new boat - new probs

[Mr.O]

So i just upgraded from a 1986 supra to a 1996 supersport. I have a bunch of small problems and kinks to work out. The 2 most pressing ones are my steering and RPM's.
First off, this boat is hard to steer. I would assume the V-drive will make it handle heavier than my last boat, but sometimes it is rediculous like when you want to power through a tight turn. I had the marina check the steering cable, but they said it was fine. When the boat sits on the trailer you can turn the steering wheel with one finger very easy. So again, the steering is not always heavy, but just under certain situations. its heavy enough that my wife is getting arm pump.
Secondly, my RPM's run a little higher than my 1:1 supra. At 20mph i'm at about 2600 RPM. With the old boat RPM's almost matched the speed. Is the 1.5:1 V-drive responsible for this? Is this the right range?

thanx for any pointers

[wakejunky]

RE: new boat - new probs

I would venture to guess that your steering cable is bad whether the shop said it was okay or not.

Chris

[AuMDLST]

RE: new boat - new probs

From a "hard to port or hard to starboard" turn back to straight you will see a hard or muscular turning of the wheel due to the pressure of the water moving past the rudder as well as the force of the water pressure caused by the turn itself.

[bkhallpass]

RE: new boat - new probs

The boat does steer heavier than a direct drive ski boat, but not that much. I agree with wakejunky, I don't trust that cable. You will not see a 1 to 1 correlation rpms to mph. However, the prop selection makes
a huge difference. With my federal prop, I turn about 4800 rpms and only get 42 mph. With my Acme prop I turn 4800 to 4900 rpms and get 46 mph. A lot of these boats have been propped for pure power out of the hole while weighted with massive ballast. The owners are not concered with high end speed, as they rarely go above 30 mph anyway. BKH

[i_am_am]

RE: new boat - new probs

I have a 99 SAN(basically a SS), and have had the same hard steering. You need to remove the rudder and polish the shaft and strut. Grease it with waterproof grease and reinstall it. That fixed my prob. The CC dealer can get new strut and rudder assbly with a grease fitting!!! $350.00.....The grease thing worked perfect....1 hand steering.