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Chine Walking

Pad shape and design have a lot to do with how a boat chine walks. But remember, pad shape and design also have a lot to do with how fast a boat runs.

The more V a pad has, the faster it usually is because there is less boat in the water and thus less surface friction. With that in mind, it's also easier for the torque of the prop to roll the boat off the dead center of the pad and start the chine walking process.

We often hear the term, "Drive the Boat" with regard to chine walking without much explanation as to what that is.

This is not gospel, but it's what I think of when I hear the term "Drive the Boat". There is a balance between motor height with the jackplate, trim of the motor, and how the driver handles the steering wheel. Steering to me is one of the big tricks. You will start to learn your boat and its setup and as you learn you will know when the boat is about to start chine walking. As you see in the diagram, the rotation of the prop pulls the boat to the right, the key with steering is to counter the rotation with small steering wheel twitches to the left before the chine walking starts. All of these things together are kind of like riding a wheelie on a bike.