This is yet another problem I have with my 1997 340! Lucky I can other folks brains to find fixes! I recently hauled the boat out to have antifouled and to replace the skeg (cutlass) bearing on the shaft. The shat was out of balance and had chewed out the old bearing. The boat is now back in the water newly antifouled, new bearing and the shaft supposedly aligned. The boat now pulls heavily to port under power - the faster the revs, the greater the pull. In addition, there is now a vibration that feels like a bouncing effect felt in the wheel and the cockpit floor. The vibration increases with engine revs. The boat yard that did the work say they have no idea what may have caused these problems - they suggest the prop may need balancing but surely this would not cause the boat to pull heavily to port - it never pulled in either direction in the past. The only thing I can think of that might cause the helm to pull one way is that maybe the prop is not centered in the middle of the rudder and is forcing more water down one side of the rudder than the other. This is a wild guess!!!!! Can anyone help me - I don't even know what type of "expert" to consult at this stage and the boat is almost unusable at present.
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Something's Not Right
Gosh, Mel, something is certainly wrong. At minimum, the boat ought to be examined by a surveyor, and perhaps at the yard's expense. You should start by calling Hunter to get their advice. For what it is worth, which is little, I'd wonder if the strut was tweaked extracting the bearing. I'd wonder if the shaft itself was bent rather than out of balance. I would be concerned about shaft / engine alignment. There should not have been that dramatic a change.
Gosh, Mel, something is certainly wrong. At minimum, the boat ought to be examined by a surveyor, and perhaps at the yard's expense. You should start by calling Hunter to get their advice. For what it is worth, which is little, I'd wonder if the strut was tweaked extracting the bearing. I'd wonder if the shaft itself was bent rather than out of balance. I would be concerned about shaft / engine alignment. There should not have been that dramatic a change.
Agree with Rick
Rick is right: I would start with Hunter and get their thoughts. Something really sounds weird. But, whatever you do, please do an update of what you found and how it was corrected. It would really help the rest of us if we run into a similar problem. Thanks
Rick is right: I would start with Hunter and get their thoughts. Something really sounds weird. But, whatever you do, please do an update of what you found and how it was corrected. It would really help the rest of us if we run into a similar problem. Thanks
check the shaft alignment and the engine mounts
Mal, Perhaps your engine-shaft alignment is off. First check to make sure that engine is properly seated on the four rubber mounts in the engine compartment and that none of the mounting nuts have moved or come loose. Next, check the pair of flanges that connect the transmission to the engine shaft. It's critical that these flanges are parallel within a few thousandths of an inch. On my 340, the engine mounting nuts came loose. I tightened them without paying attention to the shaft alignment and I got a terrible vibration whenever I pushed the engine above 2500 rpm. All was fixed by having the system aligned, which means that the engine mount nuts were adjusted until the flanges were parallel. Perhaps you have the same problem, although I don't know that misalignment would cause the engine to strongly pull to port. (On my boat, the prop does pull to port a little, requiring about 4 degrees of helm to hold a straight course.)
Mal, Perhaps your engine-shaft alignment is off. First check to make sure that engine is properly seated on the four rubber mounts in the engine compartment and that none of the mounting nuts have moved or come loose. Next, check the pair of flanges that connect the transmission to the engine shaft. It's critical that these flanges are parallel within a few thousandths of an inch. On my 340, the engine mounting nuts came loose. I tightened them without paying attention to the shaft alignment and I got a terrible vibration whenever I pushed the engine above 2500 rpm. All was fixed by having the system aligned, which means that the engine mount nuts were adjusted until the flanges were parallel. Perhaps you have the same problem, although I don't know that misalignment would cause the engine to strongly pull to port. (On my boat, the prop does pull to port a little, requiring about 4 degrees of helm to hold a straight course.)
Thanks Larry, Jim & Rick
Thanks for the input guys, I have contacted a surveyor and written to Hunter on the issue. I will definately post the result/answer on this site in case it helps anyone else. This assumes I find the answer - sorry, just feeling a bit negative after spending a pile of money and having a boat I love to use that drives like a pig at the moment. s/v Synergy H340 #118
Thanks for the input guys, I have contacted a surveyor and written to Hunter on the issue. I will definately post the result/answer on this site in case it helps anyone else. This assumes I find the answer - sorry, just feeling a bit negative after spending a pile of money and having a boat I love to use that drives like a pig at the moment. s/v Synergy H340 #118
Boatyard Blues
Suggest you take the boat to a yard or engine company of known competence Regards,
Suggest you take the boat to a yard or engine company of known competence Regards,
agree with larry
I agree with Larry. My 340 pulls to port under power, always has. Above about 1,500 rpm. I don't consider it to be a problem, since it is easily overcome.
I agree with Larry. My 340 pulls to port under power, always has. Above about 1,500 rpm. I don't consider it to be a problem, since it is easily overcome.
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