boat leans to the left at a steep angle

[jyenney]

Hello,

New here, great forum. I just bought a 1999 fisher avenger sport 16 ft with a 75 hp merc. I took it out to the lake today, to make sure it's safe before the family joins. Good thing I did!!
The boat looks great, and I've been thru the motor, it's in great shape and runs nice, the only problem is when I open the throttle (1/2)the boat leans to the left at a steep angle, and when I give it full throttle, the front of the boat turns to the right, very sharpley. The boat is not controllable at all. Also the steering wheel is about impossible to use, extremely stiff. I have made sure there is an even amount of weight in the boat, and there is no water entering the hull either.
The only way I can make the boat level is when I make a wide circle to the right.
I've called a couple of boat shops and they said they have never heard of this problem.

Any suggestions??

Thankyou

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

what prop are you running and what condition is it in

 

[jyenney]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Hello,

The prop part # is-2036P17 Quicksilver. The prop has some dings on the edges. I'm not sure what is considered bad. I've measure the dings for you. There are two blades with 1/2" wide X 1/8" deep chunks taken out. 1 chunk out of a blade and two chunks out of the other blade.

I'm new to this, is this a 17" pitch??

Thankyou

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

that prop is likely trashed.... it could be bent as well
If it is turning alot of your power into torque (twisting the hull in the water) instead of thrust (pushing the hull through the water) that COULD contribute to your problem....

google that number for specs but I'd venture to guess that that was indeed 17 pitch.....

BTW pics are worth a thousand words

 

[trendsetter240]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Hello,

The prop part # is-2036P17 Quicksilver. The prop has some dings on the edges. I'm not sure what is considered bad. I've measure the dings for you. There are two blades with 1/2" wide X 1/8" deep chunks taken out. 1 chunk out of a blade and two chunks out of the other blade.

I'm new to this, is this a 17" pitch??

Thankyou

It sounds to me like you have more than one problem. If the prop has 1/2" wide chunks out of it it should be replaced. Replace it with an aluminium prop; they are less expensive than stainless and work great.

Secondly, I think you may need to adjust the trim tab on the engine. If this is set incorrectly the engine will pull to one side when you increase throttle.

The trim tab is item #9 on the diagram at the link below.

http://www.boats.net/images/diagrams/Merc2/COMMON//15168.png

 

[Black as]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Hello,

New here, great forum. I just bought a 1999 fisher avenger sport 16 ft with a 75 hp merc. I took it out to the lake today, to make sure it's safe before the family joins. Good thing I did!!
The boat looks great, and I've been thru the motor, it's in great shape and runs nice, the only problem is when I open the throttle (1/2)the boat leans to the left at a steep angle, and when I give it full throttle, the front of the boat turns to the right, very sharpley. The boat is not controllable at all. Also the steering wheel is about impossible to use, extremely stiff. I have made sure there is an even amount of weight in the boat, and there is no water entering the hull either.
The only way I can make the boat level is when I make a wide circle to the right.
I've called a couple of boat shops and they said they have never heard of this problem.

Any suggestions??

Thankyou

Does the boat list to port even just a little at rest? If it does then that list will be even more pronounced underway.

There are two types of list. If your boat is listing at rest, the cause can only be from a weight problem and the only solution is a redistribution of weight. Don't forget about trapped water under the deck as a contributor to weight imbalances also.

The second is an underway list with no list at rest. This can be caused by a hull deformity at or below the waterline, a motor trim tab, a motor that is not centered. In other words there is something on the opposite side of the list that is pushing the boat up or something on the list side decreasing the water pressure allowing it to run deeper.

Most commonly it is a hull deformity but eliminate the simple first. They can be inconspicuous also. You may need to take a straight edge and lay it against the hull to see it.

Also do you have a hydrofoil attachment on your motor, if so take it off and see what happens, your boat could be coming out the water to much or its set up wrong

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

good point on the hydrofoil..... also is this condition linked to throttle or water speed..... ie is it torquing over if you nail it at low speed or is it "flying" over more and more as you gain speed at a steady throttle

 

[Boatist]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

I also would suspect the motor trim tab. The seller may have kept the better prop and put on an old use one.
Different props need the trim tab set in different positions.
Also make sure the motor is not trimmed too far in keeping the bow too low.
This can also make the prop not get a good bite because it is running too high and cause the boat to lean.
With the damage to the prop check closely if the motor skeg is bent to one side.

A quick question, does the motor turn eaiser one way than the other?
Is the motor sitting vertical and not leaning to either side?

Hoping for you that it is not the hull

 

[jyenney]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Thankyou everyone for the suggestions. Here is the answer to some questions.

