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STILL FREAKIN CHINEWALKIN.....

R

riverbarron

New member
MY 79'PREDICTOR /W THE SUZUKI DT 140 STILL WALKS. I REPLACED THE OLD CABLE STEERING SYSTEM W/ A NEW HYDRAULIC SYSTEM. REPLACED THE RUBBER MOUNTS W/ CUSTOM MADE ALUMINUM UNITS- THIS HAS MADE THE MOST NOTICEABLE IMPROVEMENT SO FAR. RAISED THE ENGINE 1 NOTCH -1''. THE ENGINE FEELS DRUM TIGHT ON THE TRANSOM.AT FULL THROTTLE, FULL IN TRIM IT RUNS FLAT, 40MPH. AT 1/4 TO 1/2 TRIM OUT, 50MPH IT STARTS. IT DOESNT GET A CHANCE TO PORPOISE JUST STARTS WALKIN. WHATS THE NEXT STEP , THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO SO FAR GUYS...................
 
become one with the boat, anticipate the walk and learn to control it, seat time and learning to manage it. you can't just sit back and ride. drive that baby! :)

good luck
 
Yep...no substitute for seat time. When I was learning how to control chine walk, I started with making a huge gradual turn at speed. That way I was always correcting with the same input and in the same direction. I also learned how small of an input was required to keep it on the sweet spot. I was having trouble with oscillating back and forth over the sweet spot when I was trying to learn straight and fast right out of the gate...mostly due to over controlling, my inputs were too big and also not smooth enough. You'll pick up the turn pretty quick and then translate your new skill to straight. Before you know it...you'll be waving at the girls.
 
Seat time is a crutch for equipment not being up to snuff and it doesnt really fix anything. If your setup is right you won't have chine walk and you won't have to seat time your way out of it. I can go 75 MPH with one finger on the wheel and before I even have to start thinking about correcting steering or anything like that. At 60 MPH I can let go of the wheel and cruise all day. It didnt use to be like that. I didnt seat time my way out of it. I fixed my way out of it.

Heres a few things to look for.

1. Get that motor up high. As high as you can get it and maintain water pressure. If you cant maintain pressure get some side scoops on it of better yet put a nose cone and LWPU. Forget what people say about nose cones making the boat slower . Thats a bunch of crap. The nosecone lets you get the motor up high and reduce the drag.

2. If you dont have a torque tab on the skeg, get one. This should be the #1 mod you try at this point. Lose the adjustable one over the prop.

3. Don't try to trim your way to speed. Going over neutral trim pushes the back of the boat down and creates handling problems.

4. Get a good bow lifting prop. If you can get it up to surface even better.

5. Lay a straight edge under your pad. If its not straight as a board sand that sucker down with coarse paper and put a layer of marine filler on it and board it perfectly straight. Makes a hell of a difference.
 
wired said:
Seat time is a crutch for equipment not being up to snuff and it doesnt really fix anything. If your setup is right you won't have chine walk and you won't have to seat time your way out of it. I can go 75 MPH with one finger on the wheel and before I even have to start thinking about correcting steering or anything like that. At 60 MPH I can let go of the wheel and cruise all day. It didnt use to be like that. I didnt seat time my way out of it. I fixed my way out of it.

Heres a few things to look for.

1. Get that motor up high. As high as you can get it and maintain water pressure. If you cant maintain pressure get some side scoops on it of better yet put a nose cone and LWPU. Forget what people say about nose cones making the boat slower . Thats a bunch of crap. The nosecone lets you get the motor up high and reduce the drag.

2. If you dont have a torque tab on the skeg, get one. This should be the #1 mod you try at this point. Lose the adjustable one over the prop.

3. Don't try to trim your way to speed. Going over neutral trim pushes the back of the boat down and creates handling problems.

4. Get a good bow lifting prop. If you can get it up to surface even better.

5. Lay a straight edge under your pad. If its not straight as a board sand that sucker down with coarse paper and put a layer of marine filler on it and board it perfectly straight. Makes a hell of a difference.
Click to expand...

