Boat riding weird after all day in the water

[AndrewsArk]

So We put the boat in the water around 1pm and cruised for about 5 miles with no problems. We anchored for until 6pm. I pulled up the anchor and made my way out of the no wake zone. Well when I tried to get on plane the boat acted really funny and kept pulling to the port side. The engine/outdrive sounded really weird too.

I thought maybe I hooked something and was dragging it or my prop hit something. I shut her down and trimmed all the way up and felt my prop. Nothing seems wrong. It looked perfect and there wasn't anything hanging down there. I started up and tried again with no luck. It gets on plane but runs hard as hell and won't balance out. It also looked like I was trimmed up too high by the looks of the wake, but I was all the way down. Bilge was completely empty and the outdrive looked fine when I got it back on the trailer.

I also checked the trim and it was working fine.

It's a 1989 Celebrity 192SE with a 5.0 MerCruiser and an AlphaOne OD. Any ideas?

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

How was the steering? Was the wheel centered as it should be? Do you have hydraulic steering? Did someone play with the wheel lock?

Did you put the boat on the trailer afterward? Was there anything noticable on the hull or outdrive?

How was the engine running at idle? Maybe fouled a plug or two? Do you smell fuel? Did you hear anything out of the ordinary (grinding-wise) from the out drive? How were the gauges reading?

Pulling hard to port and dragging? Sounds like you left the kickstand down.

Just kidding around. Report back.

 

[AndrewsArk]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

I do have hydraulic steering. There's about 4 inches of play in it. I don't know if that's what was going on or not. The engine was running great, even as this was all going on. It idled good in neutral and revved up fine.

I did get the boat on the trailer. Took a while since I had to go about 4 miles very slowly. Everything looked fine on the trailer. I'll snap a pic and add it to this thread in a few minutes.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

You should only have about an inch of play in your steering (no specs to back me up, just quite a few boats in my history). But that wouldn't stop you from planing.

Look at the anode just above the propeller also and see if got jostled to the wrong position. Although your prop looked fine, pull it off. You might have gotten fishing line fouled behind it. It's common and hard to see. If left there, it will chew up the prop shaft seal and you'll lose all of your greasy stuff from the lower unit. While the prop is off, have a shop check it for proper pitch and cup. It is possible you were shallow enough to drag sand? That can mess up a prop that the naked eye won't be able to tell (trust me on this).

Do you have trim tabs? If so, check to see if they are operating properly (put a load on them when extended).

 

[AndrewsArk]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Pics:

I also noticed that there is a hose clamp is loose on this side. Is this a cooler hose?

 

[AndrewsArk]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

I did drag some sand today when I drifted into some shallow water. I didn't get my trim up quick enough. I wasn't going more than 2-4mph.

I might just get it checked out anyway. I Bought this boat this summer and it's my first one so I'm new to all this.

Thanks for the help!

 

[73Trihull]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Looks like you are missing your anode. Right above the prop is an empty circle right were the anode should be.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Where is the trim tab?

 

[75TowerOfPower]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Well you don't have you zinc anode there, and whenyou hit the sand with the outdrive it could have made the drive not go down as low as it should there for not planing right.

 

[dwco5051]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

From the pictures I can't tell if the skeg might be bent to one side or the other. If it it is not straight that along with the missing trim tab (Anode) could be the cause of the problem.

 

[AndrewsArk]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

The skeg is worn down, not bent. It's been that way for a while. I've never noticed an anode there before. I looked at pics of the boat when I bought it and don't see anything but I'll replace it and see what happens.

Thanks for the input!

 

[sillyhilley]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

I don't think the anode keeps you from planning, it helps keep the boat in a straight line ...check to see if your trim is working, see if you can pull the out-drive up, you should not be able to do so.so if it comes up by your hand then that's the problem and would keep you from planing out.

 

[Fed]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Looking at pic #3 does anyone think there's something odd going on with the prop or the shaft, prop on too far or prop shaft bent, maybe it's just how it looks to me? The top blade looks very close to the gearbox.

I'd be getting that anode sorted out too, notice how all the corrosion is around the SS bolts on the leg yet the yoke which has anodes attached is free of corrosion.

 

[duped]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Prop does look big but hard to tell by the angle. Maybe PO did away with the anode for the huge prop. The trim tab doesn't make all that much difference in steering though, the gen 2s don't even have one.

Does the gimble feel loose when you shake the drive?

 

[AndrewsArk]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

I don't know what the gimble is but nothing feels lose except for a little play in the steering.

PO did put a larger prop on it.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Probably just an optical illusion, but in the first picture, the prop looks dinged up on the bucket that's facing the camera. I'm sure you checked it over, but it looks like it could be slightly flattened out. Good luck with it and report back with what you find.

 

[Fireman431]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

1) Double check that you have the correct size/pitch prop on your outdrive.

2) Replace the outdrive anode and position it properly (about 1 o'clock).

3) Run engine on muffs and ensure all cylinders are firing.

4) Check gauges to ensure all are within the proper range.

5) Test drive.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

maybe ya did have a trim tab anode but it fell off. that would be the sound ya heard, maybe.... granted ya have hydrolic steering which could mean ya never had a trim tab, just the anode.
anyways. my trim tab got loose on me this weekend. 1st sign of trouble was steering. my boat pulled to starboard. it never did that. stopped for a bit and then tried it again. that time no steering pull at the helm... hum. slow down and then hear the clank clank clank of something metal hitting metal. so i stopped. look at my drive and low and behold my trim tab had come loose. it was just flopping around hence my steering issue. when it got loose enough then it started hitting the prop. tightened it up and went on my way w/o issue.... short of a chewed up prop...

 

[Turx]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

Do OD's with power steering use a trim tab? I thought I read somewhere they do not, but should there still be an anode there......

 

[jonesg]

Re: Boat riding weird after all day in the water

THe hull might be waterlogged.