Challenger Driving Lessons

[xintersecty]

Somebody here posted an email about docking, read the email and I have no problems docking. It's way cool that you can slip sideways by using neutral!

I cut my teeth on my deck boat for driving skills. At speed, I have no problems throwing the rudder over and turning sharply. It has twin sponsons and that really cuts the water.

Low speed driving the challenger, I have no problems. It's high speed turns I not confident with the boat. Any driving suggestions?

 

[Seadoobuddy]

Not really a lesson, but if you do a 360 at high speed.....you'll either love it enough to do it again or will learn your lesson and slow down a bit first next time.

 

[devonte007]

I think when it comes to high speed handling it boils down to knowing your boat well and practice. As you mentioned, your deckboat, which you are adept at driving at high speed, has a rudder. These jet boats do not and will handle differently than a stern drive or inboard boat. As seadoobuddy mentioned, they do have a tendency to ‘spin out’ if turned over too hard, but that is also one of the handling attributes of these boats. Unlike sterndrive, jet boats can really turn and handle on a dime.

I would just say that you need to go out and get some practice in and learn how your boat handles under different conditions and at different speeds. Learn how to drive the boat in different sea conditions and how to navigate large wakes when turning, etc. One thing to remember, is that since these boats have no rudder, you will need throttle to turn or make maneuvers unlike other boats. If you cut the throttle and turn, you lose steering control. The size and shape of your hull will also dictate how it handles.

Not sure if this will help or not, but I do recall reading an article in one of the latest issues of boating magazine that discusses high speed boat handling. I think you can access a digital copy of the article with these links:

http://www.boatingmag.com/boatingsafety/tips/safety-tip/safe-boating-high-speeds

http://www.boatingmag.com/how-to/seamanship/how-to-boat-safely-any-speed

Bottom line if you do not feel comfortable in a boating situation just slow down to a safe speed and avoid accidents. I have never witnessed a boating accident first hand, but have seen some video online and they are scary.

 

[xintersecty]

Bottom line if you do not feel comfortable in a boating situation just slow down to a safe speed and avoid accidents. I have never witnessed a boating accident first hand, but have seen some video online and they are scary.

Great Advice! I went through the articles. Your typical situational awareness advice and some nuggets of gold.

1) drop the speed to allow the bow to dig in before the turn
2) Speed changes and turns will change the center of gravity.

Here is an other interesting tidbit from the one of the above article:
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Red, Right, React!
You’re cruising along when something happens in front of you. How far will your boat move before you react? Making the disclaimer that 1.5 seconds is not an official time (we don’t want to be sued), if it’s yours, here’s how far your boat will go before responding at speed.

10 mph - 22 feet
15 mph - 33 feet
20 mph - 44 feet
25 mph - 55 feet
30 mph - 66 feet
35 mph - 77 feet
40 mph - 88 feet
45 mph - 99 feet
50 mph - 110 feet
60 mph - 132 feet
70 mph - 154 feet
100 mph - 220 feet
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""

Now thinking about my experience in my deck boat, the best speed I can travel in that boat with my current outboard is 19-20. That is much different than going 35. I am sure if I had that deck boat at 35 too, I would be thinking differently about turning.

Here are the two areas of concern for me. One, I am making a turn around a corner (20-25 mph) the boat turns much wider than I would want. It feels like it's sliding. Two, at much slower speed, if I turn the helm hard, the boat leans rather aggressively (for my taste) and feels like it's going to tip.

So these are just basic questions to our type of boats. Any other advice? Like what would you do and not do?

 

[xintersecty]

I am dragging up an old thread of mine. I did not get much time at the end of season last year due to mechanical issues and low water. I got my boat running and went up the channel a bit. I managed to clear out some gunk in the pump and that seem to improve speed. I still need to fix my impeller/wear ring as I have to baby up the acceleration.

A lot of people here says the Challenger turns on a dime. I don't feel that way and really could use some advice on steering. Maybe something is wrong with my boat?

1) At medium speed (20 mph), I initiate at turn the boat does not turn. It seems to slide/skip on the water as the initial direction.
2) At lower speeds (5-10 mph), the boat leans heavily for a turn.

I have to navigate some narrow channels of hard 90 degree turns. I would like to some advice on mastering the Challenger.