1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

[sirket]

I have a 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament ski boat (inboard with the 5.7L Mercruiser).

The boat has been on the same lake since new and I took ownership this year. The boat needs a complete restoration but the main problem I am having is with the steering.

The boat has plenty of power. At slow speed it steers just fine. At power, however, the boat wants to turn right (i.e. it wants to force the steering wheel to the right, not just track right). Turning left is very hard and requires all your strength.

Apparently this has been an issue with this boat since new. If anyone can give me some idea of what the problem might be I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

 

[cr2k]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

Do a good search on this. I am told there is a fix that involve filing a very small bevel on one side of the rudder. One of my customers did this and said it worked very well.

 

[sirket]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

I've done several searches and found several people suggesting that you file the rudder. I'm just confused by the fact that this doesn't seem to be a common problem and it has been there from the start. If filing the rudder really is the only fix, I'm willing to do that but I was hoping someone had more information on the problem itself.

 

[papajoe74]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

I have a ski supreme skiboat as well. To my knowledge this steering behavior is common to all inboards. Mine does exactly the same thing. Do you notice that the boat only goes to the right when in reverse?

 

[sirket]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

Oddly enough- I've also used a 1961 Chris Craft 17' inboard and never had a steering problem with that boat. The difference between the two directions is incredible. I can't believe these boats ever left the factory this way.

Having said all that- I'm going to pull the whole system this winter and check every part of it. If I can't find anything wrong them I'm going to have to look into adding power steering or something. Has anyone done such a conversion?

 

[sirket]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

I've been reading through previous posts on this topic. With an inboard boat that is incredible difficult to turn left, does anyone know for certain what side of the trailing edge of the rudder should be filed? Are there any diagrams or drawings that would show people how much material should be removed and in what shape?

Thanks.

 

[salty87]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

that does not sound right or normal. there's nothing about a ski supreme that should make this happen. your steering assembly and rudder should work the same as other inboards. you should be able to steer with 1 finger in either direction...going fast or slow.

how easy to steer is it when going slow?

you can trouble-shoot the system by disconnecting the steering cable at the tiller arm in the bilge. this will allow you to see if the steering mechanism under the dash or the cable is binding. you can also move the tiller arm to see if the rudder is binding. there should be grease zerks back there on the tiller arm and sometimes rudder.

generally, the solution is a new steering cable. sometimes you can grease a cable but most don't have zerks.

that's really all there is to the steering system. cables don't last forever. cable replacement is much more common that rudder filing.

 

[sirket]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

that does not sound right or normal. there's nothing about a ski supreme that should make this happen. your steering assembly and rudder should work the same as other inboards. you should be able to steer with 1 finger in either direction...going fast or slow.

I agree completely- and yet several other people have had similar problems.

how easy to steer is it when going slow?

Very easy. I need to figure out if the problem is due to load against the sleeve, or water pressure, but it's almost certainly water pressure. When You are driving along at power, if you let go of the wheel the boat will immediately try to turn itself to the right.

you can trouble-shoot the system by disconnecting the steering cable at the tiller arm in the bilge. this will allow you to see if the steering mechanism under the dash or the cable is binding. you can also move the tiller arm to see if the rudder is binding. there should be grease zerks back there on the tiller arm and sometimes rudder.

I've been told the boat has behaved this way since new. I drove it several times a few years after it was purchased and it always acted like this. I can't believe the owner put up with it to be honest. I'd have brought it back to them and told them to fix it or refund my money.

generally, the solution is a new steering cable. sometimes you can grease a cable but most don't have zerks.

I will definitely recheck the entire system, but given the fact that it operates smoothly at slow speeds, and that it's not just hard to turn left but actively wants to turn right, it seems like there is a hydrodynamic problem with the water flow off the propeller and over the rudder.

that's really all there is to the steering system. cables don't last forever. cable replacement is much more common that rudder filing.

I'm definitely not going to touch the rudder until I have eliminated everything else.

 

[salty87]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

i feel for ya. doesn't sound like a fun issue to deal with. the increase of water flow over the rudder at higher speeds is a plausible explanation. the only way i can imagine it being the cable is if the cable is somehow stretching from that increased pressure. the pivot tube/tiller arm assembly might be a culprit if it's not securely mounted to the hull or a stringer.

it's also possible that the tiller arm to rudder connection isn't secure but that wouldn't account for things returning to normal at slow speeds. seems this problem would cause the issue to continually get worse until you couldn't turn to 1 side at all.

none of this can really be inspected at speed either. hard to see back there most of the time. i have to pretty much stand on my head to get to mine.

 

[sirket]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

i feel for ya. doesn't sound like a fun issue to deal with. the increase of water flow over the rudder at higher speeds is a plausible explanation. the only way i can imagine it being the cable is if the cable is somehow stretching from that increased pressure. the pivot tube/tiller arm assembly might be a culprit if it's not securely mounted to the hull or a stringer.

As I said- I will definitely be checking the entire system. Given that it's not just hard to turn left, but actively wants to turn right, is the reason I think there is a flow problem. If it was just hard to turn left, but didn't pull right, I'd be replacing the steering assembly already.

it's also possible that the tiller arm to rudder connection isn't secure but that wouldn't account for things returning to normal at slow speeds.

Tiller arm is solid as a rock.

none of this can really be inspected at speed either. hard to see back there most of the time. i have to pretty much stand on my head to get to mine.

I have pretty good access to my rudder post and tiller. The rear seat is currently out of the boat and with the floor access panel removed I can see everything.

I'm going to go under the boat with my scuba gear and try loading the rudder in various directions while someone tries to turn it and see if I can replicate the problem. I'm also going to see if anything looks bent or especially mis-aligned.

 

[salty87]

Re: 1991 Ski Supreme Tournament steering problems

with good visual access can you find someone to drive while you watch the rudder assembly? if the rudder doesn't move at higher speeds from either a bad cable or loose pivot tube i would think that eliminates the various components. props can make some big differences...change amount of bow rise, shape of the rooster tail, reverse handling but i don't think it would effect the steering as you describe. i wonder if a bent strut could alter the prop wash into the rudder. would account for the differences at higher speeds.

edit...may be a bent rudder too