I bought a new to me boat the other week and I finally got it out on the water today after getting all the registration. The engine ran fine and the boat is in good shape, but when I took it over around 20 mph it started pulling really hard to the right and felt like it was about to flip over. Above 20 it was just out of control. I was thinking that putting on of those fins on the engine right above the prop might help it get straightened out but just checking if anyone who knows about boats has had this happen before. Thanks for any help.

9/7/2006 6:18:36 PM

add a rudder

what kind of boat/engine?

9/7/2006 6:23:48 PM

Trim tabs, yo!

But yeah, what kind of boat/motor?

9/7/2006 6:31:34 PM

Was it actually pulling (turning) to the right or just leaning way over?

And why did you post this without posting something about the boat type?

9/7/2006 6:36:38 PM

hahahaha
rofl copter

9/7/2006 7:02:19 PM

your trim was either to far up or down. raise or lower the motor. that is all.

9/7/2006 7:34:18 PM

Don't forget about the trim tab on the lower unit.

9/7/2006 7:59:03 PM

its a 1960 Glasspar with a 1965, 65hp Mercury. The engine has manual trim, I didn't think about that.

9/7/2006 8:21:22 PM

should have a tab on the outdrive you can rotate to offset the engine torque

9/7/2006 8:36:33 PM

^do you know where that tab might be?

9/7/2006 8:53:10 PM

should be a plate with a fin directly behind the prop that you can rotate to offset torque steer, unless somone has changed the lower unit to a newer one. and when you say it pulls, can you countersteer slightly and keep it straight? if so that is normal, if its bad, you can adjust the center point and travel on the steering linkage. also is the motor mounted on the transom square?

9/7/2006 9:05:29 PM

Ah, an olllllllld boat and olllllllllllllld motor. The torque of the damn prop is about to flip your shit right over!!! Get used to it! haha Just have everybody sit on the high side when you want to run full speed. That'll fix it.

9/7/2006 9:09:17 PM

its a 65 hp, not hard to correct

9/7/2006 9:11:40 PM

i tried the shifting people around technique but it didnt seem to do anything, if not make it a lot worse

9/7/2006 9:29:28 PM

that's where the pull gets really bad, when i try to counter steer to compensate. i gave the mounting a quick glance after we got it in and it looked fine. would a slightly off center mounting do that much to the direction and steering of the boat? also do you think one of those fins would help keep it straight in the water. its hard to describe what i'm talking about, but its a hard plastic fin that fits horizontally a little above the propeller, looks kind of like the rear fin on some airplane tails.

9/7/2006 9:35:53 PM

sounds like your motor may not be mounted exactly square on the transom

9/7/2006 9:36:25 PM

i put pics of the motor in my gallery. i measured the engine mount and it is off by maybe a little under half an inch. the only problem is that if i want to move the motor along the transom, i'll have to take out the bolts shown in the first picture. i guess the guy who had it before me drilled some holes so i'd have to seal them up and drill new ones.

[Edited on September 7, 2006 at 11:49 PM. Reason : -]

9/7/2006 11:47:46 PM

9/8/2006 1:06:52 AM

I had a 16' Dixie with a 75hp when I was a kid. I'm talking an OLD school narrow little boat with a large under powered motor, rounded windshield and all. The torque of that big piece a shit motor against the boat was enough to damn near turn it over. If that's what's you're talking about, just live with it and be glad to be on the water.

If not, then good luck.

9/8/2006 1:41:12 AM

just get a couple fat bitches to ride on the high side.

9/8/2006 3:01:12 AM

that is what you need to adjust to get it tracking straight, and a bolt on stabilizer helps a hell of a lot too



[Edited on September 8, 2006 at 7:02 AM. Reason : and that looks like a 71-76 lower unit on that motor]

9/8/2006 7:01:01 AM

If I recall correctly, then your motor is trimmed too far up, lower the motor (trim down) slightly. I think if its too far up, the boat pulls to the right, too far down, it pulls to the left. Also, too much upward trim will cause the boat to track incorrectly and give you that out of control feeling. Too far down makes the boat a bit doggy.

9/8/2006 8:54:52 AM

where's a good place around here to get the stabilizing fin?

9/8/2006 3:04:21 PM

jeffries and sons on lake wheeler? can i go with you?

9/8/2006 3:25:40 PM

most likely you dont need the friggin fin

9/9/2006 8:24:29 AM

^yeah the guy at boaters world said the best bet would be to get a NFB Safe-T 2 steering system. he said that would help elimintate a lot of the torque that is causing the boat to turn like that.

9/9/2006 12:50:40 PM

Quote :

"If I recall correctly, then your motor is trimmed too far up, lower the motor (trim down) slightly. I think if its too far up, the boat pulls to the right, too far down, it pulls to the left."

no, it will pull to the right when the boat is not trimmed up enough. it pulls a certain direction depending on the rotation of the prop. right rotation (clockwise) is standard which i'm sure this boat is. you usually only see a left rotation motor when it is used in a dual setup (right motor turns right, left motor turns left.).

try setting the trim tab up a notch. keep moving it up one notch at a time until the steering is easy and equal in both directions when you are on plane or near top speed. if you move it up too much, the boat will "porpoise" or bounce unecessarily while at speed.

Quote :

"should be a plate with a fin directly behind the prop that you can rotate to offset torque steer,"

adjust this only after you have properly set the trim.

Quote :

"do you think one of those fins would help keep it straight in the water. its hard to describe what i'm talking about, but its a hard plastic fin that fits horizontally a little above the propeller, looks kind of like the rear fin on some airplane tails."

a hydrofoil (or fin as others have called it in this thread) will only help a boat plane out quicker.

9/9/2006 4:20:32 PM