Seeking advice for your boat? Look no further than ‘Teague on Tech.’

As Seen In Speed On The Water, Issue 22; Jan-Feb 2017

Although Matt Trulio wrote a news story about reviving the longstanding “Teague on Tech” column that I wrote for Powerboat magazine for too many years to count, I figured it was worth mentioning here that we’re looking for questions that I can answer on a weekly or bi-weekly basis for speedonthewater.com. Some of the best subject matter just might end up in this column, too.

Thanks to decades of experience testing boats, racing boats and working on a wide range of boats at Teague Custom Marine in Valencia, Calif., answering questions has become my forté. It’s actually a pretty enjoyable thing to do, so please don’t hesistate to email me your questions.

Here are a couple of questions I answered a while back that might be helpful to some of you.

Sloppy Steering
Q: I own a 2005 Nordic Rage powered by a MerCruiser 496 Mag HO engine with Dana Marine headers. The boat has a Bravo One X drive spinning a lab-finished 28”-pitch Bravo One propeller. The boat runs 80 mph as indicated on the Livorsi Marine GPS speedometer.

I’m having problems with my stock steering system. My steering responds quickly when turned to the right but has 2 to 3 inches of slack when turned to the left. This occurs no matter what the position of the steering wheel.

This problem did not exist until I hit a 40-foot vine on the Illinois River at 45 mph that put a hard pull on the boat. The steering went away immediately. My local dealer pulled the lower unit, which was loose, and tightened and checked the alignment, which was OK. However, these adjustments did not help the steering. The lower unit is very tight and in great condition. I would love to go to hydraulic steering, but the funds are not available right now. Would single- or dual-ram steering help?

How can I adjust or fix the stock steering, which has always been tight?

A: First of all, if your single-engine Rage is capable of going 80 mph, it should have hydraulic steering. Dual-ram systems are always better than single-ram systems because the rams inherently have more force extending than when retracting. Dual
rams balance the system.

The reason that your steering seems to have slack in one direction, and not the other, is because of the effect of propeller torque in combination with damaged or worn steering components. Cable steering always has a little play, but yours sounds a bit excessive.

I suspect that the tiller arm attachment to your gimbal ring is sloppy. This can be checked by moving the drive side-toside while the boat is on the trailer. If you do not see an immediate corresponding movement of the steering system on the inside, the tiller arm is loose. This can be repaired from the outside by cutting an access hole in the housing and tightening the bolt on the tiller arm. Cover plates are available to seal the access hole.

Being that you have noticed a difference since striking the submerged object, a thorough inspection of your transom assembly and gimbal ring is in order. If something is cracked or broken, the results could be catastrophic. There should be no play in any of the four pivot points in the transom assembly or gimbal ring.

Your steering system is likely equipped with a Brazil steering control valve assembly. With this unit, it is important that the steering cable is in perfect alignment with the unit and is not in a bind from any other rigging in the boat. The cable attaches to the center cylinder of the Brazil valve. There are two flat spots on the cylinder adjacent to where the cable nut attaches. The two flat spots must be positioned so they are vertical or the steering sometimes acts weird. I would definitely check everything discussed before using the boat again. In the long run though you should really install a full hydraulic steering system on this boat. It is a matter of safety.

Mercury’s five-blade Maximus propeller works well on larger single-engine boats, but it can create torque to one side or the other during acceleration or deceleration.

Maximus Or Not
Q: Would a Donzi 28ZX benefit from a Mercury five-blade Maximus propeller?

A: The Mercury Maximus propeller has quite a bit more blade area than just about any other propeller designed for use on Bravostyle drives. The standard diameter also is a large 15 5/8 inches. Accordingly, the propeller is very efficient. If you are currently running a Bravo One four-blade propeller on your singleengine 28-footer, it is likely that your propeller slip is above 15 percent. Going to a Maximus propeller is likely to cut that figure in half.

The Maximus propeller works well on larger single-engine boats such as yours. However, due to the Maximus propeller’s stock large diameter, it can cause a singleengine boat to torque to one side or the other during acceleration or deceleration. The correct propeller for your boat will have to be one that is Mercury lab-finished with the diameter reduced. I think the correct diameter for your boat will be 15 1/4 inches.

Also, the pitch on the Maximus propellers is understated. So, for example, if you are currently running a 28”-pitch four-blade, you will need to drop to a 24”-pitch or 26”-pitch Maximus. Being that the drive is relatively deep on your Donzi, it is common to remove about 5/8 inch of the diffuser ring on the Maximus propeller to improve top-speed performance and reduce transom lift. The diffuser aids in bringing the boat on plane, but it’s unnecessary with the efficiency of the five-blades working together.

You may or may not see a significant increase in top speed with the Maximus propeller. But you will definitely experience a significant increase in midrange efficiency with your boat. I believe that the boat will be going 6 to 8 mph faster at 4,000 rpm compared to the current setup.