Chine walk

Anyone ever chine walk in a Skeeter 1999 or newer... I've been in boats the would walk all over the place at 70mph.. What cause's it, and how do you drive through it, or do you ? Is it wise for some of these younger guys to drive through it with lesser experience ?

Nope! FX 21 is prolly the smoothest boat Ive driven over 70 mph.

You do not drive through chine walk. Its just something you learn to control and adjust to as needed. Its easier to show how to handle it then to type it all out. When I had my bullet for instance I felt like when I had it opened up I was always making small corrections to the left with my steering wheel to keep it up and balanced. It really becomes second nature with seat time.

If you're chine walking in a skeeter, then your plate is probably too low and you're getting a ton of bow lift.

That is exactly what I do. As the boat tries to fall off to the right I make small corrections to the left. It is completely instinctual now, I don't even think about it.

Only boat I've ever driven that wanted to chine walk was my tourney partner's old Triton. Billy - call Gary Dobyns and ask him about chine walking. He says if you aren't chine walking then you aren't driving the boat hard enough.

I'm not Chine walking my Skeeter, just wondering if you can get it fast enough !!!!!!!!! to happen.. I know a few people that have flashed or chipped there motors to boost hp..
On the subject of driving through it, I've read where people claim to do it, I'm clueless on that, just thought I'd bring the subject up to help understand the situation as it can happen at high speeds. And, can be very dangerous...

My little Javelin will walk at WOT and trimmed up. I just bump the trim down a hair and it stops. I lose about 3 MPH is all and it feels much safer to drive.

I think Billy is making a comparison of boats from factory with no tweeks to them. Say, like my Phoenix compared to a Skeeter. The FX at 72 I can drive with one finger drinking coffee. The Phoenix at 72 is like riding Foo Man Chu! You have to drive it to keep her steady.

Gotcha. My V-20 is so smooth at top speed it has a cruise control button............too bad they aren't gonna make any more of them.

All V-hull bass boats chine, some start at around 63 / 65 mph (Triton) and some start around 70 MPH. Most people know nothing about controlling the chine because they don't have a boat capable of reaching a speed for it to start in the first place. Many of the people who do have a boat capable of reaching these speeds choose to back off as soon as it begins to chine instead of learning how to control it and get the most speed and performance out of their boat.

If you want to learn how to control it, have someone who knows how ride with you and teach you. Once you learn, it's like second nature and you don't even think about it anymore. Just like riding a bike for the first time, trying to get your balance, once you learn .... well it's like riding a bike!

You control chine, you do not drive through it, there's no such thing. I would not suggest anyone try to "drive through" the chine because if you can't control it, it only gets worse the faster you try to go.

I had a triton about 15 years ago that had the worse chine walk once you hit roughly 50 mph. You had to drive through it or drive with it.
The trick was once it started to walk (port side) you had immediately snap the steering wheel slightly towards to the left or side it started.
You basically got into a rhythm of continously snapping the wheel about a inch to the left as you ran down the lake. Once you get the feel for it you never really think about it. I got rid of that boat and never have had one chine walk again.

So true, raise the motor. Driving thru chine walk just means you've learned how to drive a boat. I learned driving Skeeters and Stratos. I've since had over a half dozen Tritons, and have never once had trouble driving one. My current one is an HP21 with a 250. This boat will fly, but you have to drive it.

Yeah, I like to drink my coffee while driving down the lake at 72. Y'all can have those "drive it" boats.

What boat are you running and what size motor is it?

Good read on chine walk.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/basscato...816.html#p21463

05 ZX225. My father has a ZX250 with a 300 that runs 74-76 with one finger on the wheel.

I've been mid 70s in a ZX 21, absolutely no chining. I've been in a triton that was chining bad at 65.

I had a buddy that had a 2000 22' Gambler that would chine like crazy when you got upper 70s and up.

