Catcher

'71 236 Slickcraft, Ford 302, 188 hp. Steering is sometimes so hard cannot turn wheel, pulls HARD to right, leans to right even when docked. I'm a new boat owner who would appreciate input from those of you who know.

 

Hi Catcher,

If the boat is listing to starboard (read: leaning to the right) at rest, there will be some heavy object(s) on board responsible for this. It might be an off-centre tank, or maybe all the storage lockers on that side are full, or maybe the previous owner was a bank robber and hid 200 pounds of loot in the bilge. If the tendency to list to the side at rest concerns you, and the boat doesn't have any obvious asymmetry in its layout, you need to open up all the storage lockers and bilge access ports, and figure out where all the heavy things are. (Come to think of it, you should do this anyway, just to get familiar with your new toy.)

Pulling hard to one side when going fast is a common trait with sterndrive and outboard engines. Most of the time it is caused by propeller torque. The details of why this happens can become quite involved; what you need to know is what it feels like and how to fix it. Prop torque problems on a sterndrive usually manifest themselves as a strong pull to one side on the steering wheel, usually much stronger at some speeds than at others, and happening at a different speed (or perhaps not at all) if you load the boat heavily. The fix is the little (about 3") fin hanging down from the plate above the prop. By loosening its bolt, moving it VERY SLIGHTLY (only about 1 degree at a time- viewed from the top, move it counterclockwise if the boat pulls to the right, clockwise if the boat pulls to the left), and tightening it back up, you can usually find a setting where the boat will track fairly straight without pulling on the wheel. Needless to say, you should do this with the boat carrying a normal weight of crew/gear, and you have to stop the engine and get out to fiddle with the drive each time you make an adjustment.

On some drives, this fin also serves as a sacrifical zinc anode to prevent the drive from corroding away. If the fin looks heavily eroded, it needs to be replaced with a new zinc.

 

Unfortunately it could also be a leak that has filled a compartment under the sole, with no place to drain too (common problem on old boats)

Start from a level playing field and completely empty the boat. Anchors, lines, PFD's, sun glasses, everything that isn't boat or attached to the boat.

 

I appreciate the info.