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Rudder adjustment.... anyone know how adjust slack?


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I noticed last weekedn that the boat was hunting a little bit. So when we pulled the boat out and check the rudder we noticed there was a little slack in it.

Anyone know where and how to adjust the slack out?

This is on a 06 247, but probably the same for all V-Drives.

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I'm guessing that this isn't a neutral steering issue that you tune by using the trim tab, but that the steering has a flat spot? That the rudder itself actually has some play in it?

Right. We noticed the bow moving left to right, right to left, to left to right, etc. on it owns even though the steering wheel was being held in one place.

I checked the rudder and there is some play in it. Trying to adjust out the play.

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That I don't know, sorry. The others were talking about the trim tab that's in the side of the rudder. You can adjust that out to "load" the rudder (add torque steer like the ski boats have), but I don't think that's your problem.

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That I don't know, sorry. The others were talking about the trim tab that's in the side of the rudder. You can adjust that out to "load" the rudder (add torque steer like the ski boats have), but I don't think that's your problem.

Right. Mine has slack in the rudder itself when you grab it from underneath the boat. Other than that, it does steer pretty neutral.

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Defintiely not an expert on backward boats, but the whole steering/rudder thing is a simple mechincal device. If there is play in the rudder, start there and workl your way back to see where the actual play is.

Is the rudder tight on it's shaft?

Is the shaft tight in it's through hull?

Is the actuator arm on the other end of the shaft tight?

Is the clevis or ball joint tight on the acutator arm?

Is the cable tight at its attachment points to the hull?

Is the cable end that hooks to the steering mechanism tight?

And so on.

It' kind of like the finger bone connected to the hand bone to the arm bone to the shoulder bone . . . . . you know the rest.

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Defintiely not an expert on backward boats, but the whole steering/rudder thing is a simple mechincal device. If there is play in the rudder, start there and workl your way back to see where the actual play is.

Is the rudder tight on it's shaft?

Is the shaft tight in it's through hull?

Is the actuator arm on the other end of the shaft tight?

Is the clevis or ball joint tight on the acutator arm?

Is the cable tight at its attachment points to the hull?

Is the cable end that hooks to the steering mechanism tight?

And so on.

It' kind of like the finger bone connected to the hand bone to the arm bone to the shoulder bone . . . . . you know the rest.

Exactly...there is no adjustment. It is possible that you are just seeing the slop between the pinion gear and the rack. When you move the rudder, does the cable also move but not the steering wheel?

If the rudder is not tight on its shaft, it would have to be replaced because the shaft is permanantly mounted in the rudder, and I would doubt thats it. The rudder shaft is keyed to the actuator arm just like the prop to the shaft so there should not be a problem there. If the actuator arm clamping bolts were loose, You might get a very small amount of play. They would have to be very loose though and its easy to check. Also if they were loose, the rudder still can't fall out because the clamping bolts pass through a detent in the rudder shaft.

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Defintiely not an expert on backward boats, but the whole steering/rudder thing is a simple mechincal device. If there is play in the rudder, start there and workl your way back to see where the actual play is.

Is the rudder tight on it's shaft?

Is the shaft tight in it's through hull?

Is the actuator arm on the other end of the shaft tight?

Is the clevis or ball joint tight on the acutator arm?

Is the cable tight at its attachment points to the hull?

Is the cable end that hooks to the steering mechanism tight?

And so on.

It' kind of like the finger bone connected to the hand bone to the arm bone to the shoulder bone . . . . . you know the rest.

Exactly...there is no adjustment. It is possible that you are just seeing the slop between the pinion gear and the rack. When you move the rudder, does the cable also move but not the steering wheel?

If the rudder is not tight on its shaft, it would have to be replaced because the shaft is permanantly mounted in the rudder, and I would doubt thats it. The rudder shaft is keyed to the actuator arm just like the prop to the shaft so there should not be a problem there. If the actuator arm clamping bolts were loose, You might get a very small amount of play. They would have to be very loose though and its easy to check. Also if they were loose, the rudder still can't fall out because the clamping bolts pass through a detent in the rudder shaft.

It seems to be just play. The rudder is not moving the steering wheel when I move it, its just some play/slack. I'll check and see if I can find something from inside the engine compartment.

thanks

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I should have explained more carefully.

There is no adjustment, and you very likely have "play" due to having a neutral steering setup. By adding more pull to the wheel by moving the trim tab to the left, you will effectively eliminate the "looseness", caused by a neutral steering setup.

Your dealer can help you with any and all of your questions. Factors that may come into play would be Wedge location, amount of Ballast, etc.

