Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Fri, 04 Jul 2008 22:47:54 -0400, HK wrote:

Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:55:04 -0400, John H.
wrote:

On Sat, 05 Jul 2008 01:20:07 GMT, Short Wave Sportfishing
wrote:

On Fri, 04 Jul 2008 21:14:26 -0400, John H.
wrote:

was a blast. We went to a boaters' beach in Belmont Bay. Shared the place
with about 50 other boats and had a great time. Went over to our old
stomping grounds in Mattawoman Creek only to find the 'beach' overrun with
hydrilla. No boats anywhere.

Weather was great, little breeze (just enough to pinpoint the 'knob drift'
problem), and nothing but wakes over one foot. The new Yamaha ran like a
top. One of these days I'll see how fast it'll push that Key West. We're
still very happy with the boat.

Oh, and I didn't feel too 'foolish' either!
Knob drift?
Yeah, the thing Harry was complaining about on Chuck's Island. The position
of the knob, when going straight, will vary with the direction of the wind.
It doesn't mean there's a hydraulic steering problem or anything else,
although I suppose it could.
Um....that's not a "problem" as such - it's entirely normal when
adjusting for windage you will naturally turn into or away from
windage changing the position of the wind.

Remember you have what is essentially a bay boat with no real draft to
keep you from moving when the wind gets up. - in particular if you are
just "cruising" along at a relatively slow speed. You will have
better control as you speed up.

Eventually, your helm will make a 360 degree turn on you - the
hydraulics aren't pressurized so there will always be some slop in the
system and it will vary with air temp - even your console will have
some effect on the expansion and contraction of the steering control's
hydraulic fluid.

That's one of the little annoyances of light hydraulic steering on
small boats. In the eight years I've owned the Ranger, my helm has
spun around 360 or eve more than that.

Why did you opt for the knob?
The wind is NOT the issue. Good grief.
The wandering knob syndrome is normal for Seastar hydraulic steering
systems. It's mentioned in the manuals that come with the steering system.

Yesh - and who told you that?

It wasn't the manual.

And I'd love to debate the relative positions of the helm when
steering into or away from wind, but I don't feel like it.


Who told me that? A "techie" guy on a real boating discussion board, who
backed up what he said with a quote from the manual.