New to me pontoon; boat hard to steer

[Cabinut]

Just bought my first pontoon boat. A 2011 Manitou Aurora 22' VP tritoon with an Evinrude Etec 150. It has hydraulic but not power steering. Plenty of fluid and easy enough to steer while moving slowly. Once up to speed it turns about 20 degrees then gets progressively harder to steer, to the point of using real muscle. Is there a way to make this easier or is it normal? There's no way my wife could make quick turns driving it.

 

[jbuote]

I'll bet one of the pro's here will tell you for sure, but to put my first thought (guess really) out there...

Sounds like it could be the trim tab on the outboard needs adjusting.. 20 degrees though huh? Hmmm..

Oh... And Welcome!! :welcome:

 

[lmuss53]

The trim tab would only come into play if it is hard to steer in one direction only. Usually it will pull in one direction and be hard to steer in the other, if the trim tab is off.

If you turn it when the motor is not under load does it bind? Is there a choice of locations to attach the rod to the motor?

I would contact customer service at the steering systems manufacturer and discuss the problem with them, I bet they will be able to help you.

 

[ahicks]

Contacting customer service likely a good plan. With hydraulic steering, as speed increases, prop torque will generally cause the boat to become progressively more difficult in one direction, but it should remain relatively easy in the opposite direction. If this boat is difficult to turn in either direction, there's something going on that's not normal/right.

 

[Cabinut]

Thanks guys! I'm going to be launching the boat again in a couple of weeks and run enough to tell if the trim tab needs adjusting. Meantime kudos to Manitou. With several past used boats I've owned, trying to get information from customer service was usually greeted with "take it to the dealer" or no response at all. Manitou has cheerfully answered a number of questions, usually on the same day. Plus sending me a PDF owner's manual and technical diagram of the tri toon offsets to build the lift from. If ever I was looking for a new boat, their customer service would sway me in their favor.

 

[ahicks]

Glad it's working out OK for you, but thought I would mention the "customer service" I was thinking of was the one supporting the hydraulic steering system you have. If anyone would be familiar with issues regarding your steering, it would be them - regardless of what boat or engine it was bolted on to.

 

[Silver Eagle]

Our 24 ft Star Craft was very hard to steer .The faster we would go the harder the steering would get. I had a 90 hp Mercury 2 stroke . I sold it mainly because of the hard steering. Now I wear a wrist brace all the time. I should have gotten a pontoon boat that is an I/O

 

[Ken Kitchen]

The biggest thing you have to remember is that you have 3 22' tubes that are trying to turn at speed. Steering a pontoon is a lot different than say a bow-rider or run-about, where you only have 1 keel that cuts into the water during a turn.
Keep with it, sounds like a nice 'toon. Plus, you can always throttle back a little when you turn.

 

[Sea Rider]

Just an aside question : does large outboards have a side friction bolt to adjust steering load ? if so, back up nut CCW till swivel bracket achieves 0 load when steering cable link is removed and outboard is turned sideways by hand.

At speed the mechanical steering hardens due to water flow exerts drag pressure on lower leg which is normal. If there's water splashes up or side of transom the issue gets worse.

For comfort steering swivel bracket must be internally greased with fresh grease, steering cable turning smoothly at both directions and trim tab well aligned for combo to maintain a straight water course.

Happy Boating