Hard Steering 2003 Nitro 17'

[kwnewboater]

First of all, I am new to boat owning, so bare with me. I recently purchased a 2003 Nitro 17 foot with a 2004 90hp Mercury 4-stroke. I have ridden and driven several boats but never owned my own. The problem I have is with the steering. At low speeds, I have no issues at all. It is only when I get the boat on plane that the problem presents itself. The boat has a distinctive "lean" to the left side of the boat and at the same time "pulls" to the right. I can steer to the right with relative ease, but really have to fight it to move it to the left at all - so much that it feels as if something is going to break if I continued. I had to power down and cruise at a low speed back to the ramp for risk of injuring the boat or myself. I have read some similar posts on this site, as well as others, about prop torque and trim tabs being the cause of similar problems. Does anyone have any specific info related to this type motor and boat that could be useful, as I have not noticed these "tabs" as described by others. Or could there be another problem that I am not aware of. I have disconnected the steering cable and the motor turns fine in both directions as well as the wheel. I expected this, as I was not having any steering problems at low speed. What about the "wedge type" anodes? Do they only serve a anti-corrosion function or do they play a part in this as well. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Pictures would be great! I am ready to get it back on the water!

 

[carholme]

Re: Hard Steering 2003 Nitro 17'

Sir;

Here is the service manual for your engine:

http://1manual.com/Mercury manuals/Service Manual PDFs/FourStroke/858895r1/cover.pdf

Scroll down to lower part of the page and click on Gear Housing in Section 6. When that opens up scroll down to page 6-63, Trim Tab Adjustment to give you an idea of what it is and how to adjust.

You can download all separate sections of this manual and there is some good information for you.

Gerry

 

[kwnewboater]

Re: Hard Steering 2003 Nitro 17'

Thank you sir! That is exactly what I was looking for. It really helps having the visual diagrams. I'll get my wrenches out when I get home and see what I can do. I'll let you know if I was able to fix the problem. Thanks again.