Pulls to port when at plane....??

[capercanuck]

I just had my out drive replaced with a rebuilt Mercruiser. My boat has a 350 Merc in it for an engine. The boat runs true when at lower speeds, but when I get it up on plane, it pulls hard to port. I have tried adjusting my trim tabs, but this makes no noticable difference. What does this problem indicate? Or is it a problem? Also, when I steer hard to port or starboard the universals are making a weird sound. Is this normal? My mechanic said that I am just oversteering and that he can limit the turning the radius of the boat which in turn would eliminate the noise from the universals. Does this sound reasonable? Other than that, the boat runs really well, I just want to get the bugs out of it before the warranty expires at the end of this season. And I don't want to wear out my welcome at my mechanics with problems that might not be real problems, if you know what I mean. Thanks for any information!

 

[knights]

Re: Pulls to port when at plane....??

are there grease fittings on the universals? They shouldn't have any sound coming from them at all. <br />The trim, leave it alone for now, check for line up,might not be trued in, won't be noticeable at low speeds, but when moving quick, you'll see it more. Is the lower plate installed straight? Pressure is put on here at higher speeds, hard to tell when out of the water. See which way drive goes when a little pressure is pushed on the drive. May not be adjusted correctly.

 

[mlslocks]

Re: Pulls to port when at plane....??

Don't know about the noise. The steering to port could be the trim tab anode hanging behind the prop. It needs to be adjusted. Make small adjustments turning it in the same direction the boat is pulling.