www.iFourWinns.com

Great stuff Galactic! Sounds nice, being able to do a 60k cruise. I think we are at least a month away from loosing the ice around these parts!

When you say that it is almost impossible to go in a straight line at slow speed... what you might be experiencing is the low speed wandering that is a normal trait of stern drive V-hulled boats. you could keep the wheel dead straight, but the bow wanders from side to side. Next time you are out, don't try to steer out of the wander at slow speed. Just let the bow wander back and forth. You will probably find that overall, you will have traveled in a strait line, with only a slight need for corrections every now and again.

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2009 H180 w/3.0 Merc
Homebuilt Minimax Hydro
2011 Zodiac Cadet 310

Yeah, hehe, I used to live in Ontario for almost 3 years back in the '80s and although it's a beautiful place, the winters are long and cold.
Here in BC we have a lot longer season for water sports and with proper equipment and clothing it's possible to be on the water all winter long.
Thanks for the tip about keep straight line at slow speed. I thought I was over steering but you maybe right that it's the deep v-hull causing the wondering.
I'll start a new thread with question about a propeller, I see you have a 20p one. I'll ask you about it.
And if you'd like to check out the video from that boat cruise, and get a feel for what it's like here now, since you're still frozen in Ontario, here is a Youtube link to it. Select 720p from the settings to get a better quality picture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-tJ6Rco ... e=youtu.be
Don't mind my framing and music, I'm just messing with video editing.

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GalacticWaterman
Boat: Four Winns H180 2006 3.0L Mercruiser 135 hp with Alpha I Gen. 2
Tow Vehicle: Honda Ridgeline

+1

All of our hulls are planing hulls, designed to perform best on plane (obviously from the name!)...which of course means that when so much hull is in the water at slow speeds, it will wander. Trick is not to oversteer back and forth. By nature, the boat will want to go right more than left because of the right-hand rotation of the outdrive. You will learn the vessel over time! (I have to do the same, my boat is new-to-me and almost done with rebuilding engine, etc.)

Good luck with the boat, looks like you had a good time in the video!

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1988 215 Sundowner 5.7L OMC

1. It's missing the depth meter, the instrument is blank on the dashboard.
Is it something that I need to order from a dealer? Can I install it myself? What parts would I need to get?
2. The steering wheel has a considerable free-play (almost a quarter turn).
Are there some adjustments I can make to "tighten it" or do I need to replace something?
3. The shifter is very stiff. Both F and R equally stiff.
The throttle without gear (when pushing the neutral lock button) is ok, not super smooth but not anywhere near as stiff.
Is it something a grease might fix or do I need to replace something?

Where would I get a good electronic manual for this?
The owner's manual doesn't cover much at all.

You mentioned the possibility of installing a compass in the dash and a separate sonar. I highly recommend this idea for a couple reasons. If the compass is not affected too much by other iron in the dash, it would be very helpful. The compass can usually be adjusted to compensate for at least most of this. The sonar (fishfinder) will give you a much better idea of what is below the boat. My FW 190 had both an in dash digital depthfinder and a sonar/GPS that I installed. The digital in dash depth finder is lower power, so less reliable at deeper locations or at cruise. I would often lose contact with the bottom in 15 to 20 feet of water at 25 mph. The digital depthfinder automatically adjusts its sensitivity as depth, bottom signal, and speed change. Because of this the digital depthfinder would also get "confused" and start reading the tops of weeds at 1 or 2 feet below the boat instead of the real bottom in 10 feet of water. If it is in the budget, I would even recommend a fishfinder/GPS combo unit, but I'm a real fan of GPS.

You mentioned slop in the steering system. If you have a tilt steering wheel, peel the rubber boot back from the dash toward the steering wheel and look at the u-joint for the tilt mechanism. Mine came loose a couple times to the point that the steering occasionally locked up. It was a simple fix to tighten it up on mine. If you have a tilt wheel its worth a look. As others have suggested, check all parts of the steering system for slop. After the steering system is found to be in good shape you may still notice the boat "wandering" at no wake speeds. At least some this is a normal characteristic of "V" bottom boats.

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Surface Interval: A scuba diving term for that time between dives to relax and prepare for life's next great adventure.

Current boat: '02 FW 268 Vista
Previous boat: '95 FW 190 Horizon

@Surface Interval
Thanks for the tip.
I'll have a look at it.
Maybe something needs adjusting or tightening.
It definitely makes it difficult to steer in straight like when going slow and makes it a bit annoying when planing.

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GalacticWaterman
Boat: Four Winns H180 2006 3.0L Mercruiser 135 hp with Alpha I Gen. 2
Tow Vehicle: Honda Ridgeline

most I/O's will sway back and forth at slow speeds. I learned to just hold the wheel straight and its OK. don't try to compensate.

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1989 Sundowner 205 5.8 L