Sea Star Steering Stiff at WOT

[Diesel Dave]

I have a Targa 1900 with a 200 opti and from new the steering is hard to turn at wot. When cruising around the steering feels normal. I though that is how it was supposed to be but a friend of mine says no it should always be easy to turn no matter the speed. Could some air in the system cause this problem?

Thanks in advance
Dave

[Boz]

If I don't have the trim adjusted, steering can be fairly difficult. Once you hit the sweetspot for a certain speed, steering should be very easy. Different speeds, different weight distributions and water conditions, different trim is required. Play with it.

[Westy]

After purchasing my boat two years ago, I felt the steering was way too hard at WOT. It was a real bear. After looking at Sea Star's websit and reading the FAWQ, I started making some adjustments and ended up raising my motor one hole. That helped, but it was still harder than I thought it should be. I then adjusted the torque tab and everything worked great after that. The torque tab was set about 3/4 of the way to the left, as I was standing behind the boat facing it. I made an adjustment to about half that distance towards the center and then ran it. It helped, but I then moved it some more until the boat handled the way it should. So, I would recommend adjusting your torque tab a few ways to see what works best. If that doesn't help, you could try raising your motor. Of course, air in the system could be your problem too, but these other things might help if that doesn't work. Good luck.

[T-Mac]

I second that.
The lower the engine is mounted the harder it is to steer at wide open.

[larrym]

What and where is the tourqe tab?

[Cooker]

I had the same problem with mine. I took it back to the dealer and they bleed the hydralic system. I have not had a problem since.

[Gumbo]

It's the little tab/fin hanging down from the cavitation plate over the prop, and is for counteracting prop torque (the propeller spinning one way will tend to push a boat a little off-center).

[REW]

The torque tab is on the underside of the cavitation plate.
This is the flat plate that is just above the propellor.
On the back of this flat plate, such that it extends down near the propellor is a small tapered tab. This is the trim tab.

If you tilt up your motor, you will find that you have an adjusting bolt on the inside of the trim tab. Then on the bottom of the trim tab, you will have a scale, with numbers which are probably 0-30 or 40 degrees.

Just run the trim tab at extremes, to see overall operation.
Then, as you find which side you have to be nearer- tweak the setting to get low effort steering.

The idea of the trim tab, is that if the engine is properly trimmed out, and if the engine is running at a cruise or some other fairly high speed setting - where you like to run --- you want to set the trim tab - so that if you had no steering link connected to the motor - the motor and boat would run straight.

If the above situation is executed, with the trim tab in this particluar location, and if you change either motor/boat speed, or motor trim angle - you will find that your trim tab settings are no longer perfect.

Thus, you want to set up your boat - with engine trim angle, and engine rpm for the speed, where you are going to be doing the bulk of your running. If it happens to be WOT - fine, if (like most folks, cruise is about 1/2-3/4 throttle; you want to tune the trim tab at this setting. Bottom line - trim the trim tab - for perfection at the engine setting and throttle setting that is used the most of the time.


--
Take care
REW

[MikeWK]

Westy -
I'm having a similar situation as some of the others are having, as my system steers well at low speeds but is tough at WOT. Mine is more difficult to turn to the starboard side than it is to port. My tab is currently set right in the middle as you look at the motor, and was wondering based on your experience(or anyone else reading)would I be advised to make my first adjustment so that the tab is pointed to the right or left of the center line? Just trying to get some opinions on a starting point to aviod having to pull the boat in and out of the water so much. Thanks a lot for any opinions everyone.

[Westy again]

Turning to the left at speed was the most difficult and it took a large amount of effort. Originally, the tab was set about 3/4 to the left, as I faced the motor standing behind the boat. I played with the adjustment of the tab and the boat reacted with each adjustment. I now have the tab almost right in the middle and the boat handles great without the feeback in the hydraulic steering. I should probably say that setting works for me on a 1800 Fisherman with a 175 Yammie linked to a 8 hp Yammie kicker. I assume that if the big motor wasn't attached to the kicker, increasing the overall weight being moved, the setting of the tab may be better in another position. I had to make several adjustments to get it in the right position, but when I did, it worked great. As I said earlier, the other posts could also be right about air in the system. I tried that route first and took it to the dealer twice to bleed the system. I then went to Sea Star's website and read up on the subject under the frequently asked questions section and stumbled upon the idea I am referencing now. If the other things (raising the motor, bleeding the system, shifting the load) don't work for you, try moving the tab. It is the easiest, quickest and least expensive alternative to troubleshooting your situation. Good Luck.

[MikeWK]

Thanks for the response. I'll try adjusting the tab as discussed.

[larrym]

Thanks for the education.....as usual a great job. This may explain something I just noticed the last time out and with a new 14 5/8" X 19 tempest prop. The prop was to big on my 135 opti to clear the tab and the dealer removed it and replaced with a flat tab (no tab) to fill the hole. Prop worked great but experienced really stiff steering at wot even though I have hydraulic steering. Think I'll see if there isn't a smaller tab I can add or perhaps file my original down.....looks like I'll need something there to ease the steering. Thanks again for the explanation!