AR190 questions

[jman]

Have taken my 2019 AR190 out a few times and have a few questions.

1). Is the boat just slow to steer or respond at low RPM? Say under 2000? I have the Cobra fins. Makes it hard to dock, because I’m never over 2K RPM when pulling in. Also, makes it hard to keep the boat going straight in the river. Have to constantly steer to fix boat heading. Gets kind of tiring when trolling for an hour or so.

2). Occasionally would like to use boat for fishing and trolling the rivers. Is running the engine at 1500 RPM for a few hours continuous hurting the engine in anyway?

3). When on plane, say going 25MPH or so. I find that my steering is never straight. Have to turn the steering wheel one direction to make sure the boat is tracking straight. I tested steering when on trailer and with the steering wheel centered, the keel and propulsion unit looks pretty straight from the back of the boat. Moving steering wheel side to side also has smooth and even movements. Just figured the boat would go straighter when on plane.

Thanks and really like the AR190.

 

[KyleP]

1. Totally normal, you will get used to it eventually and be able to control it like a joystick.

2. It won’t hurt the engines, but it’s a tough boat to fish out of. I have a 195 and really only fish while the boat is not running.

3. Often times this issue is weight distribution. Could also be caused by wind. Is it always the same direction?

 

[jman]

1. Totally normal, you will get used to it eventually and be able to control it like a joystick.

2. It won’t hurt the engines, but it’s a tough boat to fish out of. I have a 195 and really only fish while the boat is not running.

3. Often times this issue is weight distribution. Could also be caused by wind. Is it always the same direction?

Thanks for the response. The boat had 15 hours when I bought it in January. Now has 64 hours. Most of those hours very low speed trolling around. Yeah, kind of crazy, I know... As for the steering when on plane at speed. It varies, so could be the wind, water current, or weight as you say.

 

[marcham]

Use no wake mode for docking, makes it much more responsive. It will stay in no wake as you change from fwd to reverse.

 

[2kwik4u]

Have taken my 2019 AR190 out a few times and have a few questions.

1). Is the boat just slow to steer or respond at low RPM? Say under 2000? I have the Cobra fins. Makes it hard to dock, because I’m never over 2K RPM when pulling in. Also, makes it hard to keep the boat going straight in the river. Have to constantly steer to fix boat heading. Gets kind of tiring when trolling for an hour or so.

Every small boat I've driven (sub 20-ish ft) "wanders" at some level. My old I/O did it bad until I put tabs on it. My 190 does it REALLY bad at low speed. The best solution is small corrections. If you make large corrections you'll induce an oscillation that requires some effort to get it back. I've gotten pretty good at anticipating the "spin" and correcting ahead of it. I can track fairly straight with subtle inputs. Wife still creates giant swings if she's not watching what it's doing.

2). Occasionally would like to use boat for fishing and trolling the rivers. Is running the engine at 1500 RPM for a few hours continuous hurting the engine in anyway?

Keep an eye on the cooling water exits if you're going to be doing that for hours on end. If the water gets scorching hot (like burn your skin hot), then back down a click, or take off and run faster for awhile. That's the "low point" on the flow curve for the cooling water vs engine rpm. Your engine is cooled with excess pressure bled off of the jet pump, and you're making just a little pressure, but considerable more heat than idle at that point. Shouldn't hurt a thing, but it's worth a check the first few times you do it to make certain.

3). When on plane, say going 25MPH or so. I find that my steering is never straight. Have to turn the steering wheel one direction to make sure the boat is tracking straight. I tested steering when on trailer and with the steering wheel centered, the keel and propulsion unit looks pretty straight from the back of the boat. Moving steering wheel side to side also has smooth and even movements. Just figured the boat would go straighter when on plane.

Thanks and really like the AR190.

Mine has a large "dead spot" in the center of the steering as well. I end up leaving it "cocked over" to one side or the other depending on wind/water/current/traffic. It's the nature of the way the nozzle controls the thrust along the centerline of a single engine boat. Not much you can really do about it. So long as you still have full wheel movement and full directional control it's not a big deal IMO.

We love our AR190 as well.

 

[CaTiRo]

I have a Tracker fishing boat and it wanders at low speeds as well. Also agree, use the wake mode for slow maneuvers. During my test drive, I really (really) appreciated the guy taking time to show my wife and I how to operate the jetboat at low speeds using wake mode and throttle inputs.