1989 Wellcraft VERY hard steering

[blackrider]

Hi guys,

I have a 1989 Wellcraft that is pretty hard to steer. She has a 3.0 L Mercruiser for the powerplant. When moving at speeds above, say 5 MPH the steering wheel is a real bear to move. It takes BOTH of my hands to turn the wheel and while I am no He Man by any stretch I am also not a sorry excuse for a man either! :lol: This thing does not have power steering so should this constant battle at the helm be acceptable to me? I have been searching this forum for steering issues and I have come across some peoples skegs being messed up, the little trim tab needing adjustment and various other issues but I am not sure where to start with mine. My skeg is a bit gouged on the bottom but it is still straight.

So should this be acceptable without power steering or should I be checking other things? I can get pics of the skeg is you guys want to see the condition.

 

[alldodge]

Re: 1989 Wellcraft VERY hard steering

With the drive all the way down, if you grab the outdrive, how much play do you have in all directions? Also how is it with it trimed up a little like if you were on plane? How much play is there in the steering cable helm to rack?

 

[blackrider]

Re: 1989 Wellcraft VERY hard steering

With the drive all the way down, if you grab the outdrive, how much play do you have in all directions? Also how is it with it trimed up a little like if you were on plane? How much play is there in the steering cable helm to rack?

With the drive all the way down there isn't play at all. Not sure how I can swing it side to side to check for play as it turns like you are turning the steering wheel? When I am trimmed out and cruising, it seems to turn much easier but still is tougher than I think is normal. The really hard turning happens at lower speeds before you get on plane.

Is there a way to check the trim tab for obvious out of alignment conditions without adjusting on the water and testing it?

 

[blackrider]

Re: 1989 Wellcraft VERY hard steering

With the drive all the way down, if you grab the outdrive, how much play do you have in all directions? Also how is it with it trimed up a little like if you were on plane? How much play is there in the steering cable helm to rack?

How do I check the slack? I would need a tensiometer for that right? The outdrive seems to react pretty quickly to the steering wheel inputs so at this point I don't believe there is a whole lot of slack in the system.

 

[alldodge]

Re: 1989 Wellcraft VERY hard steering

How do I check the slack? I would need a tensiometer for that right? The outdrive seems to react pretty quickly to the steering wheel inputs so at this point I don't believe there is a whole lot of slack in the system.

I'm thinking something is getting in a bind, this is way I'm trying to see if there is slack somewhere. My helm has about an inch or so of play in it and I have replaced the helm and cable. I'm wondering if you grab the outdrive and see how much play is there at different angles. It could be the drive binding or the cable/rack/helm binding. The gimble and pins may be binding because when you start applying power it binds. When you trim it out at speed and on plane the drive is pushed away from the housing and the binding is not felt as much. Do you notice any water coming in the boat from a slight leak somewhere?