Boats For Sale:
Steering adjustment/alignment |
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AllenSki 
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Joined: June-21-2011 Status: Offline Points: 8 |
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 Topic: Steering adjustment/alignmentPosted: June-21-2011 at 1:44am |
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I own a 2004 Air Nautique, my steering is pulling bad to left. How do I fix this and have this aligned?
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Randy_in_Ohio
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Joined: September-13-2006 Location: N. Canton, OH. Status: Offline Points: 1891 |
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 2:47am |
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Welcome Allen,
I don't know if I quite understand what your talking about. The boat will naturally pull to the left while underway because of the prop rotation. Now if your talking about the steering wheel not being straight while the boat is traveling straight, that's another issue but an easy fix. |
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AllenSki
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:00am |
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Yes the steering wheel is not centered. When steering wheel is centered the boat will turn left hard, not go straight. The alignment is off.
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Randy_in_Ohio
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Joined: September-13-2006 Location: N. Canton, OH. Status: Offline Points: 1891 |
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:41am |
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OK, you need to remove the rack unit at the end of the steering cable from the helm. It should be held together with four bolts. Center the wheel and the rudder then put it back together.
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BuffaloBFN
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Joined: June-24-2007 Location: Gainesville,GA Status: Offline Points: 6094 |
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 8:53am |
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Does the '04 have a trim tab on the rudder?
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AllenSki
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 1:15pm |
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When you say trim tab do you mean like where you can tighten by screw?
The rudder has a small screw I believe at the base of it, not 100% but if I remember right it does. |
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TX Foilhead
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Joined: February-01-2009 Location: Kingsland TX Status: Offline Points: 2076 |
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 1:45pm |
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No, is there a little adjustable fin on the trailing edge of the rudder? This can be set so there is a pull to one side, it helps some people to drive the course by having some pressure on the steering at all times. Before they started making rudders that way you would grind one side of the leading edge of the rudder to get the same effect.
FWIW, I can't think of many boats I've driven where the steering wheel is dead center, I just let the boat tell me where that is and adjust my hand accordingly. |
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AllenSki
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:19pm |
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TX Foilhead, thanks for all your help. One last question: I had my engine worked on recently and since getting it back my oil and temp Gauges don't work on dashboard, I've had the guy that work on the engine look at it but can't figure out why they aren't working-he tested the oil pressure and is all good but gauge still won't come on. Would you know any reason it wouldn't be firing? The other two gauges (gas and battery) do work but not oil and temp.
Thanks |
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Bri892001
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Joined: September-27-2008 Location: Boston MA Status: Offline Points: 4947 |
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:20pm |
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Is the boat pulling to one side or is the wheel just not straight? Two different issues.
It's not really like the alignment on a car. Boats don't often have a dead center steering wheel the way cars do, although they could and maybe should, but that doesn't mean the alignment off. Inboards shouldn't automatically pull, the way outboards often do, but the rudders can be tuned and made to pull because the pull can be beneficial in some situations. |
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AllenSki
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:24pm |
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It pulls left, if I take hands off steering wheel the boat pulls hard left. I understand the steering wheel doesn't need to be perfectly straight all the time but has always been somewhat straight, now to keep boat from pulling left I have to over compensate hard to the right. I hope that makes since. Before I could take hands off and the boat would stay straight somewhat not anymore.
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Bri892001
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:33pm |
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Ah, ok. So, the steering characteristics changed and you didn't purposely change anything?
I'll ask the obvious question, you (or anyone else) didn't hit anything did you? On the lake bottom or on the shore or something? Did you change props? I'm not sure how the tune-able rudders actually "tune." Hopefully someone with more experience will chime in. I wonder if it's possible that something came loose on the rudder. |
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TRBenj
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Joined: June-29-2005 Location: NWCT Status: Offline Points: 21186 |
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Posted: June-21-2011 at 3:33pm |
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Like TX said, you need to inspect your adjustable rudder and adjust it if necessary. The black tab can be adjusted to "load" the wheel, as youre describing.
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