TOPIC: being towed on the water

Saturday I had the unpleaseant experience of needing to be towed after trolling for 4 hours and then not being able to start my Merc 400 do to low battery and the cord breaking on the pull starter (would not rewind in.).
The question I have was that when the other boat went to tow me he told me to raise my engine. We hooked up my bowline to his stern and he commenced towing. We then started oscillating my bow swinging back and forth. I have towed someone before and never seen this. We then dropped my motor back down and tracked straight and true. He had never had this happen before either.
Why?
My thoughts are that these old fifties boats do not have much of a keel so you need a rudder of some sort to keep it tracking.

Was it heavy in the bow? That would make a difference. You wouldn't notice it if the motor was pushing you, but being pulled it would make the bow ride lower in the water and it might make you track back and forth. dropping the motor would give you a rudder to prevent this, but it would cause more drag making it harder to pull. Anyone else have an opinion? ( SILLY QUESTION!!!!!)
Bill

Its only silly if you don't ask. Keeping weight at the back uses more keel for tracking. Middle or front weight allows the curviture of the bow drop to take over and any small disturbance or angled wave, big or small, will cause minimal "bow steer", which the tow rope tries to correct. Kinda like a trailer with a not-so-centered axle weaving on the road. Dropping the motor adds to the keel, and the drag is now at the opposite end of the bow, minimizing the bow's effect. Weight back, motor up, most optimal for the towboat.

Totally depends on the bottom configuration of your boat. A heavily keeled boat will track just fine but weight distribution can make a huge difference. Dropping your motor made a perfect rudder in the back of your boat.

Thanks for the answers.
Yes we were probably bow heavy. with 400 pounds of people in the front seats and just the Merc a small minikota, a six gallon tank of fuel and the battery in the rear.
The hull on my boat goes flat about even with the back of the front seats with just a small ridge for a keel.

That's it - the weight in the bow caused your wandering ways... Best towing practice is to move weight to the stern area and tilt up the motor (to reduce drag).

My reference to a silly question was in regards to anyone else having an opinion!
Bill

Don't feel silly, some of us just ask that question later than others, but most will ask it at some point.