Finally got to take my boat out!!!!

[Newbie@boats]

Finally got my 88 Ranger fisherman out with the Johnson 110

i was last on it a few years ago when my buddy owned it then it sat and I bought it. I’m an throughly impressed on how well it ran. Normally I’m used to buying a boat and then having to tinker with it to get it to idle after a hard run but this one ran perfect and surprisingly its pretty quick. Didn’t catch any fish but I was on a time crunch and was more interested in figuring out the vintage fish finders and stuff.

the boat was pulling hard to the right though, if you let go of the steering wheel it would dart to the right. I found the little adjustable piece above the prop was pushed to the left. I read online you want to put it the way the boat pulls. So I shifted it over to the right. Hopefully that solves that issue. Otherwise I couldn’t be happier

 

[Texasmark]

I had the '89 version of that boat (Ranger 670 Helm as I recall), with a 115 Mercury I6 "Tower of Power". Had a good time with it. Rule of thumb is turn the rear of the "trim tab" in the direction in which the boat wants to go...obviously the farther you turn it from centered, the more the effect.

If it's turning to the right when you release the steering wheel, turn the rear to the right. This will increase prop thrust against the right (Starboard) side of the engine's lower unit and force it to deflect to the left which will move your thrust back toward the centerline of the boat aiding in centering the wheel.

If you have power trim and tilt (PTT), a must if you are to make that boat perform as it was designed, depending on the trim position, you could have 3 different forces affecting your steering: If you set it up for a given trim position, say zero degrees (vertical) and go to negative trim (lower unit toward the rear (transom) the boat will favor turning to the right. Centering, having set it up there, the wheel would stay centered when releasing it. Trimming out from center (lower unit away from transom) would produce the opposite effect on the wheel and it would favor turning the boat to the left (Port).

A No Feedback Steering system will overcome these differences if not extreme.

 

[Newbie@boats]

Good info, thanks.....I’ve been looking into the no feedback steering but I don’t know how much money I want to invest into this boat as we just went out and bought a camper today

Next time out I’ll see how it reacts with me adjusting the tab. Hopefully it’s good. We shell see

 

[Texasmark]

Come back with your results. I needed to get the steering wheel out of the way for my legs and while I was at it, wanted NFB steering to overcome what I said about steering and Trim Tab position vs Trim position. This was an easy install using existing everything but what you see in the kit. Mine was not Rack and Pinion steering and this unit is not made for such....but there are units for that. You can tell the difference looking at your setup as the rack sticks straight out and the rotary has a flexible cable that routes around the the unit (180*) and comes out the same side as the cable is inserted......with a round, plastic, sleeve to contain the cable when turning fully in one direction. No cutting was required, instructions were clear and it took about an hour of actual work.....took my time since I had nothing else to do and wanted to get it right the first time. Really happy with the results on both counts...tilt and FB.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Seastar-So...-II/163659844504?_trksid=p2485497.m4902.l9144