I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

[tanyarae]

hi, can anyone tell me why my steering is all over the place when I go slow? I try to keep it straight but it bobbles back and forth. I'm afraid I will get pulled over for drunk driven....lol.... I have power steering and I checked the fluid, which is fine. not sure what it could be....please help!

 

[dubs283]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

ahhh, the sterndrive stray

happens in most sterndrive boats - normal operation

try keeping the wheel straight when going slow and watch the boat move back and forth but maintain a steady course

if its really bad, may be time for a new gimbal ring, steering cable, or steering arm - with the boat out of the water, check the drive steering play by moving the drive back and forth and watching the wheel - if you have movement of a few inches side to side with no steering wheel movement, time for some troubleshooting

 

[scipper77]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

power steering kills feedback in the wheel. This can make it easy to overcompensate when correcting your steering at low speed. But for the most part wandering at low speed is just a normal part of boating.

 

[wire2]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Most smaller "pleasure boats" use what's termed a planing hull. it's designed to operate on top of the water. When it's in the water, it will oscillate left-right-left-right... because now it's trying to be a displacement hull.

If the swing to the left is ~the same as the swing to the right, it will average a straight line. Resist trying to steer it for a 100% straight line, just make small corrections.

 

[ziggy]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

^^^
what they said. + especially if the boat in question is a vhull...

If the swing to the left is ~the same as the swing to the right, it will average a straight line.

i find this true too. i tried it one day. went clean across the lake(small 2k sq. acre lake) and ended up where i pointed it at. but i was all over the place.

also, look way out far away when steering. pick your point and steer accordingly. small corrections for sure.. plan you counter steer ahead of the swing...

 

[pwpns]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

My stingray did the same thing. Where I boat we have a large no wake zone. When I put some Nautica smart tabs on it the steering wander went away the boat tracks pretty straight now.

 

[generator12]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

He's right about the Smart Tabs. I freaked when I first put my (old) new Four Winns into the water. But after adding the Smart Tabs, the back and forth wander was essentially gone. They also reduced my minimum planing speed and planing throttle significantly. Excellent mod.

 

[wire2]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

My stingray did the same thing. Where I boat we have a large no wake zone. When I put some Nauticus smart tabs on it the steering wander went away the boat tracks pretty straight now.

That's good to know. I ordered a set from iBoats just now. $119 plus ~$9 UPS ground shipping to NY. That's cheaper than eBay, and no exhorbitant Paypal exchange rates.

 

[series60]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Have you retorqued the two gimbal ring clamping screws to 55 ft. lb.? http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=446819&highlight=torque+steering+arm. Read item #5.

 

[superbenk]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

You'll be happy with the results of the Smart Tabs on slow-speed wander. They did wonders on my 18'

 

[ziggy]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

i've never had smart tabs.
if i had some issues with my boat like porpoising or slow time to plane, i would most certainly consider smart tabs. they seem like a great product. too many folks love them and they can obviously compensate for many different issues, to include low speed wander.

however, practice makes perfect for low speed wander. since i've never had tabs i've had to learned to overcome this wander. it really isn't that hard to learn. i posted up the two things that i feel are most critical. looking far ahead to a fixed point and steer towards that + learning your boat and anticipating the wander and making small course corrections prior to the swing.

surely i'm not the only one who can steer 'mostly' straight w/ a vhull w/o tabs.

steering my vhull straight makes me think i'm a real skipper... that's (being able to steer straight) the criteria for being a skipper i'm sure... jk..

 

[superbenk]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

It's not that those of us with tabs can't do it, it's that the tabs make the experience more enjoyable. I'm sure I could run 5 miles from point A to point B, but it's a lot more enjoyable to drive it

 

[Robbabob]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Welcome to iBoats!

Like everyone says, it's a matter of over-correcting. The boat will wander a lot on its own, without someone touching the steering. Our correction becomes an overcorrection to course, making it worse. Practice makes perfect when it comes to "holding the line."

The best part of it is: It happens to everyone with a planing boat! It's not just you

Ours does pretty good until Sunday... then it always wants to turn left.

 

[tschmidty]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

+1 to Smart Tabs curing the wander. Plus other great benefits. I love how flat it stays when accelerating. Just overall a great mod.

 

[TJDave]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Ours does pretty good until Sunday... then it always wants to turn left.

I was not going to bother posting since my experiences have been the same on my current and previous sterndrive V-hull: Low speed wander and the Smart Tabs all but eliminating it.

But then I saw the subliminal Nascar comment....Nicely done.

 

[smclear]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Get yourself a straight inboard (not an inboard-outboard) and you won't have those issues. I'm not sure that the hull type (planing vs. displacement) has anything to do with it. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Perhaps it's the rudder that prevents the hull from swinging. I owned an I/O in the past that did the exact same thing, common problem with I/O's. I currently own a straight inboard and it doesn't wander at all.

 

[TJDave]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Get yourself a straight inboard (not an inboard-outboard) and you won't have those issues.

That's an expensive fix!! But it will work.

 

[dlngr]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

I'll stick with my wandering outboards,thanks!!!

 

[ingalp01]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

Mine's a wanderer too. I hope to solve much of the wandering by replacing several steering components this winter during the new outdrive install. I have the Smart Tabs, but haven't had a chance to test them. On test day, reverse went out on the outdrive while backing off the trailer. LOL... Arghhh! It's Always Something... Hey that would be a good name for a boat...

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: I am having steering problems when going slow!! Please help!!

You can do a search and find all sorts of info on the net about "wandering".

Everyone thinks what they did "fixed" their "problem".



Aside from the steering system actually having "slop"

It's more a function of the fact that there's no effective keel on v-bottom boats.

When going in a straight line at idle speeds, there's little or no side-force to keep the boat straight.

As soon as boat starts to turn one way or the other(with the engine, drive, or rudder kept perfectly straight) the hull starts moving through the water sideways....... , the Keel (or v-bottom) starts to act like a keel and helps to move the bow back to the center but because there's momentum when it gets back to center, it just keeps going the other way.

It's VERY speed dependent. If you're going just a little bit faster, the keel (V-bottom) becomes more effective at keeping the boat going straight.

Adding equal drag on both sides of the drive point (stern drive/outboard) doesn't change this.

I have tabs on my 21' v-bottom boat too. Having them up, down, halfway.......AND having a single prop drive, or "twin" prop drive DID NOT make any difference it idle speed running..... (Mine also did it with the previously installed single prop Cobra drive just like it does now with the Bravo III. The Tabs have been on this boat for 15 years or so) It did it before the tabs were installed just like it does it now.

I didn't expect it to make any difference either.


Tabs make a fairly significant difference in planing speed and if (cockpit) adjustable allow you control the roll if you have a portly occupant on one side or other and you don't want to ask them to move!!

Non-adjustable (fixed) tabs might help your min planing speed but will cause drag at higher speeds... (reducing your top speed) and WILL cause you to use more fuel at planing-cruising speed.

I like my Bennett trim tabs......but when i cruise around, I run them up completely out of the water. If I want to pull a wake boarder, I run them all the way down.


YMMV,


Rick