I had a 2001 Gambler Intimidator that would not chine at all, up to 82. I used to wave at people with both hands at 77-78 when I passed them. They changed the hull that year. The only time I really did try to get top speed, the entire boat "slipped" to the side at about 83, just a little but enough to scare me to death. I nearly filled my pants. Checked around on scaryfast.com and those guys called it "crabbing". They said nosecone inconsistencies at high speeds can cause a void on one side of the gear case and the prop will slip, torque takes over and with not much boat in the water it's a bad deal. They said it usually happens right before you go into a hook/spin/flip whatever. All I know is that was the last day I did that.

71 in my current boat is plenty fast for me now.

That boat should run 80 or better with 1 hand on the wheel.

A 300hpdi really isn't much faster than a 250. I'm sure a 300 Merc would be faster.

I drive a Ranger. It won’t go fast enough to worry about chine walk. I’m ok with that.

I just got rid of my Allison. Loved the boat was just ready for a change of pace. I realized when I let someone else test drive it just how important seat time is. Small corrections to the left is how you control that. As you get more comfortable it just become second nature.

IMO....these boat brands that are known to Chine Walk, and you buy it, it's like dating a Stripper, living on the dangerous edge... No thanks, I'll take Suzy home maker, she's steady, predictable, and safe..

I have a Triton that will run 80, it has a little wiggle to it but not bad at all, I had another Triton that would run 81, it drove like it was on rails. I found out that a Triton will walk really bad if the engine is setting too low in the water, most of them like the prop to be 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 inches below pad.

I have a Javelin and it's all over the place at 60mph.

I am not sure what chine walk is but it definitely moves around.

I can drink coffee at 72, but when you want to go over 75 you have to drive.

I'm going to "chine" in. For you chine walkers, the price of gas is getting pretty high. Think about your mileage the next time you are driving at 72 with one finger getting the most speed and performance out of your boat. You can start by going one thousand one dollar, one thousand two dollar etc.

Not sure what your point was here but I agree that the "chine walkers" are getting really bad mileage. People who control chine are
getting the best mileage. I also believe that the "chine walkers" running at their "safe maximum speed" and the chine controllers
running at their peak possible speed both could give a rats azz how much gas cost.

Oh, I guess I was being a smarty pants. I have a boat that doesn't chine walk at 72. But I rarely run at high speed. I know the motor drinks gas at full or almost full throttle so I back off. I'm retired and I live on a fixed income.

I feel chine walking is a boat at about the limit of control. I wonder if anyone on the board consistently drives at such a high speed that they chine walk down the lake??

LOL, Exactly if your looking for fuel mileage get the 17' Tracker with the 40HP 4 stroke not the 21' Skeeter with the 300hp, On days like Saturday morning when that lake surface looked like a sheet of glass I sure miss my old chine walking Triton

After reading this thread, it sounds as if many do ...

If the conditions allow it I do every time I'm on the lake.

You're retired, you have all the time it the world to fish. I work 6 days a week. Most of my fishing is between 6:30pm and dark after I get off work. I'm going to do everything I can to maximize my fishing time. Running 80 is part of it.

Two of the four lakes that I regularly fish have "all watercraft 35mph max" signs at the ramps. No chine walking in those lakes. Lol. But, then again, my boat only runs 62mph light and empty on the GPS....so I don't think a 19' is ever gonna chime walk at that speed.


I think my truck chine walks though.

Anybody that suggests you drive through it, never made it over the mountain top themselves. No such thing as driving through it. But once you learn how not to chine walk while driving a particular boat, you don’t chine walk while driving at those speeds. It feels just as smooth as those who are in boats that don’t walk. Most boats that have to be driven to attain max speed were designed that way - that’s why most of those have 80+ potential. My previous boat was a Basscat Puma and right about 72-74, the driver had to get involved. My best was 81.6, but I drove it everywhere 75-78. It was not walking at those speeds, but it would. My current boat is Charger 496. Max speed is about 73-74 and I could let go with both hands. I don’t feel more safe or stable in the Charger at 72, just less lift and missing that last gear - yours to use if you want to. And better mpg at 60-70 because you get there with less rpm’s. BassCat could build a Puma that doesn’t walk, but that design wouldn’t go 82. And Charger could build a 496 that could run with the Puma, but then it wouldn’t do the things it is designed for. There’s a reason and an offset for everything in the hull designs. Different boats for different people.

