A question on steering

[jon and michie]

Hi - whilst trying to get out of my berth I have noticed on a couple of occasions that the boat contacts the finger of the pontoon even when there is no wind.
last time I was ready to set off - before I started her up I looked where the leg was in conjunction with the steering wheel - which was off - so I turned the wheel a quarter of a turn and the leg was bang on straight and maneuvered out of the berth perfectly.

so my question is - is there anything I need to check/adjust on the power steering set up or is it easier to just remove the wheel and reset it so the wheel is in the correct position.

as a side note just before I took ownership the leg was removed for maintenance.
This is on a single kad300 engine with DP-G leg.

Many thanks for any opinions

Jon

 

[julians]

In my experience its rare to have your steering wheel straight and the boat going straight at the same time. Usually the wheel always ends up a few degrees off centre.

 

[jrudge]

Do you have a helm indicator?

on most boats the wheel will never line up as it is disconnected once the auto helm is on.

The only thing that matters is that the helm indicator is roughly central when you are going in a straight line. I say roughly as it is quite normal to be half a needles width one way or other

 

[jon and michie]

Thank you for the quick replies.
I don't have auto helm / indicator
The boat is a sea ray sundancer and the wheel is like what you would find on a sports car.

Jon

 

[BruceK]

Is your steering rack and pinion or rotary? As most steering wheels for cable driven systems are held on a tapered shaft with woodruff key any adjustments made when the cable stretches must be made from either a rack or rotary adjustment in relation to cable and steering wheel position.

 

[julians]

Your 'problem' is normal, my old sea ray was the same (different drive through), my windy is the same (different drive again).

 

[jon and michie]

BruceK - I don't know (I am not near the boat at the moment) could it just need an adjustment ?

Julians - do you know of a fix ?

are the steering cables quite standard and quite easy to pick up ? should I need a new one

jon

 

[luptonj]

I wouldn't really worry about it, on the days it's that calm just thank the gods and look out the back to see where the drive is before you set off

Or on a flat calm day, center the drive, go forward and back a few times to ensure it's in the correct spot and then put a mark at the dead center point of your wheel. Bit of twine etc so you can move it when it changes in the future.

 

[BruceK]

BruceK - I don't know (I am not near the boat at the moment) could it just need an adjustment ?

Julians - do you know of a fix ?

are the steering cables quite standard and quite easy to pick up ? should I need a new one

jon

An adjustment will bring it back to "centre-ish" although if the cable is badly stretched you'd need a new cable. The reason I ask is because on many of the rack or rotary types, under installation booklet which you could download, it tells you what to angle the steering wheel at when you feed the cable through. That angle plus adjusted offset will bring your steering wheel back to a centre point. Please note though. This centre point changes according to wind, prop torque / walk, revs, fwd/reverse etc when underway. All I am pointing out is how to centre the steering wheel for the boat at rest.


Edit

For example on pg 2 for a commonly used Seastar system https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...S-SH5094.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3QF3kE6aVek_JVNsmrO1TQ

 

[petem]

Have you got a bow thruster?

 

[Kawasaki]

Hi - whilst trying to get out of my berth I have noticed on a couple of occasions that the boat contacts the finger of the pontoon even when there is no wind.
last time I was ready to set off - before I started her up I looked where the leg was in conjunction with the steering wheel - which was off - so I turned the wheel a quarter of a turn and the leg was bang on straight and maneuvered out of the berth perfectly.

Jon

A quarter of a turn is not much 'out' on most outdrives
Whether it be cable or hydraulic , or a bit of both
From the wheel to the 'end product' there's all sorts going on that could be a bit worn a bit stretched etc
The trick is to put the helm where you think it needs to be and engage gear then immediately engage nuetral
Just kinda pop her into gear and see what goes on. This gives you time to 'Steer and Gear' and sort the exit out
Same goes for returning

 

[julians]

Theres no fix im aware of, i dont really consider it a problem, just a foible of boats.

A good number of years ago i was told 'es normal' when i raised it with the bloke that looks after my boat in spain - like a lot of boat problems

 

[PCUK]

Easily make your own wheel centre warning light using a reed switch and magnetic on the transom and tiller arm and a light on the dash. It only illuminates when the steering is centralised. You can add an on-off switch to stop it flashing when steering normally. Total cost less than a fiver!