Brand new Pontoon hard steering

[drandle]

Hi Folks!
Just got a new pontoon with a 60 HP 4-cycle motor, old one had a 25 HP. I've driven other boats with larger motors so I have some experience. The steering on this new pontoon is pretty hard and during the engine break-in period my arms got tired. Other boats aren't this hard and the last boat i just sold was like a car with power steering, you could steer it with one finger.

I called the company where I bought it and their response was "well some are just like that" . I did take the grease gun around and hit the zerks but none of them really took any grease.

Any ideas?

Thanks

Don

[Liquid Asset]

I wish I had a better answer but if you had power assist or basic hydraulic steering on the last boat you are now spoiled. A small motor (25 hp. As mentioned) is much easier to steer than even a 60 without a hydraulic steering system. Most likely you have a standard cable steering system with your new boat. Is it harder to make a right turn vs. left? That would be the rotation of the motor you are fighting. There are plenty of options to upgrade but they cost more. I would think your dealer would have mentioned that or at least listen to your issue.

[jrolin1]

Also you can try trimming the engine. On my boat if it was not trimmed correct it would be harder to steer and could pull some.

[drandle]

Thanks for the reply.
my other pontoon didn't have power assist just cable but was a 25 hp engine. And yes it is harder to steer to the left than the right which made me think i was fighting torque or something like that with the engine. it's not bad at all when going slow like in the no wake areas. I did try triming the engine up a little but didn't make any noticeable difference. I've driven other boats (bass boat) with cable steering that have larger engines than this and they were much easier to steer. Is it something that will get easier as the system wears in or is this how it's going to be?

[Liquid Asset]

My experience is that a new cable is about as good as it gets. That said the old ones I replaced were probably horrible make anything a welcome improvement! There may be a bit of break in, only makes sense the new one would be tight.

Does the motor turn easily with the boat parked? It should be real easy then, if not I'd say you have a problem and your dealer should help. I know teleflex has different cable options so depending on what you have it might be worth a try. They offer an extreme version that's supposed to work with much more than 60 h.p.

[lakerunner]

Every year I pull the nut on right side of engine, turn motor to expose cable. I fill it with lithium grease. After 16 years it turns with a finger

[TWB]

Every year I pull the nut on right side of engine, turn motor to expose cable. I fill it with lithium grease. After 16 years it turns with a finger

I had heard of this when mine seemed a bit stiff. The rod was not as lubed as I thought it should be - there was some grease but not a lot. Seems to have been smoother since.

[Horsepen]

There’s a product that was called a widget that replaced the nut and it had a grease fitting on it to get grease in there. Other styles had a removable cap and you remove the cap and agg a bit of light oil and replace the cap. One shot of grease Avery few trips and no more problems. They are available in boating stores and on line.

[wwind3]

Does the boat try to turn right by itself? If so adusting trim tab may help...

[Steiner]

Speedo cable grease might work too. You can get a 10 pack of these little guys for $5 or so. Waterproof.
http://atpautomotive.com/speedometer-lubricant

[drandle]

Does the boat try to turn right by itself? If so adusting trim tab may help...

No boat steers straight as an arrow. It is easier to turn to the right than the left though

[drandle]

Every year I pull the nut on right side of engine, turn motor to expose cable. I fill it with lithium grease. After 16 years it turns with a finger

See, that's how my other pontoon was that I just sold. It was only 25 hp but you could turn it like it had power steering. This new one with a 60hp motor is getting to be a pain, i've got 8.5 hours on it and i'm ready to send it back to the factory. We live on a smaller lake so i'm turning the boat a lot and after an hour or so of boating my arms are done.

When I got the boat home and found that it was hard to steer, I put some grease on the exposed part of the cable as well as all the grease zerks on the engine mount. none of the zerks took much grease so it was pretty full.

[Liquid Asset]

Does the motor turn easily both ways when parked?

[drandle]

Does the motor turn easily both ways when parked?

Yes, it turns fine both ways and when moving at idle. as soon as you throttle up even 1/4 throttle it becomes very stiff and difficult to steer to the left, it steers easier to the right.

[boocat]

Adjusting the trim tab might help a little. I've got mine all the way over.