Tiller pulls to the left

I recently upgraded to a Johnson 40 hp.tiller 2 stroke on my 16 ft. Polarcraft extra wide and extra deep. It seems to pull to the left and hard to steer til it planes out. I have a deep cycle and a starting battery on the left rear along with trolling motor.On the right rear is the gas tank-6 gal. and my fat azz. Do you think this is to much weight in the rear? Is there something else I can do? TIA

Adjust the counter-torque tab/fin. That’s what it’s for.

This is he fin that comes down from the top of the anti-cavitation plate. The anti-cav plate is the horizontal plate above the prop. Usually, there is a nut that can be accessed from the top of the anti-cav plate that loosens the counter torque fin to allow you to adjust it.

A little bit makes a difference. You don’t need to adjust it much in most cases.

Some trial and error is usually required. This is usually best done from a nice sandy beach where you can pull up, stand in the water, tweak it, test it, come back and tweak it again, etc. Take your time and get it right.

Grouse

Grouse is right. It should solve the problem.

One bit of advice, make sure to mark the orientation with a thin line. That way you know which way you went and which way you need to go.

Also, make sure your boat is evenly balanced from port to starboard. As you mentioned, all that weight you added will make a difference and starting off with a well balanced load is ideal.

I’VE had the same issue for years and have just dealt with it. It’s not bad but your arm gets tired after a while. If the tiller handle pulls away from you, what way does it need to he turned?
DT

deertracker wrote:

I’VE had the same issue for years and have just dealt with it. It’s not bad but your arm gets tired after a while. If the tiller handle pulls away from you, what way does it need to he turned?
DT

So the handle goes the other way. 😉

Moving the counter-torque fin is about the hardest thing in the world to visualize, roughly 3x more difficult than doing long division with decimal places while singing the national anthem and juggling.

You move the trim tab in the direction that the boat is pulling.

If the bow is pulling off the the left, you move the fin to the left.

By moving the tab left, it’s forcing the rear of the motor to the right, thus turning the boat to the right, correcting the problem.

Totally agree with the others, it doesn’t take much in many cases and as they say, mark your starting position so you can tell where you started.

Grouse

So this has me curious. On my SC boat if I have the motor trimmed all the way down and try to hole shot the boat will list very hard to starboard. Would this also be the torque fin?

Grouse is spot on for the majority of torque problems. Prop rotation will influence a natural left or right pull based on prop rotation, (counter or clockwise).
Rare, but I see this often enough. Motor is mounted cantered to the centerline of the boat. It only takes a couple degrees on a sloppy installation and the boat will torque/pull to the left or right pending the angle. The torque tab will help in this case, but not solve the problem.

I noticed if I was able to trim up the motor, just a little bit, the torque was a LOT less. That worked in calm to choppy water.
I messed with the tab but was never able to get it adjusted right.
Trimming was the only way it worked for me but then I wasn’t able to due that in big waves. It needed to be trimmed all the way down or I wouldn’t ride right.

It really big waves, my shoulder was kaput after a couple miles.

I solved my problem by having Power Steering installed. It wasn’t cheap but it was one of the best investments I ever made!
I just use slight pressure even in the biggest waves and I don’t have to hang onto for dear life to steer it.

dang nabit, that grouse guy is one smart feller!!!!!!!!!!!!!

pain in the arse to adjust is right!!!!!!!

Jonesy wrote:

So this has me curious. On my SC boat if I have the motor trimmed all the way down and try to hole shot the boat will list very hard to starboard. Would this also be the torque fin?

It might be the torque fin, however…

Does the steering wheel want turn by itself once you’re on plane and (presumably) have trimmed the motor to achieve proper on-plane running configuration? If the steering wheel still wants to turn sharply by itself such that you’re “fighting” it, then yes, the fin needs to be adjusted and this may solve some/most/all of the problem.

The other thing that’s on my mind is do you have your trim stop pin set to low, such that your motor is trimmed down TOO far? Forcing a boat on plane and then “bow plowing” induces all kinds of handling problems which might be contributing to your issue.

Have you experimented with your trim stop setting? What I look for is the highest pin setting that allows me to get on plane after the hole shot so that I can then have minimal movement to trim up for the running setting. Obviously, this is going to vary by boat, load, configuration, etc, but have you tried to move the stop and see if it helps the problem?

Grouse

Thanks Grouse and others, I’ll try your remedy small increments at a time

I thought I had the same issue with my Merc 25, I adjusted the tab both directions and everywhere in between and nothing helped. Found out through trial and error and a little dumb luck my bushings/pads that go between the steering hinge clamp and the shaft were worn out. Replaced them and all was well.

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Here ya go Mike

Hey @munchy –

I think you may be onto something with replacement of the bushings/pads. I have teh exact same motor and have tried everything to fix this problem. Would love some more information regarding what you did to fix. Parts, process, pics etc… Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

If all else fails try to raise the motor up a hole. If its too deep in the water it will cause a small pull to get worse.

Hey John, just seeing this post, however I replied to your PM last night with some details. Let me know if you have any more questions.

If you do make adjustments to the trim tab above the prop make sure to tighten it back in very well. Then check it a few times after running the motor. Ended up loosing two off my motor by not double checking them.

Mike W wrote:

If you do make adjustments to the trim tab above the prop make sure to tighten it back in very well. Then check it a few times after running the motor. Ended up loosing two off my motor by not double checking them.

Yep! I bent the hell out of my stainless prop because of that.

munchy wrote:

I thought I had the same issue with my Merc 25, I adjusted the tab both directions and everywhere in between and nothing helped. Found out through trial and error and a little dumb luck my bushings/pads that go between the steering hinge clamp and the shaft were worn out. Replaced them and all was well.

Hi – bumping up an old post but I am having the exact same issue with my Merc 25. Tried adjusting the trim tab both ways but it still pulls hard right. Can you PM me the details on this fix with the bushings? Thanks!