Yes, driving the boat to that point is on the edge and yes, people do it all the time. Some people make it look really easy too.

I see this all the time. Retired people saying they live on a fixed income. I work 5 days a week on straight salary. How is that any different than you. My check is the same every time just like yours. But i run my boat balls out.

I've taught a couple dozen guys how to drive their boats "at the limit" as recently as last Thursday at Fork. A buddy of mine bought a 20' Bullet with a Merc 300. He is comfortable driving the boat to about 70. I drove the boat to 101 on GPS. His boat is capable of about 110 but not with the prop he was running last Thurs.

Chine walking begins to occur as the hull lifts free of the water's surface. You are literally balancing the entire boat on a small "pad" about one foot wide and a couple feet long. To add to that, you have steering torque from the propeller trying to force the motor to turn to the side. The analogy of balancing and learning to ride a bicycle is a good one. However, in a boat, your running surface is ever changing. Imagine riding your bicycle on a road that has potholes a foot deep as your pedal about 80 mph. LOL

Trim is your friend when learning how to drive a boat at its maximum speed. If your boat is chine walking at 70, trim it down a bit until the chine stops. This brings more of the hull down into the water and will reduce or eliminate the chine walk. It also reduces your speed at the same time. This is the trade-off.

One of my best friends had a new BassCat Pantera with a Merc 200 that he swore had the motor mounted off-center because he couldn't drive it wide open fully trimmed. I met him at Joe Pool and made one pass about 3/4 throttle then turned around and let er rip. I drove it one handed at WOT & full trim. His eyes looked like silver dollars as we ran back to the ramp. It took him the rest of the summer to learn how to drive his boat at max speed but he did it.

I am happy to meet any of you at the lake and show you in person how to drive your boat if you would like me to. PM me and we'll set up a time.

Billy,

In 1977 my buddy bought a brand new Skeeter Starfire 175 and put a Yamaha 220 on it. City Marine in Sulfur Springs sold him the rig. Since it was rated for a max of 175 HP, they told him they could Not mount the 220 on it. So they got everything ready and set the motor on the transom then called him and had him push the 4 bolts mounting the Big Yam into place and tighten the nuts. That way, they "didn't mount the motor." The owner did it.

That boat would fly and Yes it chine walked all over the lake. He would run down the lake knocking all the water out of it then turn around and do it all over again.

I was running a new '74 Ranger TR-10 rated for 85 HP with a Johnson 135 on back. I had put 85 HP decals on it so lots of folks thought they got outrun by an 85 Johnrude!

Since my bud's Starfire would run off from my Ranger like I was tied to a stump I had to do something.

I sold my Ranger to another buddy and bought a new 1978 HydraSport 168 Vee rated for 115 HP and put a brand new 235 Evinrude on it. That boat was 17 feet long and had the biggest V6 outboard made on back of it. It would run a LEGIT 85 mph in 1978. That boat was a handful to drive and took me all summer to learn how but I lived thru it.

My dad's zx190 will with the prop he has on it. It will pick the bow up until it freakishly high. I like it but he doesn't lol. It's not some speed demon but that prop has more lift than any other prop I've ever ran

This is what a bass boat looks like when it is running on the ragged edge and flying. The inexperienced boater would drive one of these boats and say, "It chine-walked like crazy" but to an experienced vee bottom boat driver, it was running like it should.

*Driver participation required.

Ken that is some good info, lots of folks do not understand what running on the pad means, if you want to run 75 plus you most likely will need to know how to drive a boat, for most boaters running that fast it is second nature on how to keep the boat balanced on the pad, sure is fun when you figure it out.

Stratos 201/225 'Rude we used to have chine walked at 72mph.

