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New LSV23 Turns Left in Neutral


Outlaw

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Brand new to inboards. Boat is fresh out of factory from virus startup. Learning to pull into our lift. In idle it does about 3.8 mph approaching slip. I’d expect the boat to go mostly straight when I go to neutral. But it immediately starts to pull left when I go to neutral. I must go hard right and bump forward to keep straight. Is this normal? In an airplane we’d call this out of trim. I now have a total of 5 hrs inboard experience. Love the boat BTW. I’m approaching much hotter than I’d like due to this pull to left. I like to go to coasting and bumping further out. But working from 0 experience. Thx in advance.

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There is a tab on the rudder that may be out of adjustment but it is usually noticeable at higher speeds vs coasting.  
 

As for the fast idle, most of us learn to bump in and out of gear quickly when around docks vs always just staying at idle, which sounds like you may be trying.    And if needed, approach with the stern toward to the port side (bow at an angle pointed toward starboard side of your dock) so when you get your nose close you can bump reverse and “walk” the stern to starboard to straighten things up.   Good luck - inboards seem tricky at first but eventually you will Get pretty confident with them.  

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ahopkins22LSV

My guess is that the rudder is actually not straight when you are idling straight. It’s probably turned slightly to counter the prop rotation. Then when you go to idle it doesn’t have that prop rotation to counter so you start drifting to the left. 

In my opinion the best method to approach a dock, hoist, trailer is to not be in idle and then coast for long periods of time for each idling and coasting. Rather bump in and out of idle so you can keep your speed less than actually idle speed but still have steering. There is also a docking mode that limits the throttle that may help. I personally never used it but it might be worth a shot. 
 

And, WELCOME! Please post pictures of the new boat! We love pictures :)

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Thanks for the replies. The shore for our doc k/lift is on the port side. But it’s far enough out i could approach with the bow pointed SB. It’s a double whammy because it veers left and then bumping reverse makes it worse. So will your boats drift straight for a while after going to neutral? I forgot about docking mode. But I don’t think that will help this left turning. Boats idling at about 600-700. It’s an M6 engine so I ordered the standard prop. Not a torque (lower pitch) prop. Yes maybe I’m carrying some right rudder while idling in gear but that would tend to counter this left turning characteristic when I go neutral. I need someone who knows a 23lsv to drive it and tell me if normal.

Are the small fins in the middle set straight ahead? Could they be out of trim? Hard to imagine the trim tab at 3 mph having much effect.  Dunno......  with no experience no way to tell what’s normal.

thx for your help. 

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ahopkins22LSV

I wouldn’t say it is abnormal but you are right, your dock setup magnifies it. I would try the quick movements in and out of idle/neutral. Like 1-2 seconds and see how that goes. You may have to come in at a slight angle like you said to be able to use reverse to your advantage. 
 

Bit of a learning curve with an inboard but once you get over the curve you can maneuver them very well and accurately. 

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Thx. Right now my bumps are about one second or less. No question I can learn to correct for this. Really need to see if it’s normal or some trim issue somehow. 

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10 hours ago, Outlaw said:

Brand new to inboards. Boat is fresh out of factory from virus startup. Learning to pull into our lift. In idle it does about 3.8 mph approaching slip. I’d expect the boat to go mostly straight when I go to neutral. But it immediately starts to pull left when I go to neutral. I must go hard right and bump forward to keep straight. Is this normal? In an airplane we’d call this out of trim. I now have a total of 5 hrs inboard experience. Love the boat BTW. I’m approaching much hotter than I’d like due to this pull to left. I like to go to coasting and bumping further out. But working from 0 experience. Thx in advance.

I think the general answer is "yes" this is normal.  The tendency to turn when coming out of gear seems a bit more pronounced on our new 23 vs our last one but both my wife and I learned to compensate after a few hours behind the wheel.  As others mentioned... bump in and out of the gear to keep the speed down and in control.  And yes.. going into reverse will make thing worse but you can use it to get yourself stopped, then put the boat back into gear and correct the angle and get the nose back where you want it.

The good news is I think in a few more hours you won't even notice it.  Inboards have a bit of a learning curve but will master it with a bit of time and you will know what your boat is going to do when and what you need to do to get it exactly where you want it.  

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Ok.... the rep from the dealer hasn’t been able to do training yet. Good to hear other 23 owners see the same thing. Just pulled in with a tailwind.....  ANOTHER new experience. But confidence is now growing.  I can’t imagine what would cause this strong left turning in coast.  Gonna have to get gas someday!  Whew....

i don’t know how to like or heart your reply’s yet so just thx will have to do for now.

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Reverse will make the bow turn to port. You can make your approach with your bow slightly to starboard and then use a small amount of reverse to bring the bow port and stop your motion.  

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3 hours ago, 1107 said:

Reverse will make the bow turn to port. You can make your approach with your bow slightly to starboard and then use a small amount of reverse to bring the bow port and stop your motion.  

Yes. Will try that. Shore is on the port side and neighbors dock to clear. But will try this.

I still can’t imagine what’s causing the left turn in coast. It can’t be just a small trim effect. Thx all.

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Yes, the shape of the prop will naturally turn the boat left. More noticeable on some models than others. It will become almost 2nd nature after a while, but if it really becomes a problem, stern turn is a very good option. 

Congrats on the new boat BTW! 

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Thx snowman. It’s a 17” prop with standard pitch. I was thinking the flow thru it would be symmetric. That has to be it. New to the forum so don’t see the thanks or like button. 
will watch hemmy. Thx

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