Scarab 195 pulls hard left at speed

[Jwood1508]

So I finally got the scarab 195 out on the water that I purchased.
This thing pulls hard left at speed. I have to turn the wheel hard right to make the boat go strait. At 20 mph or so it will track strait with the wheel centered. The faster I go the harder the boat pulls to the left. I am at a loss to what it could be no way it’s supposed to drive like that.

 

[gRobi]

Maybe there is a missalignment. Have you checked the alignment of the steering? I know it shouldn't be speed dependent, but maybe it's behaving this way if it's only a little out of the middle.

 

[Dean P]

Check to see if the pump nozzle is loose. Nothing should be "moving" near the the nozzle.

 

[Jwood1508]

It’s definitely speed dependent. Idling and slow speeds the boat will track strait I do not have to fight the wheel and the steering remains centered. Once it gets over 20mph it starts to pull left. You have to fight the wheel and turn it right for the boat to track strait. If I let my hands off the wheel it will just turn hard left.

 

[gRobi]

Please also check the small gap between the impeller and the ring. Is it the same all around? Could be a weired caviatation issue. This would be "speed" dependent ...

 

[Dean P]

Do you have trim tabs on this boat? Probably not but thinking out loud.

 

[Jwood1508]

So was able to get the boat out on the water again. It still pulls left.

No trim tabs.
I checked the impeller and wear ring. Both are in good shape and gap is within specifications all the way around.

The boat only has 30 hours on it. The previous owner had bottom paint installed. My thinking is the left side may not be as smooth as the right causing it to pull? That’s the only thing I can think of.

 

[gRobi]

Did you pull the impeller for damage checking?
I really can't imagine it's the smoothness of the hull, this could cause such an effect, but (in my opinion) not that bad. Have you checked your allignment? (stearingwheel-nozle)

[\ironie]
You haven't got 1500kg ballast on the left side, have you?
[\ironie]

 

[Jwood1508]

Yea. I pulled the impeller last weekend. It and the wear ring are in good shape.

the steering is centered. If I just let go of the wheel the boat will just start turning left.

The bottom paint is ok and relatively smooth. I wouldn’t think it would make a difference but it’s the only thing not factory stock on the boat.

The boat also only tops out at 37 mph @ 7500 rpm. I am assuming the bottom paint is slowing it down a little too.

No ballast in this boat yet. I got 3 sacks from my last boat still but not installing any time soon.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

just look under the boat and be sure there is nothing creating drag like the closed loop system hanging lower on one side or a power hook in the hull from a weak spot the faster you go the more it caves in and causes drag not common but not impossible either . also check the boats weight distribution

 

[Jwood1508]

Thanks for the suggestions these are things I did not check till now. The heat exchanger is in place. I put a strait edge on the end of the hull no visible hook. Weight distribution is slightly off since it was only me in the boat when tested.

This was a project when I bought it. So I never got to see how it drove before hand. I was asking to see if that is a common problem with these boats. I have had jet skis and had an old twin engine speedster back in the day but never drove a single engine jet boat.

I need to get the boat out in smooth water to do more testing. I have only driven it twice since I dropped the new motor in and it was choppy and windy both times.

I guess these are the headaches you get when you get a “deal” on a jet boat.

 

[Kurt Film]

I have a brand new 255 ID with twin 200s. Mine does the same thing except mine pulls to the right at speed only. Going slow I have no issue. I've made my dealer aware of the issue. They seem to think it's an alignment thing that should be no problem getting fixed. I have some other things I'm waiting to hear back about from the dealer b4 I bring the boat in, but plan on having them fix it. My boat pulled hard from the very first time on the water. It's still useable but is annoying. I'll let u know if/when my dealer fixes it.

 

[Jwood1508]

So I have been out in the boat several more times and have concluded this is just how this boat handles. I am primarily on the inter coastal and it is generally fairly windy. The steering is basically just to correct for the wind. The boat doesn’t always pull left it just seemed like that since I was normally only cruising in the one direction. When I originally posted I always had to idle back due to the boat having issues. When I cruise back in the same conditions it pulls right. It seems like a lot of correction to me coming from a power steering boat that would cruise strait with virtually no steering input.

So would cobra fins for handling be the way to go? I would be worried fins might slow this boat down even more. It’s already pretty slow 40mph on a good day is all I get which is about right for the 200hp engine.

 

[JusFlyinBy]

I boat on a windy lake as well and I too was surprised how much steering input or correction you need from these things to fight the chop or wind. I quickly chalked it up as normal once I realized it swaps directions depending on which way I'm going on the lake. So I'm with you, it's normal.

In regards to fins, I just happen to come across this thread while browsing. It could help provide some insight:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/installed-thrust-vectors.20500/