I was 15 and running that boat WOT. Just kind of a second nature to me driving boats so I just learned to control the chine walk. It can get a bit sketchy but it's doable

Didn't read all the replies. But my zx250 would. Motor was set too low. Iirc it was at 4.5 below pad. Moved to 3.5. Picked up a couple hundred rpm, a few mph, and no walk.

That phenomenon is known as Prop Blowout in the world of go-fast vee bottoms. Basically you are running fast enough that the lower unit cannot supply water to the prop to keep it hooked up. Look at the Merc Sportmaster LU's and you can see how Merc has addressed the issue.

Prop blowout was a common thing back in the late 70's and into the 80's. When the prop turned loose on my HydraSport it was violent. It normally occurred as you got the boat strung out and flying then you encountered a boat wake. This would disturb the flow of water to the prop enough to cause it to lose bite for just a split second. The bow would suddenly drop and the boat would hook HARD to the left. You would do an 85 mph donut in about 2 lengths of the boat. The first time it happened to me at Lavon I could not believe the boat stayed upright. Good times! LOL

On my old HydraSport we bought a nose cone kit and used Marine-Tex to attach it to the LU. It made the LU more streamlined and also allowed you to run the motor at much higher transom levels to reduce the drag of the LU.

That kit also came with a low water pickup that was ugly as all get out but kept the motor cool at elevated transom levels.

Here's a pic I dug up.

Drive to prevent chine walk. If it starts, throttle back and start over because you're doing it wrong. Seat time is the only way to get better. Once you learn how to properly drive a rig it's like riding a bike. A 20 minute lesson from someone who knows what they're doing will save you years of frustration in time and money.

SHO's get better fuel mileage over 5000 RPM's.

I really liked that Bass killesterday thread from a few days ago. I figured if I yanked some chains I could get the Chine Walk participants to expand the thread. I am a bit of a troublemaker but in a good sense. It won't get to nine pages but you guys don't disappoint. And apparently you are some crazy bass boat drivers. I like to go fast sometimes just like you do. I live on Lake Tyler and I look forward to watching you guys drive by at 80+ mph. My 21 foot Skeeter doesn't go much above 72. I need to lose a few pounds!

Good stuff right there..
Ken that bullet w/300 Merc you had when we fished Media/JCO on Fork was a 20' footer. How fast was that boat, I remember you'd dang near swamp it if you stopped to fast... LOL.... That boat was fast...

Oh, in 1977 we were both fresh out of high school... Boats have been in our blood since birth I think ...lol

My last Bullet with the ChemCal wrap was a 21' 10" boat with the Merc 300. It was the slow one (ask Sinkey) She would only run 88 loaded with me & Dustin.

It was the boat before that was the 20 footer with the Merc 300. That boat would run 94 loaded to fish and 103 empty.

And you are correct, 1977 was my graduation year.

Ask me what?

Ask you if you had to replace the screws holding the Hotfoot to the floor of your Skeeter after take off that morning

Maybe you can race me again. I should have a Skeeter here before too long!

Thanks Ken! whatever it's called, it's an eye opener!

That LU on that 225 EFI was modded at Gambler, or was done by the original owner. I was the second owner. They removed the trim tab anode completely, then made a cut about 1" on the trailing edge of the skeg about 3" from the bottom and bent it over to account for the torque. It also had 4 water pickups, 2 on the nose cone bottom and 2 on the top I think. I wish I'd paid more attention to those things back then, all I knew is it was fast and fun, and would hit the rev limiter with a 27" PowerTech TR04 at about 83 mph. It definitely could have turned a bigger wheel.

Pad type boats once the boat lifts enough and is riding on pad chine walk occurs when it tries to fall off pad so it has to be balanced like walking a tight wire. This is very prevalent in older Tritons you have to learn how to prevent it from starting not just driving through it.

Example

Dang you guys are old.......................as me!

Dang you guys are old.......................as me!

