Low speed steering issue

[mterblanche]

I'm having an issue with steering at low speeds. Between 20-30mph the boat wants to steer to port, I have to turn the wheel 1/2 a turn to starboard to compensate. The speed bleeds off a bit and there is more bow wake on the starboard side. Needless to say, steering to starboard is then extremely sluggish.

... here's the interesting part: Above 32mph (about 5,000rpm) everything levels out. Steering centers again, wake is balanced and she is a joy to be with.

I know the simple answer is to keep her between 32-55+mph, but that's not always practical.

I bought this boat 3 months ago with 80 hours on it and she's been like this since day 1. The PO is not very helpful.

Please help.

 

[xintersecty]

I'm having an issue with steering at low speeds. Between 20-30mph the boat wants to steer to port, I have to turn the wheel 1/2 a turn to starboard to compensate. The speed bleeds off a bit and there is more bow wake on the starboard side. Needless to say, steering to starboard is then extremely sluggish.

... here's the interesting part: Above 32mph (about 5,000rpm) everything levels out. Steering centers again, wake is balanced and she is a joy to be with.

Ah the joys of boating! I have found the best answer is to do what you need to do and do it. Don't worry about the position of the Steering Wheel. Worry about seating arrangements and trim. I have to drive to starboard to keep the boat on track around the 20 mph range. I find in that boat shifting people around does wonders. When I take the boat out this winter, I will be looking at active trim system for the boat where I can trim per side.

As the boat gains speed, there is an angle of attack where the both sides are supported. At different speeds the boat will list one way or an other depending on weight distribution across the boat. Of course once the boat leans to a side, fuel will cascade on that side making it heavy as well.

 

[mterblanche]

It certainly makes things exciting. I took the boat out yesterday and played around a bit with the throttles. I realized that I could correct this issue by throttle input. Since this boat has two engines and two throttles, I figured that by applying more power to one or the other engine, I could level out the steering.

I noticed that my starboard engine throttle does not move once I've got it to the desired RPM. My port throttle, however (if let go) will back down to zero throttle. What I now do is set the starboard throttle and use the port throttle to balance the steering. Sometimes the two engines are operating at similar RPM, however at other times in order to correct the steering the port engine is operating 2-3000 rpm higher.

Is this a normal way to operate these types of boats? Does this indicate that my port engine is producing less power that starboard?
So many questions...

 

[xintersecty]

You might have found the actual solution and problem all at once. Each engine will be putting out different power at the same throttle settings. Watch your RPM gauges. My own boat the RPM gauge is broken and I have a single engine. Your port throttle friction lock might be too lose. My own throttle is very good at staying put.

I would keep your RPM with a few hundred of each other and focus on trim.

 

[chlarson23]

I always wonder about this as so many people with dual engines seem to have the same issue. It would seem to me that one explanation may be that the previous owner did some damage the wear ring or impeller causing slight cavitation causing what would seem as less power output. So my question is, have you had a chance to glance at your pumps and see if one is worse shape than the other? I know in my 180 the previous owner had done some major damage to the pump and it was night and day difference after i swapped the impeller and wear ring.