List and Turn to Starboard Under Power

[thebush]

Wanted to see if anyone has some words of wisdom. I have a 2006 Ride XTi that I purchased last fall. I have noticed that under power the boat lists slightly to starboard above idle speed. It also wants to make a sharp right turn if I let go of the wheel. I have adjusted the trim tab on the rudder, but it doesn't make any difference. Any help is welcomed.

[WakingMeHappy]

The right turn is normal. If you’ve adjusted the trim tab there’s not much else you can do. But the right turn is actually a desired effect of the Malibu. As for listing to the right check all of your weight and make sure everything is even.

[thebush]

At the risk of sounding stupid, why is the right turn a desireable effect?

[WakingMeHappy]

I’ve heard people say that with the turning effect makes it easier to keep the boat in a perfect straight line when going through a slalom course or the like. It’s caused by prop rotation. I think it’s the Tige that turns to the left. Someone else with more direct knowledge will have to chime in.

[eyepeeler]

At the risk of sounding stupid, why is the right turn a desireable effect?

If the rudder is set to pure neutral it is extremely difficult if not impossible to drive the slalom course at -38 on up.

[NorCaliBu]

I think it’s the Tige that turns to the left. Someone else with more direct knowledge will have to chime in.

It's actually Nautiques that pull left. Correct Craft uses a counter-rotating engine which is why they use a R/H rotation prop instead of L/H.

If the rudder is set to pure neutral it is extremely difficult if not impossible to drive the slalom course at -38 on up.

With the rudder set to absolute neutral it's not easy to keep the boat on a straight path regardless of line length. The boat will just want to wander back and forth a bit...really irritating.

[Soon2BV]

True on the "little right" pull.

It forces you to keep left pressure on the wheel to go straight.

[JasonK]

I wonder if that's the boat i read about before with the list. You bought it that way? too bad. the one i read about could not figure out why. Maybe he sold it to you. bummer

[Woodski]

A boat will alter its level slightly due to prop rotation, LH rotation will tilt the boat to starboard, but not a lot. You can ballast the boat to level it out. Different hulls require different amounts of ballast to keep them level at speed, something you want so that the wake is symmetrical. In non observer required states, it is common to ballast for level tracking.

For us slalom course junkies, the torque steer is a desireable trait, it makes driving the boat much easier, truer and provides a better skiing experience because to keep the boat tracking straight it just takes left steer pressure on the wheel at a varying amount (no right steer required). It can take a fair bit of effort and concentration to pull an aggressive short line skier through the ski course and not hit the boat guide bouys. If you feel the torque steer is too much and the tab does not correct to your liking, the next step is to grind a bit of material off one side of the rudder. To make a LH prop rotation boat torque steer to the right (starboard), you grind on the right(starboard) trailing edge of the rudder. If your boat has too much of that characteristic, check and see if that has been done and correct as needed. Go slow, small amounts produce big results.

[thebush]

I believe that the list is just a weight balance thing. I noticed it last weekend with me in the driver's seat and my two boys with me. When I shifted weight around in the boat yesterday it cleared up the list. This is my first Malibu and they seem to be more sensitive to weight balance than other boats. I'm going to had to add a port ballast bag in the back to even things out in the future.

As far as the torque steer is concerned, I had been told this was normal but wanted to find out for sure. Looks like I now know for sure.