boat pulls strongly to the right

neilhifi

Recruit
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
Messages
2
Hi, I am a novice boater and new to this forum so please forgive me if this is a stupid question.<br />Why does my speed boat pull to the right?<br />I have an 18 foot Spirit 180 powered by a <br />Mercury Black Max 135. I have done the anode thing to both extremes and it does not make a difference. Last year the engine had a new trim motor fitted which necessitated the engine being removed and put back, since then I think the pulling to the right problem got worse. Any suggestions?
 

eeboater

Commander
Joined
Jul 19, 2004
Messages
2,644
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

Welcome aboard neil! Just thinking outloud here.. does anyone know if a bent skeg would do this? I may be totally off base...<br /><br />Sean
 

stevens

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
799
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

Do you trim the drive sufficiently out so that the bow does not ride too low? If it is too low, it may be causing what is known as bow steer.<br /><br />That trim anode above the prop is best left pointing straight back until you know what causes this behaviour.
 
D

DJ

Guest
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

It is not uncommon for someone to mount/remount an engine crooked.<br /><br />The trim tab SHOULD help.
 

studlymandingo

Commander
Joined
Mar 22, 2006
Messages
2,716
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

When you say you moved the trim tab from one extreme to the other, did you try all points in between? It doesn't take much to correct the pulling.
 

Gary H NC

Fleet Admiral
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
8,972
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

Are you running a hydrofoil fin? If so take it off and re-test..
 

KRS

Banned
Joined
May 15, 2004
Messages
2,383
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

Swim ladder down?<br /><br />It reads like the problem started after engine remounted, they may have skewed it.
 

neilhifi

Recruit
Joined
Jun 3, 2006
Messages
2
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

Thanks for your suggestions guys. I'll set the anode centrally until i figure this out. I'm not running a hydrofoil fin. I'm going to get a pro boat engineer to come out with me and give his professional opinion...I'll let you know the outcome.<br />(The swim ladder is up btw!)
 

farginicehole

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Apr 15, 2003
Messages
482
Re: boat pulls strongly to the right

My boat used to pull very hard due to the torque of the 150 hp outboard. I raised it up about 1 1/2 inches on the transom, and it now handles like a completely different boat! Very little pull at all now. It also got my WOT rpm up into a more desirable range.
 
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