoy the ride, stay active on the forum, you'll learn as you go!

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[braq]

Hello,

that is such great info for all of us bystanders and wannabe Hydrostream owners. Keep the updates coming and have fun with the boat,

cheers

braq

[transomstand]

Hi, thanks for the info on the twisting boat, as for the gas pedal I wanted to keep it , but the former owner must have been very short- and where he had it was so close to the seat and on an angle that I could not get my foot in , I had to put my foot on the top of the pedal- plus it didnt feel right. When I restore the boat I will make the correct mounting pad for it and move it foward. I wanted to take it out and this fix seemed to be the best answer at the time. So how do I stop the boat from chine walking (it starts at about 50-55 mph) ? I also would need to know how high the motor should sit? I have a hydraulic jack plate with a 7 inch set back on the boat. Could that be causing the chine walk? Also the top four holes in the water intake are blocked off, should the motor be raised so the cavatation plate on the motor be even with the bottom of the boat ? Any advise would great. Thanks

Motor is way, way too deep, and too much setback. 5" maximum.

[idvette]

X2, Raising my motor made a big difference. Now I'm thinking that it's a lot of weight to have that high above the boat. I guess that's where you get into expensive shorty mids, but is it a valid concern? Does it change the center of gravity that much?

[ Post made via BlackBerry ]

[Fat Tony]

First - thanks for all the advice- Idvette- I do not have a low water pickup- I saw some kits out there that you epoxy to the lower unit- do you think this is alright to use or do I have to buy a lower unit with the low water pick up? Also you make a reference to your steering is useless after 70 + mph, which steering do you have? I had teleflex cable when I got the boat but since I have changed to hydraulic- I tell you I dont like the way it feels- way too smooth, Jackplate 2003- thanks for the info on the chine walking- it seems that it takes alot to drive one of these boats at high speeds. I have looked at what I think is the pad (is it the section of the bottom of the boat in the middle about 6-8 inches wide?) also could I put trim tabs on the back to control the chine walk? Or is that a waste of time? Transom stand- i'm gathering motor way to deep means raise the motor up- you say the set back is too much- is there a way that I can use this set up? I really dont want to have to change the jack plate. Boy I tell you after I saw that you tube video with the green viper racing the rst I was sold . I thought I could do that! So I bought this boat boy what a let down. Dont get me wrong I love it . I did not think it would be this difficult to drive this thing- not to mention that using this boat on Long Island would be such a pain. But I guess if I can control this boat at a high speed in 1 1/2 to 2 foot waves, then using this boat on the south shore (where the water is always calm and thats where everybody else is) would be like a walk in the park. I am going to try the boat again on Sunday, hopefully I will be going faster. Thanks again for all the advice!! You guys are a great help.

[Fat Tony]

Hello,

that is such great info for all of us bystanders and wannabe Hydrostream owners. Keep the updates coming and have fun with the boat,

cheers

braq

Hi Braq , thanks for the best wishes! I forgot to mention when I was out yesterday there was a flat bottom jet boat out there he was out with his family, he spent about 70 % of the time out of the water, it was a site to see.

[transomstand]

First - thanks for all the advice- Idvette- I do not have a low water pickup- I saw some kits out there that you epoxy to the lower unit- do you think this is alright to use or do I have to buy a lower unit with the low water pick up? Also you make a reference to your steering is useless after 70 + mph, which steering do you have? I had teleflex cable when I got the boat but since I have changed to hydraulic- I tell you I dont like the way it feels- way too smooth, Jackplate 2003- thanks for the info on the chine walking- it seems that it takes alot to drive one of these boats at high speeds. I have looked at what I think is the pad (is it the section of the bottom of the boat in the middle about 6-8 inches wide?) also could I put trim tabs on the back to control the chine walk? Or is that a waste of time? Transom stand- i'm gathering motor way to deep means raise the motor up- you say the set back is too much- is there a way that I can use this set up? I really dont want to have to change the jack plate. Boy I tell you after I saw that you tube video with the green viper racing the rst I was sold . I thought I could do that! So I bought this boat boy what a let down. Dont get me wrong I love it . I did not think it would be this difficult to drive this thing- not to mention that using this boat on Long Island would be such a pain. But I guess if I can control this boat at a high speed in 1 1/2 to 2 foot waves, then using this boat on the south shore (where the water is always calm and thats where everybody else is) would be like a walk in the park. I am going to try the boat again on Sunday, hopefully I will be going faster. Thanks again for all the advice!! You guys are a great help.

As an example, you said your cavitation plate was even with the bottom. The center of my propshaft is currently 1/2" above the bottom of the pad, and has been as high as 1 1/2" above. Of course, that requires a low water pickup, but you should still be able to raise your propshaft up to about 2" below the pad.

I have some concerns about you running in the Sound. I ran out there for many years, and high speeds in everyday conditions are not sustainable. It's very hard on equipment, and the driver. Try and run in the early morning, and evening , when the water is calmer. Too easy during the day to catch a bad wave, and cause a "slow speed blowover". I've had mine launch straight up so fast, my mind couldn't comprehend what was happening, except to say "well, this is gonna suck", and get back down right side up through sheer luck. You need to develop feel for the boat, and that's hard to do when your getting your brains beat in.