Boat pulls to the right on plane

[Todd in NY]

I was on a friend's boat last week and I noticed the boat wants to pull to the right if I let go of the steering wheel. It's a 22ft aluminum Crestliner with a 150HP Evinrude. He said he replaced the steering cable recently. I'm not sure what might be causing the boat to want to turn to the right. The trim tab above the prop seems to be turned just slightly in the same direction as my 90HP Evinrude (both are standard rotation), so I am wondering if he might have installed the wrong length/size steering cable. Any thoughts on how to diagnose and fix this steering issue?

 

[Bayou Dave]

He may have to turn the trim tab a little more towards the right.

 

[Todd in NY]

Thanks DRS4164! His trim tab is much narrower than I expected it to be. That's an easy fix as long as he turns it the right amount. It seems weird turning it to the right when the boat is already turning to the right. But someone much smarter than me designed it that way

 

[Todd in NY]

It appears that the Evinrude owners manual for his motor says that the boat can pull the the right if the motor is trimmed all the way down. It can pull to the left if the motor is trimmed up too high. His motor trim tab was turned slightly to the right, maybe in the #1 position. I'm thinking he should move it to the #2 position, then experiment with different trim levels while on plane. There are no hydraulic trim tabs on his boat.

 

[Fed]

Todd, the trim tab turns the motor not the boat, it pushes the back of the motor left or right depending on where it's set.
Grasp that & you will have an "Oh Yeah" moment.

Best to get up to a fast cruise speed that you normally travel at then trim up or down until you're happy with the boat's front to back attitude then see which way it pulls and adjust the trim tab from there. It's a bit like herding cats if you just start trying things, you need a plan.

 

[Todd in NY]

Thanks Fed, that's the plan we'll use.