[boatman38]

I recently bought a new Campion explorer with 135hp merc verado.I am very impressed with the motor and the digital trolling control.I can just press a button on the dash to set watever speed I want to troll at.This offers incredable ease and I can speed the motor up or down with precision.The motor is quieter than my 8hp yamaha.I am also impressed with the boat's new hull design.It is 18.5ft but handles rough water very well.My last boat was a 19.5ft campion,2003.The new hull is a huge improvement for big water.However, with my stand up high top,I find it blows in the wind and is hard to hold a straight line when trolling.I did find that my old boat with the I/O mercruiser tracked straighter while trolling.Is this because outboards are lighter and tend to occilate back and forth slightly?I love the new motor and the pushbutton starting,and the smooth running in any temp and weather, but miss the way the I/O handled.I'm new to the world of boating on the ocean and am learning some hard and expensive lessons,such as buying my first boat with bad wiring,no anti-foul coating and no freshwater cooling.I bought it at a dealer on Van island,and he gave me no advice or warnings on what Iwould need for salt water.After owning the boat for 1 month,I started having problems with wiring,things growing on the boat and rough running in winter wet conditions.I strongly suggest anyone starting out,to ask alot of questions to people who have owned a few boats.I was stuck either putting about 6grand into the 2003 boat,or trading it in to the same dealer on a new one.I was not originally lanning on spending that kind of money.Rather than fix up a boat that could have a motor that might rust out from the inside, I bought new. :wallbash:

 

[steve]

The engine should not occilate back and forth for it should have hydraulic steering and that doesn't allow it to move. There is some vibration of the engine and some torque movement in the mounts when accelerating hard but there shouldn't be enough to change the direction of the vessel. The verado is heavier than the I/O drive for sure and pending on which engine you had as the I/B it may be heavier than the whole stern drive package! The boat drifting is more likely due to the boats profile on the water as you mention the large top and new hull design, these would act like a sail and push you around more than a lower top and a slimmer profile hull. The merc DTS is an amazing little system. I would like to concur on boatman's suggestions about asking questions. There is no such thing as a stupid question! period! Anyone here that has delt with me tends to get that speach at some point so please ask away, it's easier to solve a problem before it happens.