Re: 280 volvo wanders at low speed(first post)
All V-hulls wander. Consider the medium they are moving through. It's water and it's very dense. Compare it to driving a car on a windy day. You constantly correct a car as you drive, correct? That's because road condition, wind and other factors affect the path of travel. When idling in a boat you are moving a pointed bow through a medium that is not static. Density varies as you run through different temp water. (Ever swim in a lake and feel warm/cold spots?) Currents always exist even in a lake as the wind hits the water. Plus the wind moves the boat as well. The bow is simply following whatever input is being imposed upon it. The drive acts as a rudder but it is reactive as opposed to pro-active. If you find the boat wandering, don't touch the steering wheel and see what happens. You may wiggle back and forth but generally you'll go straight.
Tabs help as they cause drag in the rear and that helps counteract the forces moving the bow. My 20' cuddy wandered something fierce but I didn't have it long enough to mess with it. My current boat, a 19' center console also wandered but Smart Tabs eliminated that. They were put on for another reason but as a side benefit killed the wander.
