hard to steer

[red cobia 17']

when i'm sitting still the steering is very easy.when i'm under power at cruise steering is hard to left&harder to right.steering helm,cable,tube are all new.what do i need to do?

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: hard to steer

Lift weights?

 

[studlymandingo]

Re: hard to steer

Does the steering get easier when you trim the motor up? What you are likely experiencing is "torque steer" use the red search at the top of this page and look for that. There are a number of fixes for this.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: hard to steer

Agree it may be torque steer. Also possible you may not have a problem at all...might just be the nature of the beast for your rig, especially in sharper turns, even more so if it's a cable system.<br /><br />A few VERY general steering characteristics here depending on what you have....<br /><br />Hard steering: Cable<br />Medium steering: Hydraulic<br />Easy steering: Power<br /><br />Might help if we knew exactly what kind of boat we're talking about here as 17' Cobia can cover a lot of ground and I frankly am not very familiar with Cobia...is this an I/O, outboard, twin outboards, inboard with rudder steering, age of boat, type of steering system (you alluded to cable...but does the cable push a hydraulic ram like a sort of a hybrid system?) Not sure what exactly you mean when you say you have a new "tube".

 

[red cobia 17']

Re: hard to steer

my boat is a 1971 cobia bowrider outboard 70hp.when i say new tube i mean tilt tube where steering cable goes through.i redid the boat,new stringers,floor,transom,ect.this boat had nothing in it when i got it (controls,steering system,guages,nothing)i put a teleflex safe-t qc steering system in it.hopes this info is enough if not i can try to give more.

 

[red cobia 17']

Re: hard to steer

my cavitation plate is about 1 to 1.5 inches bolow the bottom of the boat .do i need to raise my motor?

 

[paulie0735]

Re: hard to steer

Originally posted by red cobia 17':<br /> my cavitation plate is about 1 to 1.5 inches bolow the bottom of the boat .do i need to raise my motor?

Yes, bring it up to one hole higher than level that should help a lot. Technically the plate should be above the water line when the boat is on the plane. Every boat is different but that’s where you should start. Also trim can have a big effect on the weight of your steering.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: hard to steer

A no feedback steering system would help a lot, but it's definitely better to work with what you have first. <br /><br />I agree raising the motor is a good place to start. Do you have a hydrofoil installed on the motor? If yes, try removing it. They can have a big impact on steering effort. Do you have power trim adjustment? If yes, obviously it's easy to experiment with. But if no, then experimenting with different fixed trim positions can have a great impact on handling as well. There's lots of variables here. If it's all new and steers easily while sitting still, then I doubt you have an actual problem with the steering system, it's just a setup problem and you will have to experiment to find the sweet spot.

 

[red cobia 17']

Re: hard to steer

just raised motor up now even with bottom of boat.will try again tomorrow.thanks for your replys

 

[red cobia 17']

Re: hard to steer

ok I raised motor&moved tab to right.boat steers better now.don't think I can do no more with it.Thanks everybody.Oh by the way rubber frog i'm 6'3" 270lbs I don't think I need to lift any more weights.