Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment

[Mark42]

I have the classic "pulls to right" syndrome caused by prop rotation. I want to adjust the exhaust snout (ie trim tab) on the 1985 85hp Force to counter balance the pull. Unlike most o/b motors, the exhaust snout doubles as the trim tab. And the pivot point is at the rear, and adjustment at the front. The fix for a pull to the right on most o/b is to swing the trim tab to the right. But with this backward designed exhaust snout/trim tab, I think its a little different.

To counter act a righ pull, I think the exhaust snout should be pushed to the left (effectively moving the rear to the right), as you look at the motor from behind.

Is this the right way to do it?

 

[azlakes]

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment

Hi Mark,

Guess if its the correct way is relative to what works for your steer. But this is how my rig was first setup and it was an awful pull to the right. You can see (hopefully) the pivot is all the way to the right. Once I centered it it was sooo much better. It may take a couple tweaks to see what works for you.

Best of luck.

 

[Mark42]

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment

Hey azlakes, thanks for the pic. Here you can see my setup prior to today. the snout is nearly all the way to the left, so I moved it the remaining 3/8" to the full left. Tomorrow I'll see how it runs.

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment

when you guys are saying its pulling left or right.. is that like you have to hold the wheel straight cause the boats is tring to pull left or right cause i have a problem that while going straight its harder to turn the boat to the left then it is the right.. and i just put a new steering cable in

 

[Mark42]

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment

when you guys are saying its pulling left or right.. is that like you have to hold the wheel straight cause the boats is tring to pull left or right cause i have a problem that while going straight its harder to turn the boat to the left then it is the right.. and i just put a new steering cable in

Boats with clockwise rotating props tend to pull to the right. That makes it easy to steer right, and harder to steer left. If you let go of the wheel, it will tend to drift off to the right. The trim tab is used to compensate for the pull.

The problem I'm having is the Force is set up differently than most other outboard designs, so I'm not exactly sure which way to move the snout/trim tab.

 

[my1stboat1]

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment

thank you for answering... my plate is straight but maybe it should be moved to the right and retry thats exactly what my boat does easy to turn right, super hard to turn left

 

[Mark42]

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment. Resolved!

Re: Pull to right and exhaust snout adjustment. Resolved!

When I went to move the exhaust snout/trim tab, it was clear that the slot was stopping the snout from moving its full potential. So I removed the snout (2 bolts) and with a 1/4" drill bit, extended the adjustment slot about another 3/16". Then reinstalled and moved it to the far left.

Moving the snout to the left has the same effect as moving a more traditional trim tab that is mounted with a single screw in the center to the right. That is because the snout's pivot point is at the rear, and the slide adjustment is forward. So moving the slide to the far left sets the trim tab at a left to right angle (front to rear), same as moving the rear of a traditional tab to the right (which results in a tab on a left to right angle, front to rear). The left to right angle is what causes water pressure on the right/Starboard side of the outboard, pushing back against its normal tendency to swing to the Starboard side (making a right turn).

Anywho....

I then took the boat out today and the water was smooth as glass. From idle through WOT the steering was balanced. The pull to the right is gone, and I can let go of the wheel without it starting to make a right hand turn. The effort to turn right feels the same as the effort to turn left.