" Eric,
Was hoping so
" Eric,
Was hoping someone else may answer this, that has an idea exactly what it is. Here's my .02:
If the engine literally turns further to the left than right, when the boat is not underway, the steering bar coming from the engine to the steering cable ram may not be the correct length.
The parts there also need to be correct, else it can cause stress and stiffness - #1 suspected problem.
If the parts on the engine/steering cable that allow things to turn are actually making it stiff (it's hard to steer underway and just sitting idle in neutral), disconnect the steering bar and try and turn the engine manually. By doing this you will be able to tell if the stiffness is caused by the engines swiveling parts or the steering cable. If it's the engine, lots of grease in the right places should fix it, if it's the cable/helm, something there needs to be replaced.
If the engine turns fine when you are not moving, but becomes hard underway, you are dealing with feedback caused by the spinning prop. What it wants to do is turn the engine. The cheap, but not so effective, fix for this is to adjust the trim tab to counter-act this action. The real solution is to go with a NFB (no-feedback) steering system; what it does is prevent the engine from applying force to the steering wheel. Kit w/ helm and cable starts around $125.
My guess is that it's something to do with the engine (ie needs grease and/or wrong steering bar) because this was not happening with the other OB and same cable/helm.
Hope this helps,
Jon "
