by Sonik » Jun 06, 2011 9:41 pm
rooster wrote:i have hydraulic steering solid mounts and seat time. sounds like the balance might be the answer.
Balance and weight placement(where feasible), is definitely key. Is your boat side or center steer??? If it is side, then driver weight needs to be countered by stacking in the port rear the battery, trim pump, offset fuel tank, etc etc.....whatever it takes to get it close. When my boat was recored, I stuck the 6 gal removable tanks together in the center of the boat between the knees, as opposed to having them spread 14" apart (and on shelves)to accomodate for the battery in between(which is how it was originally built). I run a red top Optima stuffed as far back in the port wing as it will go and have a soft-side toolbag with misc hand tools that weighs 18-20 lbs on average sitting right in front of the battery. I run a triple ram midsection so theres no pump in the boat. And with this setup it runs straight and level unless I empty the port fuel tank first then its none too happy. AAAAAAAANYways, you get my point. Jack the boat up off the trailer bunks with a small section of 2x8 lengthwise on the pad....an inch or so off the bunks is enough. Sit in the boat and have a buddy start moving some known weight around in the boat until it will balance on the pad then adjust your rigging if possible to compensate permanently.
The method is far from scientific or super accurate, but it will get you close enough to realize what the boat needs.
Here's another question....what type of gearcase are you running?? Type of cone?? does it have a torque tab??? If so, how big is it?? Is it too much or not enough?? A tab is pretty important on a boat as small and as light as a vandal IMO. You can negate alot if not most of the gearcase crabbing through the water with a good tab. Try finding your true perpendicular (steering center) of your case to your hull and mark your steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position. Then go run the boat and see where your tape line ends up. This should give you an idea if the case is tracking straight. Another thing to keep in mind, the higher you jack the motor up, the more "paddlewheel" or "prop walk" effect you may experience depending on the type of prop you run.
I'm just throwing stuff out there for you to play around with and experiment with.
Jeff
[quote="rooster"]i have hydraulic steering solid mounts and seat time. sounds like the balance might be the answer.[/quote]
Balance and weight placement(where feasible), is definitely key. Is your boat side or center steer??? If it is side, then driver weight needs to be countered by stacking in the port rear the battery, trim pump, offset fuel tank, etc etc.....whatever it takes to get it close. When my boat was recored, I stuck the 6 gal removable tanks together in the center of the boat between the knees, as opposed to having them spread 14" apart (and on shelves)to accomodate for the battery in between(which is how it was originally built). I run a red top Optima stuffed as far back in the port wing as it will go and have a soft-side toolbag with misc hand tools that weighs 18-20 lbs on average sitting right in front of the battery. I run a triple ram midsection so theres no pump in the boat. And with this setup it runs straight and level unless I empty the port fuel tank first then its none too happy. AAAAAAAANYways, you get my point. Jack the boat up off the trailer bunks with a small section of 2x8 lengthwise on the pad....an inch or so off the bunks is enough. Sit in the boat and have a buddy start moving some known weight around in the boat until it will balance on the pad then adjust your rigging if possible to compensate permanently.
The method is far from scientific or super accurate, but it will get you close enough to realize what the boat needs.
Here's another question....what type of gearcase are you running?? Type of cone?? does it have a torque tab??? If so, how big is it?? Is it too much or not enough?? A tab is pretty important on a boat as small and as light as a vandal IMO. You can negate alot if not most of the gearcase crabbing through the water with a good tab. Try finding your true perpendicular (steering center) of your case to your hull and mark your steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position. Then go run the boat and see where your tape line ends up. This should give you an idea if the case is tracking straight. Another thing to keep in mind, the higher you jack the motor up, the more "paddlewheel" or "prop walk" effect you may experience depending on the type of prop you run.
I'm just throwing stuff out there for you to play around with and experiment with. :up:
Jeff
