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  1. #1
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    boat leaning while running

    Sorry but this is going to be a bit of a long post lol. So I bought an '01 Tracker Tournament V18 with a tracker 90 on it back in the spring. Since then I've had a rash of small health problems so I'm just now getting to play with it. When I put it in this morning and took off it immediately started leaning to the passenger side and it would stay that way all the way through planning out. Trimming it up slightly would take it out going down a straight stretch but it's like it just doesn't want to turn to the left. I had to slow down a bunch and trim it back down to turn left and even then it had a pretty serious lean to it. When I tried to go around a bit of sharp left corner, even after slowing down and trimming down, it would fall even more to the side. When it did that it wasn't like it slowly slid over on the passenger side, it was like it would just flop over. Kind of scary the first time to say the least. I've been running and riding in boats all my life and I have never seen one lean like this on the passenger side and I can't for the life of me think of why it would do that. I'm a great big dude so it can't be a weight distribution problem with it leaning to that side, which was the first thing I thought of. I need some help on this one.

  2. Member Extremeboating's Avatar
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    #2
    Check the positioning of your trim tab.
    - 2020 Bass Tracker Classic XL - SOLD
    - 2024 Lowe Stinger 178
    Mercury 115HP ProXS CT
    Vance 6" hydraulic jack plate
    22P 3 blade Tempest Plus propeller
    NGK Ruthenium plugs
    Garmin Force troller
    Garmin 126SV/93SV/73SV Livescope/ dual GT54 transducers
    DD26 motor toter
    IG: extremeboating



  3. Member
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    #3
    The trim tab is turned somewhere in the 15-20 degree range{educated guess} towards the driver side looking at it from behind. Looked a little on the extreme side to me but I never imagined it could have such a drastic effect.

  4. Member Extremeboating's Avatar
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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by dpage70 View Post
    The trim tab is turned somewhere in the 15-20 degree range{educated guess} towards the driver side looking at it from behind. Looked a little on the extreme side to me but I never imagined it could have such a drastic effect.
    Yeah that's definitely a bit much. If that's the case you may want to adjust it at 5 degrees and see how much that helps.
    - 2020 Bass Tracker Classic XL - SOLD
    - 2024 Lowe Stinger 178
    Mercury 115HP ProXS CT
    Vance 6" hydraulic jack plate
    22P 3 blade Tempest Plus propeller
    NGK Ruthenium plugs
    Garmin Force troller
    Garmin 126SV/93SV/73SV Livescope/ dual GT54 transducers
    DD26 motor toter
    IG: extremeboating



  5. Member
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    #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Extremeboating View Post
    Yeah that's definitely a bit much. If that's the case you may want to adjust it at 5 degrees and see how much that helps.
    I'll definitely try that. thanks for the help

  6. Member
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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Extremeboating View Post
    Yeah that's definitely a bit much. If that's the case you may want to adjust it at 5 degrees and see how much that helps.
    I have the same issue on my 2000 TV-18 with 125 Merc. Leaning to port side under power. Trim Tab "looks" pretty straight. I recently pulled the 2- 80lb Odessey Extreme Trolling batteries and replaced them with 2- 30 lb Lithiums. I was running 2- Bluetop Opimas + Dual Pro's 26 lb charger for cranking/accessories. Replaced them with one 125 ah lithium + a 11 lb charger( I put one of the Optima's back in that area right next to the lithium cranking battery, hoping that'll help. Haven't tried running with it yet. Which way should I adjust the Trim Tab? Appreciate any help!

  7. Member Extremeboating's Avatar
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    #7
    Quote Originally Posted by cmb View Post
    I have the same issue on my 2000 TV-18 with 125 Merc. Leaning to port side under power. Trim Tab "looks" pretty straight. I recently pulled the 2- 80lb Odessey Extreme Trolling batteries and replaced them with 2- 30 lb Lithiums. I was running 2- Bluetop Opimas + Dual Pro's 26 lb charger for cranking/accessories. Replaced them with one 125 ah lithium + a 11 lb charger( I put one of the Optima's back in that area right next to the lithium cranking battery, hoping that'll help. Haven't tried running with it yet. Which way should I adjust the Trim Tab? Appreciate any help!
    You need to run it first and then check from there. It is not smart to prematurely make adjustments prior to testing it first because it may be counterproductive to what you are doing.
    - 2020 Bass Tracker Classic XL - SOLD
    - 2024 Lowe Stinger 178
    Mercury 115HP ProXS CT
    Vance 6" hydraulic jack plate
    22P 3 blade Tempest Plus propeller
    NGK Ruthenium plugs
    Garmin Force troller
    Garmin 126SV/93SV/73SV Livescope/ dual GT54 transducers
    DD26 motor toter
    IG: extremeboating



  8. Member
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    #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Extremeboating View Post
    You need to run it first and then check from there. It is not smart to prematurely make adjustments prior to testing it first because it may be counterproductive to what you are doing.
    Thanks, I'll certainly have my wrench handy next time we're out.

  9. Member
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    #9
    I had the same problem on a Lowe 18HP and discovered that the motor was installed in a canted position by 1/4".
    2015 Ranger RT188 DC; BassCat Storage Box; Mercury Optimax 115ProXS;
    19" Spitfire X7; Vessel View Mobile; Minn Kota Ultrex 80; GForce Handle;
    TM Eliminator; Helix 7 G2N SI Combo F/R; HydroWave KVD; BBT 4" Angled Bow Mount; Durasafe Locks for Electronics and Ultrex;
    Twist Step Boarding Ladder; EZEE Step ES1; BAC RAC Rod Storage; Motor Mate Transom Saver

  10. Member Extremeboating's Avatar
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    #10
    Quote Originally Posted by GeauxTide View Post
    I had the same problem on a Lowe 18HP and discovered that the motor was installed in a canted position by 1/4".
    That seems to be a commonplace issue on the Lowe boats for some reason.
    - 2020 Bass Tracker Classic XL - SOLD
    - 2024 Lowe Stinger 178
    Mercury 115HP ProXS CT
    Vance 6" hydraulic jack plate
    22P 3 blade Tempest Plus propeller
    NGK Ruthenium plugs
    Garmin Force troller
    Garmin 126SV/93SV/73SV Livescope/ dual GT54 transducers
    DD26 motor toter
    IG: extremeboating



  11. Member
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    Oct 2012
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    Pelham, AL
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    #11
    That seems to be a commonplace issue on the Lowe boats for some reason.
    Well, I did get a new boat out of the deal.
    2015 Ranger RT188 DC; BassCat Storage Box; Mercury Optimax 115ProXS;
    19" Spitfire X7; Vessel View Mobile; Minn Kota Ultrex 80; GForce Handle;
    TM Eliminator; Helix 7 G2N SI Combo F/R; HydroWave KVD; BBT 4" Angled Bow Mount; Durasafe Locks for Electronics and Ultrex;
    Twist Step Boarding Ladder; EZEE Step ES1; BAC RAC Rod Storage; Motor Mate Transom Saver

  12. Member
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    #12
    Well that is a very underpowered boat to begin with so it will have some odd performance quirks, generally when the boat is leaning like that you aren't trimmed up enough, however that 90 may not have the power to give that hull the lift it needs to run correctly. Changing to a different prop may help depending on what you have now.