2006 210TE...Heavy Turning

[gundogg]

I finally had to register and post on here...I have had 3 Nautiques prior to my new 210 and I have loved the boat each time, which is why I bought another one. I have had my 2006 a few times now and finally got the chance to fill up the tanks and go riding this past weekend.

When the tanks are full and there are 6 +/- people and driving at riding speed (or riding) is it normal for it to have really heavy turning. It does not feel like the steering cable because it only does it when loaded and it is not all the way through the turn. It seems to be at only certain points of the turn. When it gets heavy I can either force the turn or I have to let off the throttle a little to let the boat come around.

I have talked with a few people at the dealership and they have said their personal 210s have a similar response when loaded up with weight. I would have thought I would have heard someone else complain about this prior. I had a 99 Air Nautique before this one and I put a lot of weight in that boat and the steering was always relatively light.

I am not upset with my boat, just looking for answers as to whether this is normal or not...I can deal with it. It just didn't feel like a nautique to me.

thanks

[surroundsound64]

RE: 2006 210TE...Heavy Turning

I don't have a 210, and haven't even ridden in one, but I would think that it would make a lot of sense for it to act a lot more sluggish when it's full of ballast and people.

[gundogg]

I don't know if I would call it a sluggish feel, it is nearly a locking feel. The steering goes from the really light nautique steering to nearly needing two hands to move it.

[surroundsound64]

Hum... that is weird.

But it doesn't do it at all with no weight in the boat?

[jbwake]

Doesn't sound very normal to me. The way you load your boat sounds similar to our 210 and the steering may get a touch heavier when loaded but I cant say I've ever really thought about it so it cant be much. In any case it's certainly nothing like what you have explained.

How to fix it? Stuffed if I know?

[Laptom]

Try to turn the other way. Perhaps it has to do with the new left hand rotation transmission box in the 2006 210's. I can imagine that under heavy load the boat is harder to turn on speed one way then the other.

[gundogg]

The boat turns great without weight in it. It even turns fine with 6 or 7 people until I fill the tanks. I noticed it most when pulling riders in a fairly tight cove. I was making left turns mostly there, but I will try to turn the other way more next time. I may be imagining it as worse now that I am thinking about it...guess I will have to wait to see next time I go out.

[radmaster]

Depends where you got that weight, we had 8 in ours with full ballast and it a bit sluggish until 2 of the guys got in the bow and it was like a different boat.

[gundogg]

I was thinking it could have been my weight placement. It was cold, so nobody wanted to ride in the bow. I put 4 POP bags in the bow, but that isn't enough to offset the 6 of us in the back of the boat with a cooler and 3 other POP bags. I guess I will try more weight in the bow next time. I also noticed I was getting a lot of bow rise, so I was planning on wieghting the bow more next time already.

thanks

[ag4ever]

When really weighted to one side it can be hard to turn in the opposite dirrection. When surfing, mine wants to pull to the right since all the weight is on that side, and turning to the left is much harder, but it does not feel "stuck" ever.