Pulling to Starboard

[Tailgunner]

I've been going crazy trying to stop the boat from pulling to starboard. I adjusted the skeg on the cavitation plate, I bought a hydrofoil with stabilizer bars all with little effect. The hydrofoil did help get the boat up on a plane a lot quicker.

I was fileting some fish this morning when I noticed something wrong with the previous owner's transom work. He had the transom rebuilt and then got a good deal on a long shaft motor. He had this built so he could use a long shaft:




Notice the difference between the port and starboard heights of where it meets the transom. Could this be it?

[Argo]

that could definately cause a problem.

[Wilson]

undoubtedly

[RickK]

That is a pretty slick way to fill in the back though.

[JimCt]

Try to determine if the motor itself is level with the hull.  If it is, the transom probably isn't the problem.  My 170 had a strong pull to stbd also (75 Merc.) and I managed to wring out most of the pull with the tab.  Make sure the trailing edge of the tab is to stbd.  Another thing to try is increasing the steering drag.  This won't cure the problem but at least will allow you to take your hand off the wheel for a sec. without the boat veering off course.

The pull to stbd seems to be a characteristic of these boats, certainly with the 170's.

[Tailgunner]

Thanks Jim. I did tighten down the steering and it does help.

The weird part is I'll be running along and all of a sudden it will pull to starboard HARD. Almost like my bilge is full and the weight shifted if you know what I mean. The bilge is not full. I have also checked to make sure the tabs aren't loose on the motor and hydrofoil.

As best as I can tell the motor is pretty damn close to level.  But that is a guess at best when it's in the water.

I just add it up to another quirk of another machine of mine.

[Anonymous]

Somethings loose.  Maybe the tab, maybe something in the Teleflex, maybe the hull itself distorting due to pressure on the planing hull. Hull distortion, if that's the problem, could be the result of a bilge stringer that's delaminated from the hull which could cause "oil-canning" of the hull.  If a section of the hull pops inward, like an oil can, that would cause the steering to change instantly.