boat pulling hard

[raskill52]

hi good people
i have a 18 footer 350 300hp volvo 280 no power steering
when running it pulls hard left with left hand prop and the opposite
with right hand prop i adjusted the fin on the outdrive but no good
is there a bigger fin ??i can not imagin this is normal any help?????
thanks raskill52

[mrfixxall]

hi good people
i have a 18 footer 350 300hp volvo 280 no power steering
when running it pulls hard left with left hand prop and the opposite
with right hand prop i adjusted the fin on the outdrive but no good
is there a bigger fin ??i can not imagin this is normal any help?????
thanks raskill52


Thats how it is with alot of power..i have mine set around 1:30 pm:)

theirs a big honkin one but you may loose top speed, im making one out of stainless thats longer,ill let the board know how it works when im done expiermenting...

[Kirbyvv]

My 18 did the same thing until I got power steering. It is common. prop selection can help. One of big grizzly's solas props help mine to some extent.

[JimG]

Mine pulled like crazy, until I switched to an Ultra. Try some different props. Check with Grizz, those Solas props are great.

[Tank]

Hi raskill52

If I remember my Champ Donzi clone pulled like a banchy no mater how we ujusted the fin. It got better with fine tuning but still pulled.

So ware in NJ you from do you boat lakes or the salty stuff?
I will be in greenwood this sat.
I am up north sussex way.
Brian

[Tom Smith]

My 18' bb qith the Holman Moody Ford 289 pulls left pretty hard coming out of the hole, but once up on plane it eases considerably. Nothing I can't live with, but power steering would be nice. Tom

[Lenny]

My 18 did the same thing until I got power steering. It is common. prop selection can help. One of big grizzly's solas props help mine to some extent.

Mine needs three UFC fighters on one side (depending on prop direction, 280 ) to steer it one way and a hummingbird to steer it the other.

I took OFF Grizz's SOLAS as it was gona kill someone and put the ULTRA back on.

The SOLAS is fabulous but provides NO bow lift. It also bites SOOOO freakin hard, ( as in NO SLIP ) that steering these pigs is all but impossible and hitting a log might be easier than steering away from it. In fact there is no way I could possibly pull on the wheel, (two hands) and do that.

Power steering with a 300HP + motor and a VOLVO 250-270-280 is a must IMO.

We have all discussed this before. :D

I am running my ULTRA 24" tomorrow, RH, left hand boat. Smacks 5400 with a "blip" of the throttle. :)

[mattyboy]

besides all that has been said here another thing to check, is slop or play in the helm, cable, tiller arm and the helmet and forks even the slightest amount of play (fractions of an inch) will let the drive load to the side of prop torque. the 280 has a different fin from the 250 270 i have not seen a large fin for the 280 290

[mrfixxall]

besides all that has been said here another thing to check, is slop or play in the helm, cable, tiller arm and the helmet and forks even the slightest amount of play (fractions of an inch) will let the drive load to the side of prop torque. the 280 has a different fin from the 250 270 i have not seen a large fin for the 280 290

matty i was refering to the one with the exhaust hole in it:)

[mattyboy]

does that one work on a 280?? yes the one with the exhaust port and the flapper is huge not really a fin at all ;)

[JimG]

Matty, you are dead on as usual. I had forgotten that I found a lot of slop in my helmet. Fixing that, plus the Ultra, completely solved the pulling. I can take my hands off the wheel at any speeds, no power steering needed...

[Planetwarmer]

If you are having this much trouble, I couldn't imagine that is normal. Could a prop or a fin be causing you this much trouble? I have been reluctant to say anything, because I don't know anything about the Volvo drives. However, it just seems that you aren't getting anywhere on this thread.

I used to drive a 1969 thunderbird with a Merc outboard. It would pull very hard before I trimmed out the motor. As soon as I got the motor trimmed, the steering was light and easy. When I hear your trouble, it immediately reminds me of my old boat before I had it trimmed. I dont want to sound condescending, but are you trimming your motor (out enough)?