All great points there Wired, but it's a bit of a wide brush to paint with. My boat doesn't have a hint of chine walk with me driving it and I consider it well set up. I didn't think it had any walk in it, until I gave a buddy the wheel who doesn't have a pad boat, wow, I guess those steering inputs I give it I don't even realize I'm doing. Because with an unfamiliar driver it's almost undriveable over 65. I get your point but I don't care how well set up your boat is if you put a newb behind the wheel they won't even get close to top end. I don't think seat time is a crutch. Wheeling a pad boat is like riding a bike, once you get it you don't even realize your doing it! All great points in any event.
 
kushog said:
All great points there Wired, but it's a bit of a wide brush to paint with. My boat doesn't have a hint of chine walk with me driving it and I consider it well set up. I didn't think it had any walk in it, until I gave a buddy the wheel who doesn't have a pad boat, wow, I guess those steering inputs I give it I don't even realize I'm doing. Because with an unfamiliar driver it's almost undriveable over 65. I get your point but I don't care how well set up your boat is if you put a newb behind the wheel they won't even get close to top end. I don't think seat time is a crutch. Wheeling a pad boat is like riding a bike, once you get it you don't even realize your doing it! All great points in any event.
Click to expand...

Well said, cause if it was only about set up, I would have won the NASCAR race today:rof:
 
Props can make a big difference also. Try as many as you can find. Walking at 50 mph is premature, something is way wrong.

And keep you gas tank FULL. The extra weight in back will help you learn to drive it.
 
kushog said:
All great points there Wired, but it's a bit of a wide brush to paint with. My boat doesn't have a hint of chine walk with me driving it and I consider it well set up. I didn't think it had any walk in it, until I gave a buddy the wheel who doesn't have a pad boat, wow, I guess those steering inputs I give it I don't even realize I'm doing. Because with an unfamiliar driver it's almost undriveable over 65. I get your point but I don't care how well set up your boat is if you put a newb behind the wheel they won't even get close to top end. I don't think seat time is a crutch. Wheeling a pad boat is like riding a bike, once you get it you don't even realize your doing it! All great points in any event.
Click to expand...


Took mine out today for a tankful o'fun. started at 55 MPH and ran it up to 72 MPH and back down to 50 MPH over the course of about a mile WITH HANDS OFF THE STEERING WHEEL !!! Unless I'm willing the chinewalk away it doesnt have any and it used to have huge scary chinewalk where I thought I was going to die at 60 MPH. Proper setup is everything.
 
wired said:
Took mine out today for a tankful o'fun. started at 55 MPH and ran it up to 72 MPH and back down to 50 MPH over the course of about a mile WITH HANDS OFF THE STEERING WHEEL !!! Unless I'm willing the chinewalk away it doesnt have any and it used to have huge scary chinewalk where I thought I was going to die at 60 MPH. Proper setup is everything.
Click to expand...

Got a video of that?:bigthumb:
 
boatman4021 said:
Got a video of that?:bigthumb:
Click to expand...

I actually thought about that today but then I realized I'm using my cell phone for the GPS and I would be "filming" it with the same cell phone so it wouldnt have worked. Not a lot of forethought went into the experiment :).
 
One other thing to consider (not that you will want to cause it is the hardest thing in your setup to change almost) is gear case design in general. There are not may suzuki's in the performance world to know how there cases handle different setups. But even if you add a cone the case may not react to different props or heights or even the boat the same as a merc case or other brand case. I know that my yammy case likes a different setup than a merc case.. Wired's boat runs very strong and very strait and true by his descriptions but he has found the sweet spot in setup that may not be possible in your boat. Every boat (even ones out of the exact same mold) is slightly different. Wired did not come up with his setup overnight or by accident! He has built that boat over may years of trial and error! My last 2 pad boats had no chine walk under normal operation with me running them. But with different trim input than normal at different speeds both boats would walk.. The Enforcer i have now does not walk at all normally but if i am under 50mph and put even neutral trim without any negative tab with will ether porpus or walk depending on water conditions. Setup is key! Seat time its what it takes to turn the Key!
 
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