Association Forum - steering problem

Assn Members Area · Join

Home.

Association Forum

Ships Store

Cruising

Racing

Technical Tips

Photo Gallery - New

Boat Search - Updated

Manuals & Brochures

Swap Meet

Links

Officer Flag Line & Staff

Bylaws & Constitution

Members Area

Join the Association

Notice:
The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.

Association Forum

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

Catalina 25 Specific Forum

steering problem

New Topic

Reply to Topic

Printer Friendly

Author

Topic

kenpa
Deckhand

Member Avatar

USA
8 Posts

Initially Posted - 05/30/2020 : 07:19:20

Added a new motor (yamaha 9.9) but the steering arm is stopped in a attempted right turn my a pulpit support. Only solution I see is to remove the support need ideas in how to do that and replace support to the pulpit. Hurry the boat is going to be launched soon!

ken sheetz

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2020 : 07:44:06

Just tilt the arm up enough to clear the pulpit. It doesn't have to be fully down to work.

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
5231 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2020 : 09:58:48

Ken, welcome to the Forum. Good place for all things Catalina/Capri 25-250s.

I�d agree with Scott �Islander� on this, the engine�s tiller is interfering with your stern pulpit stanchion on right turns. On most engines you can raise and lower the engine tiller to miss the obstruction.

I would not advise taking a hack-saw to your stern pulpit, as that would likely weaken it. I�ve been �saved by the pulpit� from going overboard more than once, I�d hate to have it let go when I needed it most.

I am wondering whether in general you steer with the engine, or with the boat�s rudder while underway? When motoring in and out of the harbor, I set the engine to go straight, then I steer exclusively with the rudder & tiller.

In tight spots, like backing into the slip, however, that�s where I use the engine to steer. Depending on your mooring or slip setup, perhaps there�s a way to make sure you don�t have to make too many right turns, such as always going bow-in or stern-in?

I also depend on �prop-walk� to shift the stern while backing. Prop-walk with the Honda 8 on my boat makes the stern shift to starboard on forward and port on reverse. With a little practice, you can plan your moves given different directions and amounts of wind and current.

Here�s a little article about Prop Walk that explains it all in too much detail.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2020 : 10:56:19

Welcome Ken... Is there some reason that tilting the arm doesn't work for you?

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

kenpa
Deckhand

Members Avatar

USA
8 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2020 : 13:57:42

yes the steering arm will bend up to clear the pulpit arm but i lose most steering when needed most slow docking in tight docking area. most of time i use rudder steering but at slow dock speed is to slow.

ken sheetz

Steve Milby
Past Commodore

Members Avatar

USA
5851 Posts

Response Posted - 05/30/2020 : 14:31:23

Most outboard motor tillers are configured like your Yamaha, so most C25 sailors have the same problem, and most just figure out a way to deal with it that works for them. I think most tilt it up.

But, there are other ways. For example, the fairway that leads to the slip for my Cal 25 is very narrow, and I shut my motor off when I'm about 5-6 boat lengths from the slip, coast slowly just past the slip, and then use a boat hook to pull my boat stern-first into the slip. I don't use the motor at all to get into the slip. Any way that you can get the boat into the slip without damage is a good way, especially if you can do it singlehanded.

Steve Milby J/24 "Captiva Wind"
previously C&C 35, Cal 25, C25 TR/FK, C22
Past Commodore

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 05/31/2020 : 12:11:31

quote:
Originally posted by Steve Milby

Most outboard motor tillers are configured like your Yamaha, so most C25 sailors have the same problem...

When I was in the market for a motor for Passage, the High-Thrust Yamaha 9.9 (designed primarily for sailboats like ours) had a significantly longer tiller handle than most, with the shifter on the handle instead of on the power head. So I can imagine this being a little more of an issue than with the Honda I bought. If you can easily adjust the steering damper to make the motor easier to turn when docking, that might help when you tilt the tiller. Then you could tighten the dampler when under way, to hold the motor in place. (?)

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

Lee Panza
Captain

Members Avatar

USA
465 Posts

Response Posted - 06/01/2020 : 16:37:21

Ken:

You didn't mention what type of motor support bracket you have, but changing it might help. The lifting brackets that some of us use allow the motor to be set in different positions as the support arms swing in a vertical arc. This means that the motor is farther away from the transom when it's in an intermediate height position.

Mine still allows the tiller arm to hit the hull (if yours is hitting the pulpit stanchion it must be up really high, and you may find the prop lifting free of the water when the boat is "hobby-horsing" in a choppy sea). But, like others, I've learned to lift the tiller arm as I steer in tight quarters.

Also, there's a setting on the motor pivot on my Tohatsu that can make it a bit difficult to turn (for stability when motoring), but loosening it allows the motor to turn easily (for tight maneuvering), even with the tiller arm raised.

Maneuvering in tight quarters is easier if you back off on the throttle when you turn the motor; this allows it to turn more easily than when it's under a load. It just takes a little practice, but learning to do this sure beats radically altering the pulpit.

The trouble with a destination - any destination, really - is that it interrupts The Journey.

Lee Panza
SR/SK #2134
San Francisco Bay
(Brisbane, CA)

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 06/02/2020 : 06:20:47

quote:
Originally posted by Lee Panza

...Also, there's a setting on the motor pivot on my Tohatsu that can make it a bit difficult to turn (for stability when motoring), but loosening it allows the motor to turn easily (for tight maneuvering), even with the tiller arm raised.

That's what I referred to as the "steering damper"--also sometimes referred to as the "steering stabilizer". On most motors, it's a little "crank" near the top of the lower unit. It might be a little tough to reach with the bracket lowered, but you might try adjusting it so it for barely enough friction to hold the motor steady under way, while making it a little easier to turn with the handle tilted.

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

islander
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
3992 Posts

Response Posted - 06/03/2020 : 12:11:05

I think your problem is that the damper is a little too tight making it hard to steer with the tiller up on an angle. Try loosening the damper nut/bolt a little to the point that the motor will turn when you need it but will also stay put when you let it go. Could also be that the motor hasn't been greased in a while and now the steering is tight. On my Tohatsu the damper is a bolt located below the cowling. It would be difficult to adjust while underway requiring you to lean out and over the motor then reach down with a wrench or ratchet and feel with your hand for the bolt then get a ratchet or wrench on the bolt and try to do the adjustment. I would suggest using some cheap tools cuz your probably going to loose them. My tiller is on an angle as you can see in the photos but if the damper bolt is adjusted correctly then steering really shouldn't be a problem. Its not perfect but is not worth cutting anything.
Steering damper bolt on the side below cowling.

Engine in the second to last down position

Engine fully down position

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Topic

New Topic

Reply to Topic

Printer Friendly

Jump To:

Association Forum

Notice: The advice given on this site is based upon individual or quoted experience, yours may differ.
The Officers, Staff and members of this site only provide information based upon the concept that anyone utilizing this information does so at their own risk and holds harmless all contributors to this site.