Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

Hi

We just recently got Aloha 25ft Tritoon w/225 hp Johnson counter rotating outboard engine.

I miss trim tab and it is very unstable to drive and very very hard to steer at speeds other than no wake speeds.

Would missing trim tab cause this??

This is my first outboard engine boat so I'm kinda newbie on outboards and need help.

Yes that missing trim tab sure could/would cause this issue.

Do you have hydraulic or power steering for that big motor?

margaritaman wrote:Do you have hydraulic or power steering for that big motor?

I was gonna ask that question too... With a motor that big I'd sure hope so! But on a pontoon perhaps it was an option left off?

Yes I do have a hydraulic steering Seastar and boat in water w/o going forward it is easy to turn left and right no problems at all.

Problem really comes when I go past idle speeds and faster I go harder it seem to be. So far I have not got past 30 mph(About 3200 rpm) because this issue.

I ordered trim tab for the outboard and will put it on this weekend. I hope that will resolve problem.

I'm thinking about to try bleeding the steering system next?? Do you think that would help?? At this point steering is OK when I'm going idle speeds in no wake areas.

One step at a time... Install trim tab and see where that leads. Normally hydraulic systems do not require bleeding like brakes on a car do as the left/right or up/down movements tend to self purge any trapped air.

OK I will let you fellows know after I get trim tab on how the boat is doing.

Thanks for helping and advising

With a 225hp motor the Seastar system probably has the power assist pump. Have you checked to see if it blew a fuse ? I have a 150hp honda with the power assist pump and it's doesn't require the trim tab.

No I have not checked fuse. I didn't know that there is fuses involved...I guess I need to check my manual for that, I want even think that because when running idle speed all seems good and steering to me seem working OK.

at idle there is not much if any pressure on the motor though. Once your moving you are fighting all that turbulence.... sounds like a fuse or loose wire on the pump.

Is the steering wheel hard to turn, or do you mean the boat does not respond when turning the wheel?

Steering is really hard to turn when going faster than idle speed.
Steering feels OK when diving in harbor area no problems at all.
Hydraulic oil level seem to be OK.

I had the same thing happen on my old boat. The Sea Stars Electric power assist takes alot of juice to run and the the ground wire on mine, wasn't big enough to handle the grounding needs. I added a 2nd ground wire from the pumps base to a grounding tab under the helm. If its not a blown fuse, you may want to try this. It fixed my problem. But, I agree with installing the torque tab. Another Left hand rotation owner! I love lefties! They make for a super holeshot, no torque dig! I put left handed props on all my boats! The Verados are direction specific, due to the waterpump design. But most others are not, just swap the shift cable from the upper hole to the lower in the control box. Shift by wire systems are programmable.
I have 4 left rotation props I may be selling, after I sell the Premier. Depending on which O/B we decide on for the new one. I would love that new Mercury 400R... But I have never owned a Yamaha SHO.... May give one a whirl!

I've had the same problems. If these other suggestions don't work check the engine height. The higher you mount the engine the less steering torque you will have. What mounting hole is the motor mounted in?
A 225hp without power assist will steering a little hard but still should work fine.

The other issue would be how your trimming the boat. Trim it up as far as you can without blowing out the prop.
If your running trim down as you turn your fighting the whole boat-

OK I got trim tab put on and boat seem to do much better on steering

I still have a stiff steering but not as bad what it was...

Now I just opened a steering fluid reservoir and I didn't see no fluid
I think I need to fill fluid which I didn't have it at the time I was in water, should I try to get air out or will it work just adding the fluid?