
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, February 19, 1995                   TAG: 9502180020
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-14   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

TAKE IT EASY WHEN DRIVING

With bass boats capable of going 80 mph, driving one requires finesse.

What you need to do is loosen up on the wheel, said George Welch of Bay Roc Marina and Yacht Club on Smith Mountain Lake.

You can take a lesson by watching a NASCAR race, he said. Ever notice how much action a race car steering wheel has even on the straight stretches?

A common mistake of bass boat operators is to hold the wheel too tightly, Welch said.

"Something has to wiggle. Either the steering wheel or the boat does," he said.

Welch tells about one customer who complained his boat wasn't operating smoothly.

"He was holding the steering wheel stiff," Welch said. "He was scared; white knuckled.

"I told him to hold it like the race car drivers do."

It worked so well for the customer that he apologized for bothering Welch.

by CNB