Centering Steering Wheel

[Matts18]

I have noticed that when going straight ahead my steering wheel is not perfectly straight or centered. Can anyone tell me how to correct this?? Is it just a matter of tightening a steering cable? Should I not be OCD and just leave it well enough alone? Thanks in advance!

 

[giroux68]

And on that subject, what about pulling in either direction? Mine tends to pull slightly left. And the wheel is not centered either.

 

[haknslash]

I have OCD too and the best advice I can give is don't look at it

 

[d_coyne1984]

I think it might just be due to the directional rotation of the impeller. I always have to keep a small amount of force into the wheel to counteract it from pushing (left I think).

 

[Bruce]

You could ask the wind and current to help you out? Vehicles on roads can go straight with the wheel centered. In the water wind and current often mean that you have to steer to one side or the other to go straight.

 

[Blue Hawaiian]

its normal with wind and current when not enough power to push forward, just focus where you want to go instead of the wheel !

 

[njmr2fan]

I posted a question like this when we got our 190 too. I noticed the slop in the steering and how the bow would wander at speed. Cobras have helped to an extent but have not gotten rid of the problem. Im going to tighten the steering up with that bushing mod.

 

[MidnightRider]

Mine also had an off center steering wheel and pulling from dealer. Further investigation exposed that the steering had not been aligned properly from the dealership. Ended up first disconnecting both the steering cables as well as the keel link bar. Aligned the keel and nozzles with the assistance of a straight edge, adjusted and reattached keel link, and then centered the steering wheel before lastly adjusting and reattaching the steering cables. Now no pull and centered wheel.

 

[Blue Hawaiian]

guess many of dealers not even bother to check and adjust prior to delivery, once out of door even its under warranty but still costly to check particular to the new jet boaters .

 

[d_coyne1984]

The dealer shouldn't have to check stuff like that, that is something that should just come calibrated right from the manufacturer. Looks like I have another project on my list.

 

[Matts18]

The dealer shouldn't have to check stuff like that, that is something that should just come calibrated right from the manufacturer. Looks like I have another project on my list.

Be sure and give us a tutorial on how do it once you have the method perfected!

 

[d_coyne1984]

Be sure and give us a tutorial on how do it once you have the method perfected!

I should have stated that it is at the bottom of a very long list (most of which has nothing to do with the boat). It will be a while. Besides, I'd much rather learn from someone else's mistakes than my own!

 

[DogDad]

I always thought simply have more weight in one side of the boat could cause it to wander that direction. If i'm going slow across a lake my wake looks like a large snake ha ha!

 

[MidnightRider]

I should have stated that it is at the bottom of a very long list (most of which has nothing to do with the boat). It will be a while. Besides, I'd much rather learn from someone else's mistakes than my own!

Its really not that hard if you just get into it (see the steps in my post above). The hardest part is finding ways to ensure the keel and nozzles are lined up. I took one straight edge and propped it up along the boats keel my putting some wood shims between the trailer and the boat. This allowed me to ensure the keel was aligned. Then took another straight edge and put it across the nozzle openings to ensure they were aligned. Then it is just a matter of centering the wheel and making sure everything stays in place while you adjust the keel link and steering cables to hook up in the positions you have placed them in.

 

[Matts18]

Its really not that hard if you just get into it (see the steps in my post above). The hardest part is finding ways to ensure the keel and nozzles are lined up. I took one straight edge and propped it up along the boats keel my putting some wood shims between the trailer and the boat. This allowed me to ensure the keel was aligned. Then took another straight edge and put it across the nozzle openings to ensure they were aligned. Then it is just a matter of centering the wheel and making sure everything stays in place while you adjust the keel link and steering cables to hook up in the positions you have placed them in.

That makes sense....it is probably even easier on a single engine boat. Do you make the adjustments to the steering cables behind the helm or at the pump?

 

[MidnightRider]

That makes sense....it is probably even easier on a single engine boat. Do you make the adjustments to the steering cables behind the helm or at the pump?

At the pump. Pull the yolk connector bolt, loosen a lock nut, then you can spin the yolk connector in or out to set the length.

 

[d_coyne1984]

I guess I don't understand how you can tell if the steering wheel is centered with the jet unless you are looking at your lock to lock angles on the jet nozzle. We don't have power steering with a center rest position like a car so it's not like the steering system is pushing the wheel to what it thinks center is, right? If the boat likes to pull to one side, it's still going to pull to one side even if I adjust the cable, the steering wheel will just be in a different position. Am I wrong here? Twins would be a different story.

 

[MidnightRider]

I guess I don't understand how you can tell if the steering wheel is centered with the jet unless you are looking at your lock to lock angles on the jet nozzle. We don't have power steering with a center rest position like a car so it's not like the steering system is pushing the wheel to what it thinks center is, right? If the boat likes to pull to one side, it's still going to pull to one side even if I adjust the cable, the steering wheel will just be in a different position. Am I wrong here? Twins would be a different story.

Yes you have a point, if the boat pulls, true center will be what makes your boat go straight. The way I did it was having center mean when the jet nozzles are point straight back in parallel with the keel. Then just pick a point on the steering wheel that makes sense (between two spokes or right on a single spoke) where the cable end is also closest to the connector now that you have the nozzles setup the way you want them. My goal was to be able to know, by looking at the steering wheel, when my jets were pointing straight back.

Edit: I'll add that the biggest reason I wanted this was for water sports - when you are sitting there ready to pull a rider up its nice to have the extra indicator where the jets are pointed. Also nice for slow speed maneuvering though as well. Its the least helpful/needed at high speeds.

 

[viper15]

I checked mine using the method mentioned above. I clamped a 2x4 on the keel to make the jet nozzle straight. Then checked the wheel - it was perfectly lined up with the 12:00 position. Now, with that being said, it almost never points straight up when under power. A slight breeze or current in any direction will require me to turn the wheel slightly to keep the boat going straight. Sometimes the pull to make it go straight is stronger than other days. On the AR195, the lock-to-lock turn is only 3/4 of a full wheel rotation. So if you want a straight indicator for pulling a skier up - just look at the Yamaha logo in the center of the wheel. If a point on the tuning fork logo points, up, you are good to go. Or take a nod to the racing world, and put a stripe of red tap on the wheel at the 12:00 position. That's a visual indicator of wheel pointed straight.

 

[Matts18]

I can tell mine is out of alignment because the rudder is turned slightly when the wheel is centered. I am going to be installing a CJS viper before my next outing and figured I would adjust the yoke during the install and put a dab of threadlocker on the yoke bolt.