T23 steering

[Maas]

wow, that video is nuts, you need that fixed asap!!  Certainly needs to be fixed!

 

Agreed, you should always have hands on the wheel, but your boat should track straight with almost no effort

 

[dizzygti]

24 minutes ago, Maas said:

wow, that video is nuts, you need that fixed asap!!  Certainly needs to be fixed!

 

Agreed, you should always have hands on the wheel, but your boat should track straight with almost no effort

 

Thanks for the confirmation.   I'll be reaching out to the dealer shortly....wondering how long my boat will be taken away from me for this.  

[klntime]

On 6/13/2023 at 12:40 PM, dizzygti said:

Thanks for the confirmation.   I'll be reaching out to the dealer shortly....wondering how long my boat will be taken away from me for this.  

ya, i second @Maas.  never seen one pull like that - crazy!

[flapjack]

On 6/12/2023 at 8:34 AM, dizzygti said:

Yeah, I filmed the steering response over the weekend and sent it to them.   They've already responded and want me to work with the dealer/service center.   I will reach out to them to schedule a time to take the boat in shortly, but here's the video.   https://youtu.be/17vScNHPYlg

 

Customer service said the dealer may have to "tune" the rudder.   This sounds like it's going to cost me a weekend of boat time....

I've got the same issue on my A22.  1) you have to turn the steering wheel to go straight (super annoying with the eccentric wheel).  2) it pulls to the right.

 

Please keep me posted on the fix/feedback.

[dizzygti]

16 hours ago, flapjack said:

I've got the same issue on my A22.  1) you have to turn the steering wheel to go straight (super annoying with the eccentric wheel).  2) it pulls to the right.

 

Please keep me posted on the fix/feedback.

Will do.   The ball is rolling now.  I forwarded the video to my service rep and told them the Malibu east coast rep that wants to work with them to resolve it.   They are going to let me know when someone can come out to drive the boat, so at least there is a commitment to observe the issue instead of throwing their hands up.   I'll report back when I know something, but probably will be next week.   

[Maas]

You're much more patient then I am.  I would be losing my mind if I had a similar problem.

[justgary]

On 6/13/2023 at 12:40 PM, dizzygti said:

Thanks for the confirmation.   I'll be reaching out to the dealer shortly....wondering how long my boat will be taken away from me for this.  

That is roughly the correct amount for a slalom boat.  Slalom tugs drive like that to add preload so that the boat doesn't "hunt" going straight.

I can see on a surf scow how you might want a bit less pull on the wheel.  As mentioned above, you can grind the rudder to correct it.  You can also drill and thread the rear of the rudder so that you can screw a wedge on to correct it.  You would want a wedge on the starboard side at the rear of the rudder.  You could easily make a few of different heights from a bar of HDPE, brass, stainless, etc.  Maybe 3" long, 1" wide, and 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  If you make it thicker to start, you can just grind it down until you are happy.  It won't take much, because a little goes a long way.

[dizzygti]

23 hours ago, Maas said:

You're much more patient then I am.  I would be losing my mind if I had a similar problem.

I will have had the boat 4 weeks on Thursday of this week.  She had 52.2 hours on it when I pulled it out last night.  I'm having too much fun enjoying it to stress over this.   Like I've said, it's manageable but that doesn't make it right or acceptable.   it's really above ~16mph when not surfing where it starts to come in play.   I've got family coming in town next week for the long holiday week, and will let them have the boat after that.   They've offered to come drive it to experience it themselves, but the weather is crap this week calling for storms every day....

22 hours ago, justgary said:

That is roughly the correct amount for a slalom boat.  Slalom tugs drive like that to add preload so that the boat doesn't "hunt" going straight.

I can see on a surf scow how you might want a bit less pull on the wheel.  As mentioned above, you can grind the rudder to correct it.  You can also drill and thread the rear of the rudder so that you can screw a wedge on to correct it.  You would want a wedge on the starboard side at the rear of the rudder.  You could easily make a few of different heights from a bar of HDPE, brass, stainless, etc.  Maybe 3" long, 1" wide, and 1/8" to 1/4" thick.  If you make it thicker to start, you can just grind it down until you are happy.  It won't take much, because a little goes a long way.

I'm not above getting creative and making my own solution, but I want them to observe it first and see what if anything they want to do.   The Malibu rep wants to confirm the right prop/rudder are on the boat, but I doubt that either is the wrong part, and also mentioned tuning the rudder by grinding it.   I'll keep posting updates as they happen.   

[flapjack]

Any update, or are you having too much fun to take it in?

[dizzygti]

19 hours ago, flapjack said:

Any update, or are you having too much fun to take it in?

If you're asking me, 143 hours in 2 months and 9 days.       Dealer knows about it, knows I spoke to Malibu, wants to deal with it in the off season.   

Edited August 1, 2023 by dizzygti

[flapjack]

23 hours ago, dizzygti said:

If you're asking me, 143 hours in 2 months and 9 days.       Dealer knows about it, knows I spoke to Malibu, wants to deal with it in the off season.   

wow.  That's 4hrs every other day.

 

Let's compare notes in the off season.

[dizzygti]

25 minutes ago, flapjack said:

wow.  That's 4hrs every other day.

 

Let's compare notes in the off season.

It's been an epic summer so far, for sure.   Where I live, there's two months at least to go and we have wetsuits to extend through the holiday season.   Happy to discuss and compare experiences though, PM me if you'd like.   

[JasonK]

I wouldn't expect a tuned rudder to make a difference below 15mph.

[dizzygti]

On 7/31/2023 at 5:31 PM, flapjack said:

Any update, or are you having too much fun to take it in?

Lots of fun, boat is at 281 hours, but it's been in the shop for vinyl/soft grip warranty work the past two weeks.   I FINALLY got ahold of the right ears though regarding the steering.   It was supposed to be tested on the water today, but the (new) service manager saw my youtube video and said they didn't need to test it, called Malibu, and got a rudder with a tuneable tab on the way to install under warranty.   Rejoice!   Will update when it's installed, hopefully before the end of the week.   

[dizzygti]

Ironically saw this the other day also....