Loose Steering

[marklo154]

Boat has been running great everything seems in check but I have developed a issue with the steering and would like to fix it.

Everything is good at the lower speeds, but as soon as I hit 3000 rpm`s and hit any kind of wake the boat / steering is all over the place, very loose and it takes alot of over steering to get it back. I need to fix this and was just wondering were to start or what to start looking at .

[44Ydnar88]

I apologize for the hijack here, but i too have encountered some ''weird'' steering issues with my F25 concerning crossing wake. Cutting through between 90 and 45 deg of on coming boats is fine, but when im overtaken by a bigger boat and there wake catches up, oh man! It sounds like when the big water guys refer to a following sea, but it feels like the boat raises up on the wake and wants to spin on the super flat bottom, would this be "bow steer".

[prowlersfish]

With the steering issue at higher speeds ,it sounds like bow steer . The most common cause would be using to much trim tab. At higher speeds less tab needs to be used . Also to much weight up front can cause it also .

[larryeddington]

too much Trim tabs cause my f28 to do exactly what you are asking about.

[The Dog House]

I experienced bow steer for the first time today. I tried to bring the boat on plane with the trim tabs still down. I'll never do that again!

[marklo154]

Sounds like I need to address my non working trim tabs as well

[captainmaniac]

I experienced bow steer for the first time today. I tried to bring the boat on plane with the trim tabs still down. I'll never do that again!

Tabs are like the flaps on an airplane - always being adjusted to keep trim flat and level. At 1500 RPM or less I keep tabs all the way up (to reduce drag).

When I accelerate I drop them all the way down, then increase rpms / speed gradually. As I get to around 2200 RPM (12-14 knots) I start to trim up a bit, and you can just feel the boat free up. When making adjustments, use the 'tap tap' method.... don't mash a button for 3 seconds and then see what happens. It takes a few seconds for the boat to respond to any tab changes, so just give it a tap up, or a tap down, and wait 3-5 seconds for it to respond and decide if you need more, or overshot.

As you change direction, tabs may need adjusted (crosswind on your port side will make you lean one way, on the stbd side will make you lean the other), and movement of passengers around the boat will also affect trim. If 4 people move from the cockpit up to the bow, you just moved 600+ pounds forward... the tabs will need to come up a bit.

[marklo154]

I have a smaller 20 foot boat that has tabs and I use them all the time.

When I first got this trojan someone not sure who it was had told me that the tabs where a after market item and that you dont need them on a boat this size, so I think that stuck in my head so I never really worried about them, I will look into them today when I go down to the Marina.

You seem to get alot of unsolicited advice down at the Marina , I am beginning to learn lots of it is just a persons guess lol

[prowlersfish]

if they are stuck down then that could be your problem

[The Dog House]

For my F26, I keep the tabs all the way up when I'm off plane. To get on plane, I bring the engine up to 3200 rpm with the tabs still up. After the bow of the boat is starting to climb out of the hole I begin to lower the trim tabs to help get the stern of the boat out of the hole. After the boat is planing I reduce the engine to 3000 rpm and make small adjustments to the trim tabs.

When I come off of plane I keep the trim tabs down until the boat is settled back into the water and then bring the trim tabs all the way up. Yesterday I forgot to bring the trim tabs all the way up after I had come off plane and so I had major bow steer when I tried to bring the boat on plane again. Working trim tabs are definitely a requirement to use an F26.

[Pshelp]

Does anyone have experience in changing out, or possibly even adding to the existing trim tabs? I have a 36' Trojan Express, and love it! But the trim tabs are too small, and I can't get her to plane, so I'm wondering if I need to buy a whole new kit, or if I can possibly just bolt on a larger trim tab? My concern would be that the current system might not handle the pressure from larger tabs. Any thoughts on what is ideal for these boats?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

Phil

[ready123]

Before you do anything to the tabs I would check other things because the standard tabs should do the job.
Do you have the correct size props?
Is the engine giving the correct power/torque?
Is the hull clean?

[Pshelp]

Thanks Michael, I'll have to measure to see what size the trim tabs are. I'll be hauling the boat out this weekend, and will check everything else. I do have a vibration in the starboard engine, maybe that's keeping it from giving me enough torque?

The hull is clean, and they are standard props.

Thanks for the info though...it would be nice to be able to plane. At 1800 rpm I'm going 9-10 MPH. Maybe that's about normal?

Phil

[ready123]

Thanks Michael, I'll have to measure to see what size the trim tabs are. I'll be hauling the boat out this weekend, and will check everything else. I do have a vibration in the starboard engine, maybe that's keeping it from giving me enough torque?

The hull is clean, and they are standard props.

Thanks for the info though...it would be nice to be able to plane. At 1800 rpm I'm going 9-10 MPH. Maybe that's about normal?

Phil

That's about normal speed for that rpm... to get on plane you will need to get up to 2600+ish.... what I do is put tabs full down, full throttle then pull throttle back when she gets out of the hole and adjust tabs up to get bow lifted a bit.
I tune the tabs once my rpm is set using my GPS for max speed at the rpm I'm running often 2800+ with my normal load.
From my bridge the attitude looks right when the bow wake is inline with my forward cleats...... being a 36' your numbers might be a bit different.

Have you checked the alignment of that starboard engine shaft/coupling in the water?

[Pshelp]

I have a good friend who was showing me how to do exactly what you're talking about to get her on plane. But I also don't run the RPMs too high since I have the vibration. I'll also check the alignment of the starboard engine shaft/coupling. Thanks for the advice!