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Hey guys, just had Genisis on water first time and noticed that the boat wanted to pull to right under any power, much like a car with out of alignment front wheels. Rudders were up! Motor is Etec 60 - any clues?

First thing I would check is that the skeg on your "trim tab anode" is aligned straight.
http://www.marineengine.com/boat-forum/ ... boat-pulls

Drifting to starboard is entirely natural. And if centering your trim tab does not work, try moving it to counter the starboard drift.

stuendan wrote:Hey guys, just had Genisis on water first time and noticed that the boat wanted to pull to right under any power, much like a car with out of alignment front wheels. Rudders were up! Motor is Etec 60 - any clues?

Just means it's not properly trimmed. The trim tab just needs to be calibrated to compensate for the starboard drift.

Ditto the above.

FYI my 60hp ETEC required a fair bit of trim. 4 on the ETEC trim tab scale.

The skeg tab can be adjusted, but the degree of tilt can cause drift as well. I'd tinker with that a bit before moving to the skeg tab.

Thanks guys - I'll definitely try the motor tilt first up as I'm sure I had it fully down which is not quite what the manual suggests. I quote "Trim - In most operating conditions, it is recommended to trim the outboard to the full down position when accelerating. Once on plane, trim the outboard up until the exhaust is heard, then back down slightly." There was quite a lot of engine vibration through the helm seat too - good seat cushions required?

stuendan wrote:Thanks guys - I'll definitely try the motor tilt first up as I'm sure I had it fully down which is not quite what the manual suggests. I quote "Trim - In most operating conditions, it is recommended to trim the outboard to the full down position when accelerating. Once on plane, trim the outboard up until the exhaust is heard, then back down slightly." There was quite a lot of engine vibration through the helm seat too - good seat cushions required?

Not so much with Macs basically i put mine all the way down and click it up maybe 1/2 second for the best trim Now I do have 30 degrees on my trim tab maybe try 10 degrees then 20 then 30

As mentioned by all above, the trim tab needs adjusting. You CANNOT adjust the trim tab for all speed and tilt conditions. For every action there is a opposite reaction. The torque of the prop, RPM and prop walk causes the boat to pull to starboard. As you change RPM (torque) and pitch (tilt) you change the reaction (pull). If your using 1/4 to 1/2 helm to counter the pull your trim tab is so far out no amount of tilt will zero it out. Adjust the tab to the most frequent RPM you use. WOT (wide open throttle) will always give you the most torque regardless of the tilt. Also, make sure your board is up. It does create sideways list. I drop mine on my X about 1" when motoring. This gives more control like a V hull. Mine has tracked straight for 14 years now so I guess I got the tab set right.
capncarp
99

You know, "track straight" after several beers might not be the same as "track straight" when you are sober.

capncarp wrote:As mentioned by all above, the trim tab needs adjusting. You CANNOT adjust the trim tab for all speed and tilt conditions. For every action there is a opposite reaction. The torque of the prop, RPM and prop walk causes the boat to pull to starboard. As you change RPM (torque) and pitch (tilt) you change the reaction (pull). If your using 1/4 to 1/2 helm to counter the pull your trim tab is so far out no amount of tilt will zero it out. Adjust the tab to the most frequent RPM you use. WOT (wide open throttle) will always give you the most torque regardless of the tilt. Also, make sure your board is up. It does create sideways list. I drop mine on my X about 1" when motoring. This gives more control like a V hull. Mine has tracked straight for 14 years now so I guess I got the tab set right.
capncarp
99

FYI, one compensates for one's boat's tendency to veer to port by moving the rear end of the outboard's trim tab to port (and vice versa).

stuendan wrote:Hey guys, just had Genisis on water first time and noticed that the boat wanted to pull to right under any power, much like a car with out of alignment front wheels. Rudders were up! Motor is Etec 60 - any clues?

Weight distribution also impacts helm. Side to side AND fore and aft.

mastreb wrote:Just means it's not properly trimmed. The trim tab just needs to be calibrated to compensate for the starboard drift.

+1

Just fix the trim tab and you'll be fine.

--Russ

Have you tried sitting on the port side instead of the helm seat

Hey guys, just had Genisis on water first time and noticed that the boat wanted to pull to right under any power, much like a car with out of alignment front wheels. Rudders were up! Motor is Etec 60 - any clues?

How do you know its pulling starboard? Are you assuming wheel in middle rotation is 'engine straight ahead'? With the slop in the linkages, thats probably not a good assumption...