anyone running a Ranger 618t with 90 E-tech?

[mdsn]

Just got a 618t with 90 E-tech. It came from Ranger with a Viper 3 blade 17" SS prop.
The torque to starboard was unbelievably bad. Ranger suggested a 15X15 SS prop. Some improvement but still bad. It has a jack plate and we have tried all positions...still bad. Trim tab is all the way to the right. Still bad. Dealer thinks its so bad that's its almost unsafe. I can muscle it but I cannot let the teenagers run it.
Put Titan Steering on and that certainly helps but still takes A LOT of muscle to turn to port. After wanting a Ranger for years this is very disappointing.
What set up are others running? Any advice? Thanks

[BW]

How about the dealer fixes the problem instead of just telling you it is unsafe?? My Bro in law runs that exact boat with a 17' viper and has no problems at all. His wife drives it all the time and she has shoulder and neck issues. Something is majorly wrong if Titan didn't fix the problem. Don't blame the boat for something not being set up properly. Call Ranger and see what else you can do to fix it?

[mdsn]

Originally Posted by BW

How about the dealer fixes the problem instead of just telling you it is unsafe?? My Bro in law runs that exact boat with a 17' viper and has no problems at all. His wife drives it all the time and she has shoulder and neck issues. Something is majorly wrong if Titan didn't fix the problem. Don't blame the boat for something not being set up properly. Call Ranger and see what else you can do to fix it?

BW, that's encouraging. The 17" Viper is what the boat shipped with.
I didnt mean to imply that the dealer or Ranger have left me high and dry. Both have been responsive so far. I was just looking for others who may have had similar experiences or education that might speed this along...I would rather be fishing than dealing with this.

[BW]

Does the torque change at all when you trim the motor up while on plane? You shouldn't feel anything with the titan installed? Seems very odd to me.....did you buy the boat new or get it from a private owner?

[Hot Runr Guy]

Originally Posted by BW

Does the torque change at all when you trim the motor up while on plane? You shouldn't feel anything with the titan installed? Seems very odd to me.....did you buy the boat new or get it from a private owner?

Actually, the Titan system doesn't change the amount of "effort" needed to steer (change direction of) the engine, it just locks it in place once side pressure on the tiller handle is no longer applied.
I wonder, with the use of the jack plate, if most of the torque tab is essentially out of the water at speed, and not helping? "Staylor" has mentioned the use of a torque tab mounted on the lower skeg as a solution.

HRG

[staylor]

As HRG posts, the high motor height makes the cav plate tab useless at higher speeds.. Before you add a skeg tab- which will fix the problem, you should have other things checked first, since the problem is on a new boat that others post should be OK. First, look at how the hull sits in the water at the dock- is it level- or does it have a lean towards starboard? If the boat is not level and you can't get it level by moving your gear, then notify Ranger.This happens sometimes if the hull lay-up was not done properly and they built it heavy on one side. The second thing to check is the motor position relative to the center of the hull. Take a few measurements and make sure that the motor is not off-set to one side by more than 1/2 inch or so. The third item is more difficult and involves measuring the hull with straight edges looking for a possible "twist" in the hull from front to rear caused by not supporting the mold correctly when the hull was made.

If the above items all check out OK, then add the skeg tab, make the dealer pay for it, and all will be well. I've run skeg tabs on all my tiller motors for many years, along with tabs on my larger rigs from 140-225 hp. I usually drive the hull and play with gear positions and trim/height settings until I'm content with the set-up, and then add the skeg tab because I always end up with torque problems when I'm done. I even run a tab on my 150 Opti with hydraulic steering- because even though I felt very little torque thru the hydraulic steering, the motor was still offset a bit from torque at high speed ( prop shaft centerline was at a slight angle to the fore and aft keel line). As usual, the tab fixed the problem and I gained 1 mph in top end.

Tabs are just another set-up tool- and a good one because they are inexpensive and work well.
Doug
Doug

Originally Posted by Hot Runr Guy

Actually, the Titan system doesn't change the amount of "effort" needed to steer (change direction of) the engine, it just locks it in place once side pressure on the tiller handle is no longer applied.
I wonder, with the use of the jack plate, if most of the torque tab is essentially out of the water at speed, and not helping? "Staylor" has mentioned the use of a torque tab mounted on the lower skeg as a solution.

HRG

[mdsn]

Great information guys, very helpful!

I am following up on HRG and staylor's suggestions today. HRG is correct about the Titon operation

BW, I bought it from a dealer. He has been real helpful and wants this corrected too. What year is your Bro in Law boat? I understand Ranger changes this hull in 2010? The torque does lessen when trimmed up a little. If its raised on the jack plate and trimmed up to the least amount of torque it then vents in waves or blows out in a turn.

Thanks again for all the help guys

[08ranger618]

Where can I get one of those torque tabs?

[staylor]

Places that I know carry them are Bass Pro, TH Marine, and Bob's Machine Shop. Also, you can check with your nearest prop shop since these are fairly common wherever bass boats and high performance boats are getting prop work done. I usually buy two at a time. They install with pop rivets, so I use about half the rivet holes for a first test, leaving out the rivets holes at the top of the tab, with the tab set as far down towards the bottom of the skeg as possible. Take a quick run and if the tab adds too much torque correction then you drill the rivets, remove the tab, and cut the tab length down at it's top using a hacksaw, and smoothing the cut with a file. Typically the tabs are in the 4-5 inch length range. My Opti runs around 4 inches of tab length which was cut down a bit from the original 5 inch length tab I bought. After you get the length perfect you install rivets in all remaining holes, and for a neat job on motors with a contoured skeg you may want to bed the tab to the skeg with some JB Weld or Marine-Tex epoxy. The extra tab I always buy is in case I do the "Oops- cut too much off" mistake. The smaller the motor the less tab you need. I had a 25 Merc tiller at one point that had a really nasty torque problem on a 16 ft open aluminum. I ended up needing around one and one-half inches of tab length to cure the problem- and had enough material left over to put a tab on a second 25 Merc, and used the leftover little piece on a 15 Merc.
Doug

[BW]

Originally Posted by mdsn

Great information guys, very helpful!

I am following up on HRG and staylor's suggestions today. HRG is correct about the Titon operation

BW, I bought it from a dealer. He has been real helpful and wants this corrected too. What year is your Bro in Law boat? I understand Ranger changes this hull in 2010? The torque does lessen when trimmed up a little. If its raised on the jack plate and trimmed up to the least amount of torque it then vents in waves or blows out in a turn.

Thanks again for all the help guys

His boat is an 06' and just for clarification, he does not have the setback or titan on his boat. I wasn't aware that the 618T has changed at all??