D-Drive Tips

[Kyle]

The '99 x22 my wife and I are purchasing is our first boat to own.  I have been around and driven a lot of i/o boats but not d-drives and v-drives.  The first thing I noticed when test driving this boat was the difference when in reverse compared to i/o's.  Other than that it just felt a little different.  I know it will take a little time to get comfortable with it, but I thought you guys could give me a few tips to help shorten my learning process.  Any advice driving, docking, and routine procedures you guys go through when launching and loading your boats would be greatly appreciated (anything you feel like is valuable information).  Sorry to sound like such a rookie, but I've found it's better to ask questions than to learn the hard/expensive way.  Thanks.

[phenom_1819]

Kyle- A couple things I can help with:

A quick side note: when steering in reverse, the stern on a direct-drive boat will always pull to the right, because of the turning of the driveshaft and propeller.

Steering in reverse. If you are backing a long ways and need to steer (or go straight):  put the boat in reverse to get the boat moving backwards. When the boat starts to head off course, kick the throttle forward with the wheel turned to get the stern to kick out in the direction you need to go. Once the stern is in the right direction, continue backing.  It's second nature once you do it a couple times.

Docking.   The trick is to get the nose in first -- then, once the nose is in, put the boat in reverse...which will pull it into the dock.In more detail, bring the nose of the boat into the dock at a 45 degree angle, with the intention of landing on the driver side. Come in slowly. When you get about 5-10 feet from the dock, turn the wheel hard to the left, and put the boat in neutral right after the stern starts to kick out towards the dock.  Immediately put the boat in reverse, and it should land perfectly.  Take your time.

Hope this helps.

[toyotafreak]

and GO SLOW !!!! Two friends of mine (who've had boats much longer than I) have run my boat into hard objects just because it does not stop on a dime like the towboats they're used to (at idle speeds). Go slow, don't be afraid to walk the boat onto the trailer by hand. I always try to do what Cal said about approaching the dock at an angle, with the dock on the driver's side then using reverse to slow it down and suck into the dock. I can usually just reach out and grab the dock from the helm. Of course when the wind's up, I'll hit all immovable objects.

[Kyle]

Thanks for the tips guys.  I'm guessing that I'm not the only one who could benefit from some pointers.  Feel free to keep them coming.  I know I've said it before, but this is a great site.

[re-pete]

Congrats on the boat!  You'll love it.  What you lose in some slow speed manueverablility, you make up big time in high speed handling and responsiveness.  You'll get used to steering/docking a d-drive in no time.

Assuming you got the owner's manual with the boat, my advice to you is to read it from cover to cover.  It is excellent, has some great illustrative pictures and guidance on manuevering a d-drive boat, as well as lots of other handy tips on maintenance, etc.

Good luck!!