-The hull looks to be in good shape, other than some paint missing
-While the boat is sitting still, it is very level. Not leaning at all
-The outboard is mounted in the factory drilled holes
-The skeg is bent slightly to the left, and the bottom 2" is broke off
I've had a boat with the skeg broke off before, and it didn't run on it's side
-I do not have a hydrofoil on the boat.
-The motor does turn to the left a little easier, but is still very stiff, It takes a lot of muscle to turn the boat either way.

-The motor does not tilt to either side
-I tried to move the tilt up a little bit while running, and it didn't seem to make any diffrence.

One more thing, Can somebody please direct me on what size of prop I need to use? I've looked on the merc site, and it suggests a 19 to 21 inch prop. I didn't know the exact weight of the boat, or what the rpm's should be running at.

 

[WOODWISE]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Based on your answers sounds to me like u may have a steering cable issue if ur steering is hard even while u sit motor off not moving your steering cable is junk.If its hard under power than its on its way to being junk.Its also possible that u have excessive play in ur steering unit .(either rotory or rack style) u may be getting slop in the system between the wheel and the steering connection point on motor and when the motor is torquing its actully turning a bit.Also ck. the torque tab on cavitation plate as the others mentioned some boats it makes little difference and others makes major difference.

but if ur cable is that stiff then get it fixed very dangerous to have a cable let go under high speed.

 

[WOODWISE]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

on the prop size if u are running a 17 pitch and with your boat fueled, geared and with number of buds u usually fish with on flat water u should be able to run full throttle and stay below or close to your max rpms for that motor,and still remain to reach plan from start rather quickly.If your winding out at full than need to increase your prop size a bit and vis-versa for not getting to full rpm range.keep in mind u will lose a bit either way (speed / torqe) when u go up or down in prop pitch.

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Sounds like bow steer issues. Basically the bow is too deep in the water while underway. Causes squirrelly control issues. You mentioned that you trimmed the motor up a little. How much is a little? Do you have power trim?

Is the steering stiff while stopped also, or just while under way?

Where is the anti-ventilation plate of the motor relative to the bottom of the boat?

Is there a trim anode installed on the bottom edge of the anti-ventilation plate behind the prop? If so, what direction is it oriented in?

The prop you have is a 17" pitch and should either be repaired or replaced. It is badly out of balance, is not good for the lower unit and who knows how it may affect handling. Without a tach, you won't know the proper prop pitch to choose. Generally you want to be in the upper operating RPM range for your motor with a typical boat load. For each 1" change in pitch, you will either increase or decrease RPM by about 200 (increase pitch=decrease RPM, decrease pitch=increase RPM).

 

[oops!]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

i agree ....bow steer.

move some weight backward and see if it gets better.

also make sure that the angle of the motor is correct and not pushing the bow into the water,,,,the trim should help this.....but you never said how much.......make it porpose and see if it stops the problem

 

[jyenney]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

The only thing I had in the front of the boat is a 12 pd anchor, and a small battery + the trolling motor. The weight on the boat says 940 pds. Dry. The boat goes to plain very quickly.

I only tried to tilt the motor up a very small amount. The only open water is 2 hrs away, so I'll try to hit the lake next week and adjust my trim tab. I'm guessing I should try a new prop also. Should I stick with a 17" ?

Thanks a bunch to all that have responded. I'm a bit flustered at the moment thinking that I got ripped off. Guess I should have waited for open water, and test drove the boat first.

 

[Black as]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Don't get flusted take your time and you will find the problem and everyone has given valid solutions to your problem

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

if you only tilted the engine up a little from full down then we may have found a BIG part of the issue.... you want to bring it up quite a bit after you get on plane.....

 

[yourkiddin]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

im not an expert but i have similar situation. i used weight distribution to help my boat. i have a bad and heavy trolling battery that i use to balance out the boat. you could use what ever you have. but doing that did help. also i can only ride one other person with me and have to have them set behind me and a little off center. i know its a pain in the butt. when i ride by myself i have no problems. but hey the boat was free and its a good one man fishing and cruising machine. the lady that gave me the boat let it set out in the weather for like 3 years. i was told that the floatation material in it may of become destroyed. i dont know, but the redneck procedure i just described to you works for me.

 

[waju]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

I'm not familiar with your boat but my present bayliner, and the previous one as well, has a plastic finger bolt on the hub where the steering wheel mounts. When this is tightened, it almost locks the steering wheel to help stop the drive from moving back and forth while towing or at dock in rough weather. If you have this, maybe it is tightened and causing your stiff steering.

 

[northernmerc]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Here's an idea. You could strategically place your wife or fishing partner in the correct spot in the boat.

 

[jyenney]

Re: boat leans to the left at a steep angle

Northernmerc, I tried that "stragetic idea". I had my nephew which is the same size as me baby step to the right very slowley while we were traveling and as soon as he would hit a certain spot, the boat would flip over to the right side. (Scary!!!) It never would level out. The only time it levels out is if we made a big circle to the right.