SeaStar Steering Problem

[Edward Monoski]

2005 GW 226 Yamaha f225. 200 hrs. I have owned this boat since 2010. It has always steered hard to Port easy to Starboard. System has been bleed twice with no improvement. Would the Trim tab on the Motor have much effect on this condition or should I look elsewhere for the problem. Motor turns freely when disconnected from steering.
Thank you,
Ed

 

[seasick]

Absolutely.
The tab may need to be adjusted. The adjustment may not seem that it makes sense but it does.
When looking at the underside of the ventilation plate, the tab should be turned clockwise about 15 degrees or a bit more. If the underside of the ventilation plate has tick marks, rotate the tab clockwise about 1 and 1/2 ticks to start.
Now you say to yourself, why would I turn the tab that way, in effect steering more to starboard since it's easy to turn that direction. The answer is that he tab adds drag in one direction and not thrust. So by turning it towards starboard you are adding drag in that direction and reducing the drag towards port. Yup, sounds illogical but it works.
Note that whatever tab setting you select, it is only optimal at one speed.
You may need to try different angles at the speed range you want to adjust for.

There are other things than can cause your issue but the LU tab is the most common.
One more thing to know: If you steering hydraulic cylinder has a ram on one end and is fixed on the other end (unlike a cylinder that has a movable ram on both ends), it will by the laws of physics be easier to steer in one direction as opposed to the other.

 

[DennisG01]

Or.... the anode tab simply acts a rudder. It tries to turn the engine (prop end) to the port side.

Now... it's not clear whether you mean that it turns hard to port while "at speed"... or ALSO at idle speeds. If it's also at idle speeds, then there's likely a different cause.

 

[brdawg2001]

If you have a tilt mechanism it could impact that as well. I need to keep mine lubed a bit.

 

[Coastboater]

I had a Sea Hunt that had a similar trait. Once you hit 4000 rpm it was difficult to steer to port and easy to starboard. Thats the nature of prop torque steer.
There are solutions. Sea Star makes a booster pump. When I priced for that boat it was ~$3000 installed. I passed. There are also electrical systems that replace the hydraulics, but I haven’t priced them.