I'm kind of new to using a sled (I have a drift boat and do all right with it). My problem is when I try to pull plugs in the sled. When I try to back down through the hole the boat just wants to turn sideways. I only have the big motor and a 12 volt electric on the boat. What I am wondering is if the boat is out of balance. When it is just setting in the water it is kind of low if the stern. Oh, almost forgot, it is a 14 foot flat bottom sled with a center console, I know, I wish it had tiller stearing. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks....

BW -

Pulling plugs with a steering wheel is not very easy to do (as you now know). I had a 14 footer a while back and would put an old 3.9 Merc kicker on it to pull plugs. That gave me a tiller to control the boat with which makes all the difference in the world. You need to constantly be adjusting the tiller or you will lose your track and slide out. I always have my left hand on the tiller. It becomes completely mindless where you don't even realize you are moving the motor around to keep your track. This all takes time to learn and truly get good at it.

Having the boat balanced front to back helps some, but having the boat balanced side to side is crucial, especially in a boat that size.

Good luck,

Steve

BW, practice, practice, practice. I have a 14" sled also and they are work to run. When freedrifiting I have to stay on top of it all the time to keep it going the right way. It's really a pain when you get someone up in the front that doesn't have a clue about keeping the boat level. The more you run it the better you'll get

Fishhead5

Thanks for the help guys. the electric motor on the boat has 52 lbs of thrust, do you think that will be enough for a boat this small?

BW You didn't say if your motor is a jet or
prop. Jets are terrible to control at very
slow speeds. You are just blowing water over
a wide area with no concentration of jet stream flow. A prop on the main motor or on
a kicker gives a bite on the movement of
water. Also, the prop and the skeg and anti-
cavitation plate help serve as a rudder from
to minimize side slide. Keeping the boat
balanced side to side is critical so the
boat receives the current evenly on each
side of the hull.Get a kicker and distribute
the weight evenly and you should do great.
A 52# electric would not hold your size boat
in most Wa. rivers without running at a very
high speed, thus draining your batteries
quickly.The steering reaction time on a bow
mount electric is too slow to over-correct
direction changes, a transom mount would
work as long as the batteries lasted.