Boat won't steer straight

[Darol Wester]

It's a 22 ft. 78 Cruiser with 260 Mercruiser. When coming in and out of the harbor at 10 mph or less, it will not stay on a straight course. You're constantly turning the wheel to one side or the other. A real pain in the butt. People think you're drinking or something. Any ideas?

 

[mike456]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

This is completely normal and common for most boats at low speed. if you trace back through old postings you will find many that address point and all say the same thing. You can't fix the problem. you just need to get used to it and do not over steer to compensate for it.

 

[Darol Wester]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

We kind of figured that but having this boards great resource at my fingertips I thought I'd give it a shot. Thanks mike.

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

Have you checked the components of youre steering system to see if there is any unusual slack?......
Have you tightened the two bolts on top of your gimbal ring to 50#?.....
Some wander is normal & an experienced hand knows how to avoid over steering, however I would check for excessive play to eliminate that possibility & maybe improve the symptom......​

 

[milkyway]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

At 10 mph on calm water, your boat should be straight. Try wiggling the outdrive from side to side watching for any play in the steering wheel. It should not wiggle, maybe just a tick, with no movement of the wheel.

 

[QC]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

Just to clarify this as we seem to have a contradiction here . . . Yes, at 10 MPH, you should be making a pretty big wake and it should run reasonably straight. At 5 MPH however, most I/Os wander like a drunken sailor unless you are very vigilant and make lots of very small helm corrections. There is a fix though despite yet another contradiction here . . . As long as the steering components are good, the best thing you can do is add either helm adjustable trim tabs or Smart Tabs. At displacement speeds (off plane), if helm adjustable tabs are placed in the down position (Smart Tabs will be in the down position on their own), they make a significant improvement to this issue and will even allow you to take your hands off the wheel for short spurts. Those who claim it won't help haven't tried it

 

[milkyway]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

Trim tabs work 100%. I put my nauticus tabs last year and since then I have been able to put on sunblock, no hands on the wheel, while moving at wakespeed. At any rate, still check the play on the outdrive and steering wheel and report your findings.

 

[Darol Wester]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

Thanks to all. I'll check this out tomorrow and see what I find.

 

[Ro-Tator]

Re: Boat won't steer straight

Have you checked the components of youre steering system to see if there is any unusual slack?......
Have you tightened the two bolts on top of your gimbal ring to 50#?.....
Some wander is normal & an experienced hand knows how to avoid over steering, however I would check for excessive play to eliminate that possibility & maybe improve the symptom......​

I was gonna' say. My friend's old capri with a volvo 4 cyl wandered excessively. It had huge free play in the components, which drastically exacerbated the tendency to wander