Boat steering
 

I have recently bought a boat and feel I have a steering problem. I have about an inch and a half of play on both sides of the center position. The boat is I/O has a power steering rack and pinion with a single cable to the rack.
It's a problem when moving slowly. I had a mechanic look at it and say it's within range of normal. It's been some time since I have been boating, but I don't remember having that type of play in the steering. Any help would be appreciated.

I saw this the other day and was going to post, but I got busy eating BBQ.

In any case, are you saying you can move your steering wheel an inch and a half either way before the motor begins to move? If so, I think that's absolutely normal—I've only been on a few vessels, but I don't recall any being so tight there's no play.

Welcome to the forum!

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Boat steering
 

The OP said it is an I/O, so I hope moving the steering wheel doesn’t move the motor! [emoji50]

Now that's funny
 

Now that's funny:laugh: .

Back to the thread. My 25 ft bowrider I / O, at low speed had a bit of play at low speed, say under 7 or 8 MPH. If trimmed up properly at speed, little or no correction.

Dave

Steering slop is a given in a cable steering system, but there are some other things you need to know:

1.Mercruiser I/Os require routine checks of the torque on the gimbal ring pinch nuts. If those are loose the gimbal ring can wear and cause steering slop in the drive.

2. Mercruiser I/Os have a pinch bolt on the steering lever that can loosen up and cause wear on the steering lever and swivel shaft that will also cause slop.

For some reason, Volvo Penta I/Os don't seem to suffer from either of the problems described above.

3. All single engine I/O boats with V-hulls wander at low speed. Some are worse than others. With practice, you can stay ahead of it and maintain a straight course. If you wait until the boat has already turned, you are not staying ahead of it. This is not caused by steering slop and it's a well-known phenomenon, but probably not very well understood.

Dave's #3 above is definitely a common issue and worse on flat bottom or semi displacement hull boats.

My Eastern 22' is like this with its flat bottom semi displacement hull. In trailing seas it can be a real bear also!! Luckily its good attributes far outweigh its bad!!

Dan

Hahahaha!!! Though my eyes were looking at the words, clearly my mind was still on delicious BBQ.

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Is the boat "Bow Hunting"? The bow moves left & right at slow speeds? Some boats hulls do this normally.

You could have a worn Gimbal housing too... boat needs to be out of the water to diagnose that properly.


Woodsy

Check #1 asap.

Loose is bad.

Loose for a long time is big $$$!

I had a 15 year old 19' IO bowrider that had that problem and it was the steering gear in the helm was worn out. If you can look under the helm and move the wheel you can see if it is activating the cables. If the wheel moves a lot before moving the cables then your steering gear is worn out.

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Steering
 

This boat has around 100 hours on it. A mechanic checked the lower end and its fine. I was wondering if I put a hydraulic steering system in would that take care of the play.
The problem is low speeds and docking.

If you put the wheel in the straight ahead position at idle, in forward gear, and don't touch the wheel, does the boat wander back and forth? If it does, it's likely not slop that's causing your issues.


I have hydraulic steering and it will help a little with slop, but probably not with docking. It's quite expensive and adds multiple points of failure. One little air bubble can render it useless. The cable is crude, but it is very simple and not likely to fail. They are also not expensive.

My favorite docking tool for a single engine boat is an Edson Power Knob. If you have never used one, you are in for a treat. My advice would be try one and get some practice with it before you spend money on major changes like hydraulic steering. Even if you do switch to hydraulic, you can still use knob,

Edson Power Knob
 

Ah yes, the old suicide knob. Had one on a mid 60's car I had. Never could get use to it but I think I could on a boat.

+100 on the Edson knob.

I just added an OB powered center console to my fleet.

The steering from lock to lock is about double the turns of my I/O boats.

The knob makes docking so much easier!

docking
 

I think my problem with docking is overcorrecting because of the play. I am trying to take it slow turning the wheel. I also bought a rudder position indicator that attaches to the steering so I know when the wheel is in the straight position. I haven't tried it yet.

Suicide Knob
 

I don’t know where I would be in my Eastern without that “suicide knob”. Docking is so much easier with it when it’s rough!

Dan

power on-off
 

For most boats, the steering wheel does very little if the propeller isn't turning. Try turning the wheel to the desired position, Put it in gear for 1-2 seconds and come out of gear. Correct the wheel and repeat.
You can tell when the steering wheel is straight ahead by wrapping a piece of tape at top or bottom. Because the steering wheel is straight, does not mean your rudder or outdrive is straight, hence "rudder angle" not steering wheel indicator. Post #9 on this thread has a good discussion of Rudder angle
https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...ad.php?t=25884.