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.