Boat Pulls Hard Left Under Acceleration
 

I am looking to buy a 94 Formula 252 SS 7.4L Bravo III 370hrs , Under straightline acceleration it pulls pretty hard to the left, Is this normal ??? I have not seen this this before with other Boats

I didn't notice it when slowing, But I had so many things I was trying to absorb that I probably didn't pay attention to that, It steered fine until maybe 25-30 m.p.h. when I started to accelerate, Is it possible that it spun a prop hub ?? Boat has been sitting for a few years with no activity ?

Could it just be normal prop torque?

does it have both counter rotating props? matched set?

Something's not right . First off , there's no prop torque with a DP unit and there's no prop bushings on a B3 either .
If you let go of the wheel at any given speed it dramatically pulls to one side on its own ?

No issues up to 20-25 M.P.H. Then when I wanted to go up to maybe 40 or so , It was pulling hard to the left

steering actuator

power steering pump

24' most likely a single

252 is a single engine. I've ran staggered pitched props before on a Bravo III and that will not cause a pull. That boat should accelerate and track straight and true regardless of speed and rate of acceleration. Something is definitely amiss. Is it just a pull on the wheel and the boat is tracking level or does the hull also torque over when it happens?

bravo 3 track straight - u can take your hands off the wheel they track straight. They do produce more wear at the gimbal ring hole / swivel shaft. The reason is the pinch nuts for the U bolt never get check enough. The Bravo 3 requires more checking there because its alot heavier drive to swing / steer thru the water plus with more mass. More times than not when the gimbal ring is worn thru the swivel shaft - the drive will fish tail and alot of times the hull will chine walk at certain speeds.

The laymans test for a the actuator going bad is run the engine / drive on the water hose - at start up did the drive swing to one side and stay there ? - or is the drive oscillating back and forth ? if so most likely a bad actuator and or steering pump .

I am going to go back to look again this weekend, I am hoping I managed to misalign the Trim Tabs, I will report back, How much of a difference between left and right would cause a pulling issue ??

Agree tabs would make hull lean, not pull.

Make sure that no one installed an Outboard Lower Drive Anode like this:
https://cdn3.bigcommerce.com/s-6rtev...00.750.jpg?c=2
... in place of what should just be a flat (no fin) drive anode

the newer style actuator came out in 1991 its was called direct acting.

I would check the actuator for being bad and Bravo 3 s are VERY PRONE for alot of wear thru the gimbal ring swival shaft. Very common. As said no one ever torques the U bolt pinch nuts to spec. Its a 2 time check per year. It never gets done

IMO these 2 are the issues

You may need to re clock the propellers on boat I have herd about this but I have no experience with it.

Clocking being off does not cause a pull with a BIII.

When they are properly clocked though they are a tad smoother .

We clock all twin props we have feed back all the time that the boats handles better in turns and some will say, better on plane times and some will say it seems faster - some report 1 to 2 mph faster as well.. never has one boater mentioned the boat is worse by clocking the props. Actually it can also be called timing the props or phasing the props I am talking about easily over 2000 twin prop apps here for over 20 years . Of course not all owners claim anything but the norm is always positive results feedback.

Will add thou have never seen twin props being the alone cause of a boat pulling to one direction whether they are timed / clocked / or not. .

You could sure come out here and teach a few of these so called 'mechanics' a few things. The 2 I run are the only ones I've ever seen timed properly .
Unfortunately I can't make any claims though other than smoothness as they've always been so close that I can't say anything about speed or handling benefits .

You are correct - the newer steering actuator came out in 1994 year models. It was called ANTI FEEDBACK and had a new aluminum hosing for better corrosion resistance. I was thinking at first it was 1991 but going thru the years in my head I remembered it was 1994 for what you are talking about. 1994 was it 4 sure.

I've owned 3 different Bravo III equipped boats and not one of them, whether new or used, had the props properly timed when I received the boat. I first learned of it running my first new boat which also was my first Bravo III boat. I decided to read the Merc manual that came with the boat one night and there was a section on prop timing. Funny, it did not reference the Bravo III. Instead, it referenced the Blackhawk. Regardless, I timed the props on all three boats and ran all three boats both ways. Only one of the boats did I feel it made any difference on. The other two you couldn't tell any difference in handling or speed. Still, it drives me nuts anytime I see a Bravo III with the props not timed as it takes no more time to put them on correctly vs. incorrectly.

Are we ever on the same page ! Before I had the B3 I already knew about timing the props on the BH and automatically did the same for the B3 . Then it turns out to be the right way.
I too cringe every time I see them out of whack .
One other thing that irks me is when mechanics overlook the dings and bends on a set of B3 props falsely thinking that it's only a 'cruiser' or something like that and it doesn't make much difference.
I can assure everyone that it's even more critical that DP drives have props in perfect condition at all times and that includes clean , fouling free blades as well .
The tiniest grunge on the blades or a slight bend make a huge difference in efficiency.

I learned early on that BIII props are also notorious for being unbalanced and having the pitch all over the place right from Merc. My first set in '99, the forward prop was so bad the guy said "I wouldn't even know how to balance it". I think he was exaggerating a bit but you get the point. I used to use Bronson Hill to balance, true pitch, and polish all my BIII propsets. Once they went out of business and BBlades came along I've been using Brett. I've always seen noticeable differences before and after having my propsets worked.

The boat that I noticed the most difference on in correcting the timing was the lightest and fastest of the three, had a pad bottom, and had the highest drive height in relation to the bottom of the boat. The heavier, slower, deep drive placement, true vee's at the transom didn't seem to be affected as much by the timing being off.

Shift the fat chicks to the middle of the boat. Next questions, please.

:party-smiley-004:

I am Relieved !!! It was the Trim Tabs, I think I am gonna own my 2nd Formula... Laughing Cat I will have to remember to keep them in the Center LOL I think I could actually steer with the Trim Tabs at Low Speed, I was amazed at how much effect it had on turning ...

Nothing better than a simple (cheap) fix.
Remember , if you ever (safely) have a steering failure and your drive (or rudder) is straight you can use the tabs to 'steer' in a jury rig situation.
I've practiced it before and it's amazing how effective they can be in steering the boat without moving the wheel.