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boat pulls to the right


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I have seen a thread about this on here before but cant find it. My boat pulls to the right but not at headway speed. I know there s a tab on the rudder to adjust it. I put it in the water and forgot to mess around with it so now I will do it in the water. Are the allen screws difficult to loosen? Cant liquid wrench them while it is in the water. If it pulls right, what direction should i move the tab?

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The rudder is a brass alloy so I doubt it'll seize. If anything you can all too easily strip the hole by over tightening it.

Sorry, can't remember which way to adjust it though. Google "malibu adjustable rudder, how to" & you will see lots of hits. Might need to read thru a few before you find the right answer.

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Ditto to what Gary says. Just think of it this way, The tab is a mini rudder. If you turn your rudder so the rear end is facing right, the boat goes so left, and so fourth for the other direction. Being that you have a pull to the right, you need more rudder load on the right side to force the boat left.

They are very finicky and you don't have to change it much to get results. It's also varies with speed.

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oh that's interesting, I wasn't sure what is was for and guessed it was for reversing, I have left it loose and seems fine, it this not a good idea?

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Ditto to what Gary says. Just think of it this way, The tab is a mini rudder. If you turn your rudder so the rear end is facing right, the boat goes so left, and so fourth for the other direction. Being that you have a pull to the right, you need more rudder load on the right side to force the boat left.

They are very finicky and you don't have to change it much to get results. It's also varies with speed.

Thanks Bobby,

can I adjust it in the water?

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Thanks Bobby,

can I adjust it in the water?

Yes, use goggles and makes sure you don't drop your allen wrench.

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Thanks Bobby,

can I adjust it in the water?

I did this the first time I tried to adjust it.

Second time I dove down after getting a new wrench I tied a tool lanyard to it hahah. Makes it a lot harder to turn in the water but sure beats losing it.

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Any way to do this on a non-adjustable rudder? Mine pulls hard right if I let go of the wheel, and generally steering is a little loose (pretty new steering cable). I don't mind it, but would help other drivers track a little better when they're pulling me if the rudder has less play in it.

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Any way to do this on a non-adjustable rudder? Mine pulls hard right if I let go of the wheel, and generally steering is a little loose (pretty new steering cable). I don't mind it, but would help other drivers track a little better when they're pulling me if the rudder has less play in it.

I'm confused, do you have play in your rudder cable/steering assembly? Or are you trying to reduce the amount that the boat is pulling?

If the boat doesn't pull, and you have a lot of play in your steering, then the boat is going to zigzag down the lake no matter who is driving. This is why the manufacturers make the boat pull to one side or the other.

If you want to reduce the amount that the boat is pulling, this involves tuning the rudder. You can Google it & find several hits, usually on older boats made by companies like MC & CC. Heres a good thread with some details.

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Yeah, sorry I explained that poorly. Play was the wrong word. The steering is what you'd expect from a new steering cable, nice and responsive. It can just be a little on the loose side for inexperienced drivers. They tend to make minor adjustments without even realizing it. They'll learn. The more pressing issue would be the pulling. I expect some, of course, but it will immediately pull all the way right at speed if your hand is off the wheel for half a second. Just yanks right over. More of a safety concern than anything.

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My Sunsetter pulls enough that I can't let go of the wheel either. It doesn't bother me, but I'm not on a course so I don't need it to pull quite so much.

I have thought about cutting a short zinc wedge and screwing it to the right back edge of the rudder with two #4-40 stainless screws (after drilling and tapping the rudder). It might take a few tries to get it right, but it would be easy to file a little off of it each try until the pull is just right. Shouldn't take much wedge at all.

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The reason these boats pull to the right is due to the fact they are tuned that way from the factory, it is easier to maintain a constant straight line if you have some pressure on the steering (think slalom course).

unless you never tow with your boat I would leave it alone, it's like that for a reason.

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I adjusted my tab for dead neutral and it does not zig zag on straight line driving. Would not have it any other way. Had to crank tab way right to eliminate pull on my 06 but my 12 model is adjusted in center and it runs straight too

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited by dalt1
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I adjusted my fab for dead neutral and it does not zig zag on straight line driving. Would not habit it any other way. Had to crank tab way right to eliminate pull on my 06 but my 12 model is adjusted in center and it runs straight too

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Probably not enough that you would ever notice, unless you're behind the boat ;)

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  • 2 months later...

So just to confirm,

Was out breaking in my engine yesterday on 2014 VLX the boat pulls so hard to the right if I take my hands off the wheel. I wan't to adjust this out so the boat tracks mostly straight with a slight pull to the right. Reading this thread suggests turning the "tuning mini rudder" to the right as well? Is this correct? I would assume I would have turned it to the left to counter the hard right turn? am I wrong?

Also- When guys say this is a fine adjustment, are we talking a 1/8 at a time or ?

Thanks in advance

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So just to confirm,

Was out breaking in my engine yesterday on 2014 VLX the boat pulls so hard to the right if I take my hands off the wheel. I wan't to adjust this out so the boat tracks mostly straight with a slight pull to the right. Reading this thread suggests turning the "tuning mini rudder" to the right as well? Is this correct? I would assume I would have turned it to the left to counter the hard right turn? am I wrong?

Also- When guys say this is a fine adjustment, are we talking a 1/8 at a time or ?

Thanks in advance

yes turn to right and it does not take much

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My boat pulls a little to the right as well. To make sure I'm understanding this, if it pulls to the right, I want to move the small adjustment tab to the right?

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Wouldn't it be to the left if it's already pulling hard right and he just wants a slight right pull?

This is my gut feeling to, thats why I asked the question before I did it.. I am asuming this is all from looking at the rudder from the back end of the boat.

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No I don't think it is normal in my case, If I let off the wheel the boat does a very hard power turn to the right... That's not normal.

Look at the posts up above. It's called tuning your rudder. If you don't have the tuning tab that many Malibus have, then there is a way to do it by hand.

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