Intermittent loss of drive / tiller vibration.

[WotEver]

6 hours ago, LadyG said:

Do I book it in for repair?

There’s no way to know without someone else at least driving the boat for a while for their opinion. Seeing as it would require lifting out why not wait until it’s next due for a bottom scrape and re-black?

[bizzard]

6 hours ago, LadyG said:

I have that sound like wire hitting bottom sometimes, also I often feel the rudder is notwell balanced I need to use a lot of muscle if driving boat hard. I do have a short tiller and drive from side of rear deck, standing clear of tiller arm, I find it difficult to go round z bends in shallow water, sometimes have to reverse, I think it's me, and the 57ft of boat?

Do I book it in for repair?

Is it like nasty lee helm on a sailing boat, you find your pushing the tiller away from you a lot. If the tiller whams over if you let go of it under power or in neutral the rudder is out of balance, the balance part of it ahead of the stock too big in relation to the trailing portion of it.

[Col_T]

7 hours ago, LadyG said:

also I often feel the rudder is notwell balanced I need to use a lot of muscle if driving boat hard. I do have a short tiller and drive from side of rear deck

 

I find that the quicker I go, the heavier the tiller feels, and have always thought this is because the flow of water over the rudder is greater. A short tiller would exacerbate that.

[LadyG]

52 minutes ago, bizzard said:

Is it like nasty lee helm on a sailing boat, you find your pushing the tiller away from you a lot. If the tiller whams over if you let go of it under power or in neutral the rudder is out of balance, the balance part of it ahead of the stock too big in relation to the trailing portion of it.

It occasionally tries to take control, not like a lee helm which is 'constant' once you have it, I sometimes think it takes control on corners maybe 'cos it has unexpectedly grounded.

53 minutes ago, WotEver said:

There’s no way to know without someone else at least driving the boat for a while for their opinion. Seeing as it would require lifting out why not wait until it’s next due for a bottom scrape and re-black?

Yes, I'll live with it , see if it goes back to good behaviour when back on a commercial canal.

[bizzard]

2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

It occasionally tries to take control, not like a lee helm which is 'constant' once you have it, I sometimes think it takes control on corners maybe 'cos it has unexpectedly grounded.

Yes, I'll live with it , see if it goes back to good behaviour when back on a commercial canal.

Going round the bend. If you slow up approaching the bend, knock it into neutral, put the tiller over and then put it back into gear. This takes the prop wash strain off the rudder while you put it over.

[TheBiscuits]

7 hours ago, LadyG said:

I do have a short tiller and drive from side of rear deck

 

How short is your tiller? 

 

Have you got a permanent fixed tiller or is it shaped to take an extension bar? (most are like this)

 

On a trad stern you should be able to stand inside the rear doors while steering, so I'm wondering if you have a bit missing!

[ditchcrawler]

12 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

How short is your tiller? 

 

Have you got a permanent fixed tiller or is it shaped to take an extension bar? (most are like this)

 

On a trad stern you should be able to stand inside the rear doors while steering, so I'm wondering if you have a bit missing!

I think that has been said before