Tuck the drive on a step bottom boat ? are you sure ?

Laszlo: I used to live in Rockwood. When I was a kid (early 60s) I lived on Candace. And, I owned a house on Lynn/Hazel in the early 80s.

anything above 65 on that boat and it will start to chinewalk which is pretty typical. Do you have bennett tabs or K-planes?

Do you have hydraulic steering?

I cannot stress enough to take it easy. Might even be wise to have someone you know in the area to go out with you to give you a few tips.

.........oh, and do not tuck the drive on a step hull when making a turn. If you tuck the drive, the aft of the boat has a tendency to 'lift' and skip across the water in the turn causing a spin out and possibly a roll over if not careful.

Not to scare you but practice and advice go along way.

Thats pretty funny I grew up in Dearborn right down from Ford world HQ and moved down here about 10 yrs ago, most people have never heard of Rockwood, but it is a nice thing! We have 2 acres with over 5000 sq ft backed up to state land with lots of deer, and not to many people even know we exist back here so it is nice and quiet as well, and at 1 mile away from lake erie its great for trailering the big boats.

Also do not tuck in your drive on a step boat, unless you want to spin it out ! Take it easy get used to it and on the powerquest just a touch of tabs at higher speeds sets it up nicely.

Alright already, stike the " tuck " comment and insert lower slightly. Its all about seat time, regardless. I honestly forgot about the 280 having steps. My 270 had a straight bottom.

Thanks for the replies. I have Mercury ITS steering. I think you're giving good advice. I will take a couple guys that I know (one has a 48 fountain and the other a sunsation) out with me for the first few times. I doubt I'll have the boat up to 60 for a longgggg time. I'm pretty cautious and honestly a little nervous. I respect the power. This chinewalk stuff really concerns me. I know nothing about this.

If it should chinewalk, how do you get out of it......throttle down?

Sorry, I forgot; I have tabs............not K planes

My 280 has a HP500efi and runs 69 all day long with 4 people and 3/4 tank of fuel I have had it 71 on gps a couple times. no chine walk just run a little tabs(I have K Planes) you will find the sweet spot

For chine walk back off a touch and re adjust or give it a bit of tab to settle it down.

Great. It's a "done deal". I drove to NC Tuesday, made the deal Wednesday, and she's sitting in my driveway right now! I can't wait to get her polished and WET!