My outboard motor turns my boat to the right when i let go of steering wheel is there an ajustment i can make?

Question

My outboard motor turns my boat to the right when i let go of steering wheel is there an ajustment i can make?

Answer 1

It all has to do with torque. Prop planes and helicopters experience the same problems. Since your mono prop is only spinning one direction, you're creating torque on the rest of the boat. It isn't a lot, but it's enough to send you slightly off course. Luckily, most outboard manufacturers have already experienced this and solved it before you even had the question ;-).

If you look on the outboard, near the bottom where the prop is, there is something like a fin, which acts as a small rudder. You adjust this little by little, and eventually the torque pushing you to the right will be countered by force from the water pushing you back to the left, leaving you going straight in the water.

I don't know what kind of engine you are using, and I imagine every manufacturer has a slightly different setup, but there should be some kind of directional rudder there that after it's set once, you don't have to set it anymore. Hope that helps.