Maybe I'm in a bad mood, but keep in mind that there are alot more armchair experts and engineers online than not. Consider contacting your dealer.

Peter. :/

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Thanks Peter.

I am curious is it normal to be able to move the rudder from underneath the boat 1/4" either way without having it move the steering wheel? That is how much slack/play I have? I figued it was this slack that was causing the hunting....

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Stewart,

That slack is most likely the slop that comes from the loose tolerance between the rack and pinion gears. If you have someone move the rudder back and forth and you hold the wheel, you will feel the rack bumping back and forth on the pinion gear. There is no adjustment for the rack and pinion gear tolerance unfortunately.

Does the wandering occur when the boat is on plane? I only experience it when idling around.

Edited by gooddog
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Stewart,

That slack is most likely the slop that comes from the loose tolerance between the rack and pinion gears. If you have someone move the rudder back and forth and you hold the wheel, you will feel the rack bumping back and forth on the pinion gear. There is no adjustment for the rack and pinion gear tolerance unfortunately.

Does the wandering occur when the boat is on plane? I only experience it when idling around.

Yes, on plane at about 30+/- mph. I noticed it for the first time last weekend. At first I thought it might be do to currents. But it seemed to do it consistantly.

Loaded up I couldn't tell as much.

One interesting side note: The steering is pretty neutral. But if you doing 30+ mph and drop the throttle and let go af the wheel a bit, the boat wants to immediately dive to the left Crazy.gif I have never experienced this on any of my BU's in the past.

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One interesting side note: The steering is pretty neutral. But if you doing 30+ mph and drop the throttle and let go af the wheel a bit, the boat wants to immediately dive to the left Crazy.gif I have never experienced this on any of my BU's in the past.

My boat does the same exact thing, except it dives to the right. My dealer has adjusted the trim tabs a couple of times and it still does it. So, I just hold on to the steering wheel all the time now.... ;)

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Which side of the rudder is the trim tab adjusted out on?

starboard (driver side)

Stewart,

I am not completely positive on this but I believe the tab should be trimmed to the left side of the rudder. When I complained that there was too much helm pulling to the right, they shaved the trailing edge on the left side to reduce the pull. I actually like (or gotten used to) the pull now. The torque from the prop wash naturally makes it pull right, so if you have it trimmed out to the right it is going to counter the torque pull to the point where you will get the wandering at speed. Its worth a try to adjust it the other way so that you have a slight pull to the right at speed and it won't be fighting to correct the torque. Just correct me if I'm wrong Biggrin.gif

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gooddog,

What do you think would make our boats dive in either direction the way they are? Is just a further adjustment to the trim tab that's needed? It scared the living *&$# out of me the first time I let go of the wheel and the boat decided to turn 90deg to the right. I was starting to think it was a safety thing that makes the boat turn in circles if the steering wheel goes unmanned (ie..no driver). I know the lanyard is for that, but who knows.

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Its not a safety thing. The rudder is loaded in order for the driver to have feedback so the boat can be driven in a straight line without having a wandering course. If it was completely neutral steering, you would have to be making corrections in both directions with the wheel resulting in a zig zagging course.

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Its not a safety thing. The rudder is loaded in order for the driver to have feedback so the boat can be driven in a straight line without having a wandering course. If it was completely neutral steering, you would have to be making corrections in both directions with the wheel resulting in a zig zagging course.

Is it supposed to dive like that though? The boat literally turns dead to the right when I let go.

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It should not dive when you let go of the wheel. That is what the trim tab is for. Adjust it for slight neutral, where you could let go of the wheel and only get a very slight pull. Some of the old school repair shops and drivers for that fact prefer a little pull, so that you don't have a wondering boat on the course. Let you dealer know it still isn't right if your don't want to trim yourself.

BTW, Mine only dives after abrupt decelleration.

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BTW, Mine only dives after abrupt decelleration.

Thats why I'm thinking its trimmed in the wrong direction because the torque being over countered.

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gooddog,

What do you think would make our boats dive in either direction the way they are? Is just a further adjustment to the trim tab that's needed? It scared the living *&$# out of me the first time I let go of the wheel and the boat decided to turn 90deg to the right. I was starting to think it was a safety thing that makes the boat turn in circles if the steering wheel goes unmanned (ie..no driver). I know the lanyard is for that, but who knows.

I don't think it's a saftey thing. The last thing I'd want is to fall out of my boat and have it swing back at me doing 30mph.

The water coming off the prop in a circular motion is what might make it pull. You figure that the water is still spinning when it leaves the prop, so you have it hitting the one side of the prop harder than the other. I"m not 100% sure of this, but it makes sense.

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