I hope that I have the terminology right. I recently purchased a pontoon boat and got to try it out today. It was great and I’m more than happy with the purchase but had an issue with what I gather is “tracking”.
It seems that the majority of the time the boat would pull to the port or left side and I would have to take a corrective stroke or two to keep it going in the intended direction. Oar length was set to the same distance. Blade angle was reasonably set at the same angle although probably not exact.
Does anyone out there in cyberfishingland have any troubleshooting advice?
Do you have a gauge to check the air pressure in your toons? I’ve noticed the same problem with mine, I don’t have a guage, but I’ve wondered if one toon was more “full” then it should slide through the water better. I’m not sure the technical terms and don’t know if you follow what I’m meaning or not. Maybe someone with more brains will come along and tell us both what were doing wrong.
Tyro,
I would suggest that you make sure there is equal pressure in each toon. The way I check it is to fill one of the toons to desired pressure and give the toon a thump. It should make a ping sound. Then fill the other to desired pressure and give it a thump. Try to get the ping sounds at the same tone or pitch. Also, you might look at how each toon is connected to the frame. Make sure they are both the same distance fore & aft. I would think that if one of the toons is slightly ahead of the other, that might make a difference in tracking. Hope this helps.
The wind will try to have its way with your boat. So be aware of how it’s blowing and know it can affect tracking.
'Toons have hair-trigger steering through the oars. Some 'toons more than others. Those with plenty of ‘rocker’, or curve to the bottom will spin out easier and not track as well as those with nice, long, flat sections in the water.
Are you built like a lobster with one arm much stronger than the other by any chance?
I suspect a large part of the problem is a smooth consistant even stroke from each oar, at least that’s what if figure is my issue. I would guess if you put a member of the local rowing team in the boat he would go straight. I was told the two hull of the pontoon would make it twice as difficult to row straight. I’m guess Normand is on target with the tight pressure, secured straight in the frame advice also. I have also wondered about the position of the seat, is the center of the boat the best location?
Thanks for the advice all. I wondered if I should focus on left sided upper body strength!
Pressure might have been an issue. I didn’t get a good read on that, just guessing by how much I could indent the tubes when inflated. Securing the tube might have been an issue, the starboard side tube was a little “floppy” about halfway through the trip.
It also may just be an inexperienced oarsman issue.
Unequal air pressure in the tubes will definitely create tracking problems.
I would suggest a pressure gauge. I use mine every time out, and it helps.
I’ve checked the pressure in some friend’s tubes when floating together and they were surprised to see what pressure they actually had in each tube (usually under-inflated) and neither tubes the same…although “feel” they thought (and I probably would have also without the gauge) the tubes were about “right”.
As Jack said, rockered tubes will not track as well as flatter tubes. However, if you’re in rivers with strong current and/or rapids, a rockered tube is fantastic…they maneuver much better, to catch eddys, etc.
I use the same gauge and I am a firm believer in the gauge. I use to think I inflated both equal, but stuck the gauge on and I was way off.
But if it is the left side and on a regular basis, I am betting upper body.
As far as securing the frame to the toons…I sure love my “U” shaped Outlaw…LOL
I agree with all of the above, and I have a U-shaped Outlaw Rampage too. It takes time rowing to get good at it. There are lots of factors involved: How much of the blade you put in the water (I try to just barely submerge the blade, and make it equal on both sides), the angle of the blade in the water (it’s fixed on the frameless Outlaw but unless you use oar rights on conventional oarlocks it can vary from stroke to stroke and side to side). Try to make sure the length of the stroke is equal on both sides. If you don’t have fixed oarlocks like the frameless Outlaws have, make sure the length of the oars inboard of the oarlocks is equal on both sides. I too use the Quick-Check gauge every single time (and my boat has five separate chambers so equal pressures in all are very important).
The U-shaped boats ensure the tubes are aligned properly. On conventional 2-tube with a frame craft, the attachment to the frame must be pretty critical.
I’ve had kickboats for years now. I found the biggest thing to tracking straight is what Mr. Nelson mentions-Correct blade placement in the water and even strokes. You don’t have to worry about that so much if you have Oar Rights or if your oars are clamped down and they can’t twist. If you’re right handed that’s where your strength lies and you’ll be pulling to the left. Concentrate on even strokes with your blades the same depth in the water, focus on an object in front of you and start rowing. Keep the object (like a certain tree or clump of trees on the bank) in the middle of your boat- a focal point. (I’m not sure if I’m making sense here). As for the pressure being the same in each bladder, I don’t think it makes a lot of difference in rowing as it does stability. I’d make sure they’re pumped up according to the manufacturers specs. I have an NFO Outlaw X5 bladderless and like Mike’s Rampage it should be pumped up to 2.5- 3.0 psi. Vinyl bladders will be less and urethane bladders will also be different. The KPump gauges are $30+ dollars but I think they’re worth it.