Yeah the 20 footer is the one I thought broke 100, you fished it in media 1-2 years.. That was a wicked boat, white and yellow wasn't ?
I refuse to be old, just mature

My tournament partner usually does a chine walk across the dock to the restroom at the end of the day. He really needs to learn to go before the tournament starts.

So why did inboard motors and Berkeley jet drives never make it on bass boats?

Because the big block motors weigh 1,100# and it takes 500 HP on a jet drive boat to run 65 mph. They are just not efficient power plants.

Gambler welded a trim tab on right hand rotation Mercury lower units that did not have a cast-in torque tab at the Gambler factory. The rest is aftermarket.

I wonder if a current generation motor would work. An LS7 GM motor is a very low profile motor that weighs in around 500 lbs and is capable of 700-800 RELIABLE Hp. The electronics on the new motors makes them efficient.

That would certainly be an improvement in the weight department.

One of the other reasons jet drive bass boats never found wide spread popularity is the way the jet drive works. The jet drive unit was prone to sucking any vegetation close to it up into the impeller. There is a large intake "grate" in front of the jet drive unit that takes in massive volumes of water to provide propulsion. Google images of jet drives.

It's not so much the motor being inefficient as it is the jet drive being inefficient and the space they take up. Ranger tried a stern drive bassboat back in the late 70's or early 80's. basically took away the rear deck

Performance hulls do not have wedge built into them which help speed. The boats that don't chine walk have wedge built in. AKA: Training wheels.

I thought the V-20 was going to be the only one they still made?

Fastest I have been in my 21i is 76.3 and it still doesn't chine walk. so smooth you can drive with one hand, too! I don't think I'll ever get rid of this one, maybe a few repowers in the future. the 300HPDI on it is a gas drinking fool! Maybe in the distant future that new ProXS 4-stroke with a ECM mod to ~300hp. (my max rated limit is 300).
Years ago I had a Bullet that you had to play with the steering wheel to keep it going straight, same with the Basscat I had a couple years ago. Great boats, but I don't like having to concentrate on jerking the wheel.... I like cruising like a big ol fat Cadillac. Not a big old fat Lincoln Town Car, Like a Ranger, though. that would be miserable

That 21i is a nice rig, you and the family will surely enjoy that beast

One thing I didn’t see mentioned already- if you begin to chine, and feel it’s too unsafe to correct and maintain speed, don’t abruptly let off the hot foot. Can be a big mistake as the nose will suddenly drop and which ever direction the keel is leaning is the direction the boat will go- driver and passenger will go the opposite direction. Hang on and slowly back off the hot foot while bumping the trim down.

My Gambler would chine slightly above 75 and it took a lot of seat time to learn how to control it. Once I figured it out, it became second nature and she flew straight and steady.

Good point LF Fisherman. The "consumer" motors have soft rubber mounts. This is to minimize vibration felt in the boat from the motor. When you are trimmed up & truckin these mounts are stretched way to the side due to propeller torque. The higher you have the motor mounted on the jackplate, the worse this gets.

The Merc Racing motors have solid hard mounts. This helps to minimize what you have experienced when you suddenly chop the throttle at high speed. With the solid mounts the motor is not allowed to torque to the side as badly as with the rubber mounts.

Pic below shows the cover removed to reveal the lower motor mounts. There is another set but you have to remove the powerhead to access them.

To say this post has been educational is an understatement, precisely what I was hoping for. The knowledge and experience you guys have is exceptional. I've learned a lot, I'm sure some of our younger anglers have as well...
Thanks to you guys...

This is the best write up on boat setup & driving I have ever read. No truer words have ever been written about hi-perf bass rigs.

"Setup vs. Driving: Setup and driving skill are two completely different animals, but they are commonly confused. I found myself trying to blame boat setup for my lack of driving skill. As a new high performance boat owner, the sooner you reconcile yourself to the fact that you cant drive, the better off you will be. I know you have been in boats your whole life, but the world changes when you cross the 70mph boundary and there is little hull in the water. It's just a different set of physics at work, your general boating skill becomes largely irrellevant. Deal with it"