DIRECTIONAL STABILITY

[Guest stopper1941]

Good afternoon

When I moved Alegrias a fortnight ago[Hoveton--Beccles] Ifound that though she manoevered well she has no directional stability if you take your hands of the wheel to take a photograph or use the binnoculars she straight away goes of course.She has a bmc 1.5 lump with outdrive.

1/ Would a rudder added to the outdrive help?

2/Is it the way she is ballasted?

Any thoughts would be more than welcome

Thank you brian.

p.s. Even though I had a bottle of Glenmorangie on board it wasn't because I had imbibed to much to try to keep warm!! honest!

[Antares_9]

An outdrive is not the best thing for directional stability especially with a V hull so check for play and wear in any gimbles. A ruddersafe or similar will usually help matters but only at very low speed when you have little or no directional thrust from your prop. A few questions that will help with a diagnosis. Does the boat pull one way or wander when you take your hand off the helm? Is the boat a V hull without any kind of keel? What type of steering, closed loop cable, push pull cable, hydraulic? Does the steering wheel move when she veers. And lastly what type of leg is it?