Pulling hard to the left

[dkelly4819]

Finally got the boat cleaned up and went for a long ride this morning. Discovered that when moving at a decent speed, the boat pulls hard to the left as soon as I let go of the wheel. The rudder and steering cable were replaced over the winter when it was up at Bennett's getting other work done. Any idea what could be causing this? Thanks for any help you can provide.

[td in nc]

Are your skegs on the bottom of the boat straight. One of mine got bent and it pulled hard to one side.

[Hagman]

You can tune the rudder pull to your liking By filling the back edge of the rudder at 45% angle. You want a little pull. File on the right to pull right file the lift to pull lift. Only file a little at a time on more than 3 good strikes at once. Someone please correct me if I got it back works.

[Zim]

Rudder was probably loaded to help tracking. Loading a rudder lets you go in a straighter line since you're always putting pressure on the rudder with water. If it's not loaded, the boat can wander a bit. Has this been your boat for a while or is it new to you?

[dkelly4819]

Mike - I've had the boat for 2 summers prior to this and it always tracked straight, but was difficult to steer. When I got it up to Bennett's, we looked at it and there was a ton of play in the rudder, so I decided to have Donnie replace it.
Hagman - I think I understand what you are saying, as I read something similiar elsewhere. File the trailing edge of the side I want it to pull, so I would need to file the right trailing edge in order to offset the hard pull to the left?
The skegs were straight last I looked when it was on the trailer, so I'm not sure how they would have gotten bent at this point. It just went in the water last week.

[Zim]

Try taking it out a couple more times. You're probably just not used to the pull at this point since the rudder wasn't in good shape before. Before you know it, it'll feel normal and you won't even notice it anymore.

[SquamInboards]

Whether you want pull or not seems to be a personal preference. I think unless you're pulling slalom skiers a lot, it's nice to be fairly neutral so you don't have to worry about veering hard to one side if you let go of the wheel for a second. However, if it's just a tiny bit of pull, it can be nice not to have to move the wheel back and forth just to stay going straight. Of course, having people or ballast in the boat that favors one side changes the whole balance of the boat. So it's up to you.

When I put in a new rudder, I had to do very little filing to achieve an extremely slight pull so when I'm going straight, I can just rest my hand on the wheel, rather than sawing back and forth through the inevitable play in the system, just to keep it straight. If I let go, the boat stays basically straight and then SLOWLY starts to turn.

This is why they make rudders with tiny adjustable inserts, so you can loosen them with an allen key or something and change your rudder tuning as many times or as much as you want. But those are pricey, and how often do you think people really change it, who do have one of those?

[jzelt]

Don't let go :)

Stiff steering cable held it straight for you. I bet by resting your thumb on the wheel, it won't turn. I had similar issue with replacing cable. Guy that usually takes me skiing went to turn and darn near rolled it over (exaggerating). Forgot to mention I replaced the cable and how easy it was to turn now.

[SquamInboards]

Stiff steering cable held it straight for you.

The rudder was also replaced...

[dkelly4819]

I called Donnie today and asked him about it. He apologized, said he usually catches that on his test run before turning the boat over to the owner. It was in the middle of winter and we think maybe the grease in the new steering cable was thick from the cold and he didn't notice it as much as I did on a warm, sunny day. He recommended filing the right trailing edge, as others have, to remedy the situation. I think I'll run it again this weekend and see how bad it really is; I may have just been caught off guard by the change from before. If it still annoys me, I can try filing a bit and see if it helps. Thanks to all for the advice and suggestions, I learn something new every day on this forum. I really appreciate it!

[Zim]

A little filing goes a long way, so don't file too much at one time. File, test, file test, etc.

[Hagman]

The rudder torque will increase with your increase speed . You want some pull on the wheel to take out the play in the steering cable . I have mine tuned so at my cruse speed of 26 there in no pull on the wheel . I can let go of the wheel and the boat goes where it was pointed . When I ski at 34 there is just enough pull on the wheel to take the play out of the system. And Yes only file a little at a time.