Marine: Boating, Sailing, PWC, GPS and Navigation - steering questions

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Silverline76
08-03-08, 04:12 PM
i took the boat out yesterday for the first time, and it seemed to have a couple of issues. first of all, it pulls left, and if you let the steering wheel go, it rotates left and you will spin in circles. i noticed there was a small fin on the back of the outdrive that is cocked to the left. it sits upside down right above the prop. i checked it out of water, and the whole outdrive doesn't move as far right as it does left. is this something that can be adjusted? it is a 1976 mercruiser 888 with a ford 302. :wall:

Seajay_y2k
08-10-08, 05:22 PM
I am not an expert by any means, however, what you are describing sounds like "Torque Steer" and that little fin that is upside down, just above the prop is designed to counter this problem.. what you might want to do is adjust it a little more to the left to correct for this. I know, turning it more to the left sounds counter productive, but think of it like this.. if the fin is cocked to the left, its going to "PUSH" the drive to the right, making it turn right. Since this is a "Fixed" (I.E. Not adjustable while underway) fin, you should to set it so that you get zero torque steer at your Normal Cruising speed. Hope this helps..

Craig..