counteracting torque steering

[mergatroid]

Hi folks
I was wondering if anyone has experience with the stabilizers you can buy to counteract torque steering. Bass Pro have some that I was thinking of trying. Wondered how well they work & how they attach. My boat wanders at slow speeds, which is a big pain, but it's fine with a little speed. I have a 4.3 L Mercruiser I/O.
Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks,

 

[Bondo]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Hi folks
I was wondering if anyone has experience with the stabilizers you can buy to counteract torque steering. Bass Pro have some that I was thinking of trying. Wondered how well they work & how they attach. My boat wanders at slow speeds, which is a big pain, but it's fine with a little speed. I have a 4.3 L Mercruiser I/O.
Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks,

Ayuh,.... That's V-hull wander, 'n is completely normal...

The usual cure is less operator input...

 

[5150abf]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Concur, that is just the nature of the beast and I really don't think any add on will cure it, as Bondo said you have to just kinda point the boat in the general direction you want to go and use small inputs once and a while to correct course but going slow it is going to wander, it's just what they do.

 

[PCUK]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Fit a small fixed skeg right aft just ahead of the transom and this will act as a fixed rudder. It will transform slow speed steering without affecting high speed steering.

 

[cyclops2]

Re: counteracting torque steering

How big , shape, A hand sketch or drawing would be nice for us 17' to 19' sized boats. My Chap osscilates + & - 10 degress at 5 to 10 mph. Forever. Annoying.

 

[Grandad]

Re: counteracting torque steering

I have the same issue with my '72 Holiday Mercruiser 120. I'm wondering if trim affects it. Has anyone noticed the effect that trim has on this issue? - Grandad

 

[cyclops2]

Re: counteracting torque steering

I think I figured it out after doing several tests. The boats now have 1 /3 of the bow sliced backward. That removes a lot of having a KEEL on the bottom. Add in WIDE boats compared to length & there is not much to keep it straight.

I put a 250# person up front & bingo. better. put 2 200# people up front still better.

CRAP !
These dam hulls need a 3" deep keel running the length of the submerged hull. "" NO WAY "" You will reduce the top speed !!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sales & PR complaint.

DUUHH :facepalm::facepalm:

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Hi folks
I was wondering if anyone has experience with the stabilizers you can buy to counteract torque steering. Bass Pro have some that I was thinking of trying. Wondered how well they work & how they attach. My boat wanders at slow speeds, which is a big pain, but it's fine with a little speed. I have a 4.3 L Mercruiser I/O.
Any comments would be welcome.

Thanks,

Had the same problem when in no wake zones with my pocket cruiser. A friend recommended dropping the trim tabs all the way down. Solved the problem.

 

[PCUK]

Re: counteracting torque steering

You can make the skeg out of 1/4 inch mild steel and epoxy coat it. For a 19 foot boat I would say about 1 foot long and 5 inches deep. However, if you make it bigger it is easy to cut down with an angle grinder if you think it is affecting high speed handling. This is a well tried and proven method and not a theory. The whole job shouldn't cost more than $50 and all you've got to lose is the steering wander!

 

[cyclops2]

Re: counteracting torque steering

PCUK

The old Hacker runabouts suffer from small rudders, so do most of the reproductions. Do you think the skeg you recommend would help those boats in a breeze?
They are in the 25' to 35' range.

 

[Bondo]

Re: counteracting torque steering

You can make the skeg out of 1/4 inch mild steel and epoxy coat it. For a 19 foot boat I would say about 1 foot long and 5 inches deep. However, if you make it bigger it is easy to cut down with an angle grinder if you think it is affecting high speed handling. This is a well tried and proven method and not a theory. The whole job shouldn't cost more than $50 and all you've got to lose is the steering wander!

Ayuh,... Where, 'n How are ya attachin' this thing,..??

 

[cyclops2]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Some of the older & larger outboards had a adjustabile tab on the horozontial piece of the lower unit. That was supposed to help something.

 

[Philster]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Some of the older & larger outboards had a adjustabile tab on the horozontial piece of the lower unit. That was supposed to help something.

Answer: Not low-speed wander. A planing hull's primary design is to ride on top off the water, not plow through it. Often, the better the planing hull and the more aggressive the deadrise, the more wander. I mean, it's like a sports car: You have to sacrifice some things to extract the performance -- and this goes for sporty runabout boats, too.

 

[PCUK]

Re: counteracting torque steering

The old Hacker runabouts suffer from small rudders, so do most of the reproductions. Do you think the skeg you recommend would help those boats in a breeze?
They are in the 25' to 35' range.
I have fitted these to various sizes of boat and all have benefitted from reduced wander. It is the same as having a standard rudder except it is fixed and it reduces the oversteer induced by the outboard propeller.

Ayuh,... Where, 'n How are ya attachin' this thing,..??
Bolted through the hull right aft at the transom with a doubling plate inside.Sealed with a polyurethane adhesive (Sikaflex etc.)

This one was fitted to a 26ft sport fisher. The plate on the bottom is to allow the boat to dry out upright.
View attachment 128002

 

[Philster]

Re: counteracting torque steering

That'll look great on an Alpha outdrive....

 

[cyclops2]

Re: counteracting torque steering

The tab was for counteracting proptorque. But since it is a fixed size & location, it only works at one prop speed. So the companies did away with the problems it caused by the DIY crowd.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: counteracting torque steering

That homemade skeg looks like a leak just wating to happen.since the boats bottom is not perfectly flat what do you do with the gap around the edges ? I thinnk i'll put up with the wander.

 

[PCUK]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Put your brain into gear Ensign! You make the mounting plate to match the hull shape!!!!!!

 

[Philster]

Re: counteracting torque steering

The tab was for counteracting proptorque. But since it is a fixed size & location, it only works at one prop speed. So the companies did away with the problems it caused by the DIY crowd.

The piece in question is still in use/available.



Again, please follow the thread here: It does not help low-speed wander, as planing hulls are prone to this.

Another analogy to help you again: Performance cars with low-profile tires wander with grooves in the road. It's a trade off for the aggressive tires and quick steering response. In boats, wander comes with the type of hull found on the boat. And the wander is a zig zag that corrects itself with every zig and zag.

Feel free to keep confusing the issues and obfuscating.

 

[bekosh]

Re: counteracting torque steering

Had the same problem when in no wake zones with my pocket cruiser. A friend recommended dropping the trim tabs all the way down. Solved the problem.

r.j. is exactly right. Low speed wander is just the nature of the V-hull beast. Fully dropped trim tabs are the best way to handle this. Helm controlled hydraulic or electric are best but are relatively expensive ($400 or so new). But automatic ones like Smart Tabs would also help and are less less expensive.

The piece in question is still in use/available.

You're right, that little fin is still used, but only for motor/drive setups without power steering.