[MOP]

Check out Franks fin in this post, one like it or even a tad bigger would fix the issue.

http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=37797&highlight=volvo+fin

[mattyboy]

If you are having this much trouble, I couldn't imagine that is normal. Could a prop or a fin be causing you this much trouble? I have been reluctant to say anything, because I don't know anything about the Volvo drives. However, it just seems that you aren't getting anywhere on this thread.

I used to drive a 1969 thunderbird with a Merc outboard. It would pull very hard before I trimmed out the motor. As soon as I got the motor trimmed, the steering was light and easy. When I hear your trouble, it immediately reminds me of my old boat before I had it trimmed. I dont want to sound condescending, but are you trimming your motor (out enough)?


the info in this thread is pretty much dead on except for the fin being able to correct it all by itself it helps in some cases but not much

hard to believe but it can be normal on an older volvo, it doesn't have to be
seeing as this is a 280 and not a 280T trim might help if the drive had it.

torque steer is mainly caused by the prop, the old volvos turn massive props in some cases almost 16 inches in diameter most are been turned by 230+ hp
alot different from an OB. on a volvo with an big ol elephant ear prop you can almost feel each blade engage and disengage

so number one offender is the prop
I had props that pulled very hard changed the prop and it didn't do it at all or very little with or with out the fin
I did make adjustments to the angle of the fin but the outcome was neglible.
the fin I had was larger than franks posted so again size doesn't matter ;)
I also had a worn helmet connection it made matters worse fixed by a rubber o ring aound the bolt in the helmet it took out all the play

so as a plan of action get the slop out of the steering get a different prop to try then fool with the fin


I would try and find an ultra or a solas run it and see what happens

welcome to the hey dey of thunderboat row no steps no reversed chines no pads and no power steering or trim ;)


also remember the fin Frank posted is for a 200-270 drive it won't work on a 280-290 as the fin on the 280 290 is just a fin not a fin mounted on a circular base ;) also note the fin in lenny's pic on that thread don't go to big on the fin or you'll have clearance issues with the prop

good luck keep us posted

here is the list from hard pullers to not so hard pullers that I ran on my volvo worst is first

25 chopper popeye arm could only drive a few minutes before the arm needed a break
23 elephant ear
26 cleaver
21 spinelli
those all pulled pretty hard

some pull
21 solas you knew it was there but only slight pressure

very light pull

22 ultra
24 ultra

[BigGrizzly]

Lets be a little fair Lenny bent the prop the first day and had it fixed. I know that only a few people have the pitch block for it and none are in Canada. Now the prop does not have much bow lift but on a classic with a rocker hull you don't really want it unless your name is FLIPPER. As for pulling some say the prop eliminates it some say it reduces it. I do know on my boat it did relieve it but it did not make it disappear at WFO, it did eliminate it at cruise. As for speed, the increase was because of handling and ride. The one thing that is evident in all cases is increase in fuel economy.

[mattyboy]

Like Tank said where in NJ are you Tank and I are going to meet up sometime this summer and he is going to try a few of the props I have
he is in North west Jersey so we are going to meet up on greenwood lake

If you can too that would help
I'll help ya any way I can



Griz

I know we did some indepth testing but we really didn't get a real valid cross section or template we did cover alot of older classics and the solas seemed to help the 16's the most as it made them more stable at higher speeds
but we really ran them on all types of classics with volvos 200 250 270 280 290 some with trim some with nose cones some with power steering some with stock setups and some not so stock.
all of the reports were good some would like some more speed or a bow lift but

we all know Lenny is a special case ;) :) and everyone has the preference to how they like to run and no 2 boats are the same but one thing is for certain it is worth while to throw a solas on once just to see they are very effecient and stable they move a hell of alot of water

[BigGrizzly]

Thanks Matty, for your continued support and helping others with their classics, they are such a great boat. Yesterday my wife stole the Corsican again. Geez just because its hers the nerve of that girl.

[MOP]

We had posted on this a little while back, these tabs work very well. This particular link says it is for right hand pull, don't make much sense as the tab can be mounted on either side of the trailing edge of the skeg.

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_22972_225011002_225000000_225011000?cmCat= CROSSSELL_PRODUCT