Position of the "vane" above the prop

[mohead1]

Hello all,

I had the lower unit off to replace the impellor, and I put that anode that looks like a mini-skeg back approx. in the same position it was, is this supposed to be straight, angled, or what? Reason I ask, as I was behind a trailered boat yesterday and that anode vane was skewed way to the left (? either left or right) and thought of crap I dont have it where it is supposed to be.......enlighten me please

 

[Bondo]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

Hello all,

I had the lower unit off to replace the impellor, and I put that anode that looks like a mini-skeg back approx. in the same position it was, is this supposed to be straight, angled, or what? Reason I ask, as I was behind a trailered boat yesterday and that anode vane was skewed way to the left (? either left or right) and thought of crap I dont have it where it is supposed to be.......enlighten me please

Ayuh,... It depends on how yer Prop handles,...
It's there, 'n adjustable to counter Prop Torque in the steerin'...

 

[tocostew]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

so I just posted a thread about my boat leaning to one side and I got a couple of replies talking about prop torque. I notice mine was slightly to the right (starboard) side and my boat was leaning to that side. So if I move it to the center do you think that will straighten it up??

 

[Bondo]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

so I just posted a thread about my boat leaning to one side and I got a couple of replies talking about prop torque. I notice mine was slightly to the right (starboard) side and my boat was leaning to that side. So if I move it to the center do you think that will straighten it up??

Ayuh,... All ya can do is Try it... Maybe, Maybe not...

 

[Don S]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

Please don't hijack someone elses thread with your question tocostew. That's not polite.
You have your own thread going allow, mohead1 to have his.

 

[Kaplooi]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

With a standard rotating prop (clockwise) I believe the prop torque will tend to pull the steering to starboard. So you can angle the fin on your cavitation plate to try and counter that pull by angling it to push the drive to port. It's confusing because the rear end of the drive itself is pointing in the opposite direction you're steering to push the boat in that direction. Given that the vast majority of single engine boats have clockwise prop rotation your trim fin should be pointed around 11:00 to help push your outdrive/outboard to port.

In my case my wheel actually pulls a little to port when I'm going 30+, so I'm thinking to turn the tab a little closer towards 12:00. I remember on my old 14ft boat with a 20hp outboard and no trim fin it pull pretty strongly to starboard under power and I'd have to hold it in line by hand, which got a little tiring after a while so I believe I'm right about the direction of the prop torque. Worst case you'll get it backwards and it'll pull strongly to one side in which case you'll know you have to turn it the other way. On my alpha 1 outdrive the anode fin is cut such that there's a certain amount of adjustment range between 11:00 and 1:00 but it won't let you 'over correct' by tilting it beyond that. That would likely just cause too much drag.

 

[Scott Farley]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

That vane is to help if your boat wants to steer itself. If your boat is pulling to the right, loosen the bolt and turn the anode to the left.....

 

[ziggy]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

It's there, 'n adjustable to counter Prop Torque in the steerin'...

that's what the trim tab is there for + it's a zinc and is designed to disintegrate due to corrosion (of dissimilar metals, electrolysis) instead of the drive.

this tab is only set for one attitude of the boat. so. pick your favorite speed, favorite trim w/ your normal load. then adj. the tab accordingly till the steering feel is even in both directions.
for me, this was about 2500 rpm, 2 people + normal gear, trimmed up one hash mark. when at this speed i can let go of the wheel and the boat steers straight. port and starboard turns and the wheel feels the same.

turn the tab the direction of ease of steering to adj. if it turns easy to starboard, hard to port. ya adj. the tab to starboard to equalize..

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

The trailing edge of the anode always goes in the direction that the boat wants to pull.

Here is an example of a boat that wanted to pull left (port), and the anode worked best in the 11:00 o'clock position (looking up):

Happy boating!

 

[mohead1]

Re: Position of the "vane" above the prop

Hey, as usual, y'all got the answers I need and thanks very much! I sorta eyeballed it back to where it was before, is was offset about like the pic RockyRoad shows here, maybe not as pronounced an angle. I guess I gotta do the test thang.....

Thanks!!