Boat Lean/List pulling to one side

[dmanmtl]

So my new to me 18Ft princecraft 150hp hit the water for the first time today. Ran great except I noticed a pretty serious pull t one side (not to mention the bizarre growl of this Opti Engine...) - On correcting this with the steering wheel I noticed the boat was then leaning into the water on the left. it was a fair bt deeper on the left than the right. I assume this is because of the correction I was doing with the steering whell but it felt like we were going around a corner to the left.

The boat does not have a torque tab (trim tab?) at the bottom of the otor - just a flat anode - I will get one tomorrow - but does anyone have any odeas if this could be caused by anything else. I know that sometimes engine trim needs to be adjusted - we had to cut the ride really short due to weather so I did not have a chance to fool with the trim.

Thanks in Advance for your replies.

Derek

 

[ziggy]

The boat does not have a torque tab (trim tab?) at the bottom of the otor - just a flat anode - I will get one tomorrow

imho, if they make one, and ya don't have power steering. get one. it should help with the steering wheel pull. adj. as follows.

see what that does before ya go looking for a different problem. see if the tab corrects the issue.

On correcting this with the steering wheel I noticed the boat was then leaning into the water on the left. it was a fair bt deeper on the left than the right. I assume this is because of the correction I was doing with the steering whell but it felt like we were going around a corner to the left.

if ya got a v hull, it's normal for them to lean into a turn. if your countering for wind or prop torque, it'll still lean into the turn even though your countering a external effect. ie, wind or prop torque.
if ya do get the tab. be aware it is set to make steering even at a specific speed, trim, and load. if you change any of those things. you boat will start to pull again.
i set my tab for about 2800 rpm with a normal load and trimmed up just a bit. if i am not at the speed, load and trim, i start to have steering pull again i have to counter act. this is normal imho.

 

[QBhoy]

Hi
As mentioned above...main reason for this is probably counter acting the effect of the wind.
Trimming up a little helps, but mainly unavoidable on a boat that size without trim tabs.

 

[dmanmtl]

Thanks for your help guys! I was just surprised how much correction I had to put into it and how much it leaned to the left - Going to install that trim fin and see if that helps - I don;t think there is anything else that could cause this aside from a very unevenly loaded boat bent skeg or poorly installed engine - right?

 

[Fed]

The motor trim tab should solve most of the problem for you.
Power steering, hydraulic steering or any NFB steering won't help at all.
The trim tab is elegant in that the faster you go the harder the water pushes on it for correction, somewhat self regulating.
You need to remember, the water pushes on the trim tab to steer the outboard which in turn steers the boat.
Your boat is trying to steer to the Starboard which causes you to steer to the Port so you need to move the trailing edge of the trim tab towards the Starboard where water pressure will turn the outboard to the centre.
Looking from above with your X-Ray vision set the trailing edge at about 5 O'clock to start with.
Fine tune it to a fast cruise speed with your normal weight loading and trimmed to neutral (AV plate running parallel to water).
What type of steering do you have, full feed back or no feed back (NFB).

 

[dmanmtl]

Fed - Thanks for your detailed reply - much appreciated.

I have seastar hydraulic steering - it's very easy to turn - but notice that I am a half turn or more beyond dead centre. The lean to the left means the boat is pulling to the right so I will adjust the trim tab as you suggest.

Thanks again - This forum needs a "Send this guy a case of beer" button so I could personaly thank everyone who has helped me out with various things.

D

 

[Fed]

Try and get the trim tab adjusted so that the steering effort is equal in both directions.
It's a little more difficult to judge with hydraulic steering compared to full feedback cable because the hydraulic had no feedback and a much lower ratio like 5:1 compared to 3:1 for cable. (Lock to lock 5 wheel turns compared to 3 wheel turns)
Let us know how you go.