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Old     (monkey_butt)      Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Twin Cities       06-25-2013, 6:13 PM Reply   
After taking the boat out this year for the 2nd season I wondered if there's something I could do to the fact that the boat always seems to be tilting to the right and therefore the port wake is washing out w/o additional ballast compared to the starboard tank.

After reaching out to Epic initially I also went out with a camera and some duct taped levels to record what was going on.

So the results were different from what I expected to say the least. The first runs were just below top speed as I noticed earlier that the boat is veering off course w/o countering. The boat stayed level as long as I accepted the left veering course but when I countered it leaned in as I would anticipated by making a right turn but I was actually going straight. As soon as I went back to idle speed - it was clear that I would end up in a right turn - clearly noticeable in the prop wash as well the position of the steering wheel. So tried again at less speed and later on with some ballast - even or more on the port side - same behavior.

So I told Epic and asked about toe etc due to the dual rudder but could it also be the torque of the big block? But so far I only getting a suggestion to measure rudder/connecting rod between rudders and not to go past 1/4" if I increase toe.

As I'm out of town I can't mess with it until Friday and the lake is right now no wake due to high water but wondered if some of you guys (Epic owners and the engineers of you guys understanding a lot more about this than me as a beans counter) would chime in here?

To emphasize something every epic owner says: port is washed out until you counter with ballast but I have never read anything about the need to counter steer (no rider behind). Am I the only one?
Old     (monkey_butt)      Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Twin Cities       06-25-2013, 6:14 PM Reply   
Sweet - cant even get the subject right :-( so no I'm not talking about a boar ... Lol
Old     (Iceberg)      Join Date: Dec 2011       06-27-2013, 4:25 PM Reply   
Is it just you in the boat? If so, even though it is a larger boat, it will have a tendency to tilt right and turn right. If you have equal weight on the port side it will still want to turn right due to torque steer via prop tilt, but it shouldn't be excessive. Usually the boat would have been tuned to minimize this. Are the center fins all straight or set up correctly? How about the engine position and cutlass shaft alignment? With the duaI rudder it is a little more difficult to field tune, but play with the toe-in between the 2. You may need to grind the rudder(s) to act as a trim tab for the turn. However, this would be a perfect use of your extra trim tabs.

My only issue is trying to get the nose to go to the right when backing (tilt steer and rudders). All of the locations I dock to in bad weather are a PITA to position without risking a hard rub!
Old     (monkey_butt)      Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Twin Cities       06-28-2013, 9:06 AM Reply   
Frank, was kinda hoping you would chime in as you had to readjust the shaft. The problem is that even if I have the boat level - so another passenger in it to offset the weight of the driver - the boat does the same thing.

But important the boat steers to the LEFT not to the right and will stay level until I counter the left drift - then the tilt starts. So I'm basically causing the boat to tilt to the right because I need to offset the drift to the left which then has all these impacts on the wake. I can adjust the rudders and give them more toe while the boat is on the lift/water but will probably take it out to once measure/confirm that shaft is properly aligned.

I thought about grinding the rudder but that would be last resort after I checked everything else out. Is yours level at full speed and going straight w/o you correcting?
Old     (Iceberg)      Join Date: Dec 2011       07-06-2013, 7:15 PM Reply   
Sorry for the late reply. I am surprised it wants to go left, that seems like a rigging issue. The minor shaft alignments shouldn't cause turns.

The old boat goes straight and sits level once moving. I do find the torque steer a bit of an issue when set up for surfing, but often it might be do to the unknown rudder position during launch. However, once moving I can walk away from the helm and it goes dead straight. I am still surprised how moving one or 2 people around changes the minor characteristics of the wake.

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