Boat pulling left

[_vn_]

21ft bayliner, aq175a with VP 280 single prop
15x15 aluminum right rotation

Bought used very lightly chipped on one of blades prop, another blade was slightly bent
Had it fixed by local prop guy. He claims he balanced it too.
Boat pulls left and tough to steer on higher speed
I had left rotation 15x17 on it before which i had no problem with steering but had bad hole shot.
Could the 15x15 i had recently installed be misbalanced ?

Thanks!

 

[steelespike]

Re: Boat pulling left

I don't think balance has anything to do with prop torque. You changed rotation so you need to reset the trim tab position
to reduce the prop torque affect.

 

[_vn_]

Re: Boat pulling left

when i originally got this boat it had pretty beat up prop and i didn't change it right away. i also had very stiff steering with that prop and thought its due to steering rack mechanism, however after getting a different prop steering problem went away. that is why i am suspicious of disbalance.
i have smart tabs and i guess i can play around with the position over next weekend
thanks !

 

[jestor68]

Re: Boat pulling left

So, which way is the unit set up to rotate? I'm not a Volvo expert, but the 270 and 280 drives I've seen all seemed to have left hand props on them.

You can't use a right rotation prop if the unit is set up for left hand rotation. It'd be like you're running in reverse all the time.

 

[steelespike]

Re: Boat pulling left

when i originally got this boat it had pretty beat up prop and i didn't change it right away. i also had very stiff steering with that prop and thought its due to steering rack mechanism, however after getting a different prop steering problem went away. that is why i am suspicious of disbalance.
i have smart tabs and i guess i can play around with the position over next weekend
thanks !

I'm talking about the anode under the anti vent(anti cavitation) plate Or maybe the Volvo doesn't have one.
Or maybe its missing. Most drives have the anode shaped like a fin and you can turn it to combat torque steer.
Jestor68, the Volvo rotation can be changed by a simple procedure.

 

[jestor68]

Re: Boat pulling left

OK, thanks. Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks.

According to the on line Volvo shop manual; left rotation -set trim tab 5 degrees to port. For right rotation set 30 degrees to port.

 

[_vn_]

Re: Boat pulling left

thanks a bunch ! i will play with that anode !!! i am 100% sure its at 90 degrees now
jestor68 on VP there is a hatch that opens up in front of intermediate unit which has gear that you change from left to right, takes 2 minutes

 

[steelespike]

Re: Boat pulling left

90 degrees would put it crossways to the thrust.