Carver Owners Forum

I think this question is in the wrong area, so if it works for all, I'll move it to General Repairs & Maintenance

If it works for you I'll move this to repair section...

I moved this to General Maint and Repair...probably goes better there....

We have a 2001 Mariner. We do quite a bit of transiting in no wake zones in the Trent Severn canal system. What I have found is that at speeds below 10km/hr (approx 6 mph) the boat will wander. Not as much as my old single out-drive boat, but you still get a bit of a workout when doing a long day. It seems to me that the magic number seems to be just at the 6mph area. Just a little faster and it straightens out quite a lot. We spend a lot of time anchored in shallow water that has a fairly level sandy bottom. One thing I was surprised to notice, and actually measured by going under the boat is that with the boat at rest the bow sits at the same draft as the lower third of the props. So significantly lower than the bottom of the hull at the stern. Since the boat is at the same angle when traveling at these slow speeds i wonder if it is natural that it would wander with the bow sitting down so low and with no keel. Paul

I just picked up on this thread. I think it is a safe bet to say that any planing boat without a keel will wander at those speeds. You are talking about a fairly "light" boat at very low speeds. My 506 will wander at those speeds at well. Your boat is designed to track and steer at its planning speed - unlike a displacement or semi-displacement boat. Below that it will wander proportionately to the amount you are below your planing speed.

My wander (think he just misspelled it) came from the lack of a really good keel and a Alpha outdrive on a 24' Bayliner . . . installed the drop fin trim tabs (Bennett) and it literally went away . . . my survey day for the Carver is tomorrow and I'm sure it doesn't have the drop fins so maybe "there's another toy to put on the list" . . . . like there aren't enough items on there now!

I will agree with all…
When I wash the boat, water at the top of the steps will flow forward.
My previous boat, a Bayliner 2452, wandered whole lot more, kinda the same design.

I saw this modification of a Carver Mariner 350. The owner used it for fishing and did a lot of driving at slow speeds. He made larger rudders.

We have the same year boat and have not noticed any excessive wandering while idling on the river, however I use the transmissions when l exit the marina turns and when stern in docking.