Boat pulls to the left! Normal??

A few weeks ago the propeller and strut on my 1999 Toyota Epic 22 were damaged because they were hit by something underwater. I think we might have beached the boat on shore too fast and the underwater mechanics got bent. We were getting a strong vibration that shook the entire hull from the back of the boat. My boat shop in Orlando has replaced the strut with a new one and realigned the propeller. The drive shaft checked out okay. Now the vibration is gone.

I test drove the boat today to make sure everything was alright before taking the boat home. Now the boat is pulling to the left. Is this normal?

Basically the boat drives like a car with bad alignment. When going from 0-15 mph, there's a strong pull to the left, about 20 degrees to the left. When going 21 mph, there's less of a pull, about 7 degrees. The service rep at the shop is telling me that this is normal and all ski boats pull a little.

Now when I pull a wakeboarder out of the water, I have to hold the steering crooked till the boat gets to 20 mph, then slightly straighten it out a bit.

I remember I used to have no pull on my Epic 22 before the repair. There might have been a tiny amount of pull one way, but it was unnoticeable unless I was going backwards.

Do you guys have a pull to the left on your ski boats? On my Epic, the pull is very noticable at under 15 mph, and goes away at about 35 mph.

What do you guys recommend I do?

Here's what my boat looks like:
http://www.pbase.com/blueplastic/toyota_epic_22

mine does the same thing... pulls a little... I never thought much about it... Mine is a centurion also.

It seems weird it didn't pull before the damage but now it does. That being said my Tige pulls to the right "or is it the left LOL" and I am told it's normal on ski/wakeboard type boat for control. Especially in sking when you are threading bouys. My Ski Centurian did the same thing.

They're supposed to pull, but it's strange that you didn't notice it before. They pull to the right/left to keep the steering tight so that you can go perfectly straight through the bouys on a course like Jonathan said.

My MC pulls to the right.

I've heard of people grinding their rudder to make it go away, but it doesn't bother me that much.

SFH

my malibu pulls one way (dont remeber which way) but it gets really bad when i put the wedge in the down position. is this normal?

Well, if all ski boats have a pull to one side, how severe is the pull on your boats. And does it go away at 30 mph?

We discovered the problem - you don't have a tower and your prop needs more bling ;-)

Mine does not go away at speed, pretty constant. It's a bummer when your trying to drink a beer and change CDs at the same time. You have to hold the wheel tight with your leg!!! If not you get a big swerve!!! LOLOL Just kidding!!!

Check the tire preesure!!!

Ok I am an a** today! LOL

Mine pulls pretty drastically and no it doesn't go away at any speed. They are designed to do that. Do a search on this site. There have been some lengthy discussions on it with a lot of good info.

SFH

My Sanger doesn't pull at all. Zero.

My Launch doesn't pull but then I don't own your type of boat.

The relationship between the shaft/prop and rudder no doubt is slightly different than it was before the repair. It may pull more noticably now, if it bothers you take a grinder to left side of the trailing edge of the rudder (it's been a while since I have done this so I might have it backwards). Don't be bashful, take about 1/16" in thickness over about a 1/4" width. Good luck.

All ski boats do this to one degree or another, but the pull should at the very least stay the same if not become greater with increased speed. It has to do with the rudder being "loaded". If it's going away as you increase speed, you've got something wrong because the loading of the rudder is designed to happen at ski speeds - 34-35 mph. If it's bad at slower speeds & goes away when reaching ski speeds, then something is not right. Take it back to them & explain exactly what's happening. Don't take a grinder to your rudder just yet.

My only comment is to please don't beach your inboard ski/wake boat!! They are not like I/O's where you can get the business end out of the water. They are stuck down there & it's no wonder you jacked your boat up!! Get a AnchorBuddy and be done with it. Never let it touch the ground, ever!!!!

Uhh, no. Not "all ski boats do this".

Every direct drive I have driven has had some pull (some more than others). You can minimize it by having the rudder shaved on one side to help with the flow of water com-ing from the prop. By beaching the boat, you must have slightly shifted the alignment between the rudder and prop. I would not be too concerned as long as you were able to get rid of the vibration

John, maybe you hav'nt driven a Sanger? I'm on my second one and have driven a few others (Sanger's) and NONE of them pulled!

like john said, all inboard & vdrives will pull unless the rudder has been filed down regardless of make and model. It seems most wakeboard boats are being delivered with neutral rudders that pull very little since most new wakeboard boat owners will probably not appreciate a pull. Skiers on the other hand look for it because it helps with boat tracking as it is easier to make minor adjustments. Go drive a comp ski boat that hasnt had a rudder filed at 36mph, you better not let go of the steering wheel.

No rudder filed on my Sanger. NO PULL at any speed.

you might not have filed it, but they do adjust it at the factory for no pull. Also if you have an older steering cable it might have enough friction in it to negate any of the pull if its slight. In my malibu it pulled zero until i replaced my cable, now you cannot let go of the wheel for a second or it will pull a 180.

Steering cable is smooth as butta. The boat is as delivered from the factory. Like I said not "all" inboard boats pull. Nuff said.

sparky jay - fair enough, but if you have a pull we should say it does not signify a problem. I guess I shouldnt have let this thread get so off track.

oh regarding the original post - the boat should pull to the right if its a right hand turn prop, or left for a left hand turn, nautiques use left hand and most everyone else used right hand. I dont know about the toyotas. So if its right hand turn then there is something wrong.

(Message edited by gk02 on June 09, 2004)

Correct, "some" boats do pull and this does not mean there's a problem. I've driven a few that pulled so bad I thought it was dangerous.

Sorry Sparky didn't mean to offend the Sanger owners. By the way my cousin owns a sanger and it does pull.

Not a problem John. No offense taken. What year and model Sanger does your cousin have?

With blueplastic's Epic 22 issue, since the boat didn't pull before the repairs, one would have to assume something still needs attention.