Author Topic: Boat Pulls to Right  (Read 12454 times)

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Offline Marko56

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Boat Pulls to Right
« on: July 23, 2012, 07:45:52 AM »
This is my 4th summer with my American Skier Legend.  Before this boat I had an I/O, and an O/B before that.  The I/O and O/B each had a noticable and logical pull to the right under power from prop torque.  I had never noticed the pull on the AS and thought inboards didn't have it.  My daughter mentioned the other day that the AS pulled to the right under power.  I went out for a test and sure enough, noticed that if I loosened my grip on the wheel it did pull to the right under power, although nothing like an I/O or O/B.  I guess I had never taken my hand off the wheel; a good practice that I will continue to follow.  But now I'm wondering, is this pull to the right something new (i.e. cause for concern) or is it natural from prop torque? 

Offline Midskier

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #1 on: July 23, 2012, 08:22:26 AM »
good question and 1 we hear often - realistically it should pull to the right
it is called rudder torque and can be actually tuned into the rudder or tuned out

neutral steering meaning the boat goes in a straight line at almost all speeds may seem desirable
to most however any steering correction will take a little longer as the "slop" in the steering
mech needs to be snugged one way or the other before the actual correction occurs

by having rudder torque tuned into your rudder - meaning it pulls to the right
all of the "slop" is already taken up in the mechanism and any required steering correction
will happen as soon as you input the correction to the wheel

this is an inboard thing, not just an amskier thing

so yes you need to hold the wheel while driving and should instruct all others drivers to do the same...........

when the pull to the right comes in is something you need to discover
driving in a safe location in a straight line with your hand loose on the wheel and throttle around 15 mph
slowly increase speed in 5 mph increments and lightly let the wheel loose @ each speed
on most inboards we see rudder torque / pull to the right coming in around 30 - 35 mph
which is pretty neutral / pretty light - I had one that was neutral all the way to full throttle and sloppy to steer
(adjusted as described below and now comes in around 30ish mph)

the boats used for slalom training and or pulling tournaments will be tuned to pull @ lower speeds
say 20-25 mph which means there is certainly some felt torque on the wheel @ 30 -35 mph
however the corrections to the wheel will be almost instantaneous to the boats direction - highly desirable
to keep the boat going in a straight line with a good slalom skier behind it.

how to tune it: newer boats that Ron built included a little trim tab on the trailing edge of the rudder
loosen the bolt and adjust, tighten and test - later copied by cc an bu

don't have a trim tab - then your only option is to permanently make a physical adjustment
with a FILE - not so hard to do if you know what is going to happen

so here it is for all of you with a file in hand thinking you're going to "fix it" lol

want it to pull to the right: when looking @ the rudder the right / starboard / drivers side trailing edge
file that edge - about 4-6 solid strokes down the full length that will add rudder torque and have it pull to the right
5-10 mph sooner than it did b4, not enough(?) do it again - too much (?) hit the other side............

best to leave it alone and always keep a hand on it

Dan T
 

 
« Last Edit: July 23, 2012, 11:44:08 AM by Midskier »
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Offline mtbinscotland

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #2 on: July 25, 2012, 03:05:22 PM »
This is very interesting reading.  Mine is not pulling when moving forward but tends not to be able to turn to the left when in reverse.  She just kinda goes with a mind of her own.  Any thoughts on why this would happen?

Offline RonT

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #3 on: July 25, 2012, 03:44:04 PM »
Reverse steering is a totally different issue, what we have is what you get with a single screw, single rudder installation, no matter what brand ski boat you have. (except the older Correct Crafts pull the opposite way) Operator skill & practice is the only answer here.

Offline Pelvic Woo

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2012, 07:59:13 AM »
My '88 Advance always pulls to the right when backing...very predictable.  Makes me look like a hero when docking - pull in nose slightly first, put in reverse at idle speed to snug the ass-end in.  Voila!  Just don't ask me to pull in on the port side...HA!
1988 Advance/1990 Comanche

Offline Joel

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2012, 05:12:14 PM »
My original rudder has the lip causing the right hand pull.  Its great if your pulling a skier through a course.  My replacement rudder doesnt have the lip and the boat cruises straight as an arrow, but lost the "feel" I had with the original rudder.  It makes staying on course (between the buoys) more difficult when driving for a skier on a slalom course.  Just had a strong skier behind my boat this week and it was an issue (for me - the driver).

On the other hand, the wake on his $70K Malibu wasnt any better than my ole girl's wake  :)  His perfect pass was a nice option though... gotta get one of those installed  :)
Joel - Columbus, OH - 1991 Advance

Offline RonT

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #6 on: July 28, 2012, 12:13:04 PM »
Get after it with a file Joel.

Offline Joel

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Re: Boat Pulls to Right
« Reply #7 on: July 28, 2012, 04:44:45 PM »
I'll wait till the next reunion with you watching over my shoulder so I dont mess it up  ;)  Believe me, I CAN mess it up...   LOL!!!
Joel - Columbus, OH - 1991 Advance