Steering / nozzle alignment?

[MichaelRex]

Hello all, my wife and I bought a 2022 212xd a few mounts ago and we have been really enjoying our summer on the water. One thing that has really bothered me is that the "alignment " is off a fair amount. With the steering wheel straight on land / trailer the nozzles and rudder are pointed to the right. like a lot. I have to turn the wheel almost more than a quarter turn to get them pointed straight. At slow speeds like docking or loading / unloading it is very frustrating and a constant effort to remember to have the wheel turned just to point straight. It does have the Drive system but it seems to make it even worse.

So my question is, is there a way to align or reset the steering? My dealer said no problem bring it in but they don't take appointments and are a month wait minimum. I don't want my boat sitting there waiting to be looked at all season basically. Thanks for the help.

 

[tdonoughue]

Howdy!

See one of the steering cable replacement threads, like Replacing Steering Cables . Not because you need to replace the cable, but because they talk about counting the threads or how many turns it takes to take off the end. The reason for the counting is that is how you adjust the steering on the jet. Roll back the locking nut, twist it out a turn, put the locking nut back (you will have to disconnect it from the jet first). Part of the challenge is working with 2 jets figuring out which one (or both) are out of alignment can be tricky. Use a long straight edge (like a long level) to help you line things up. I think stock usually toes them in a degree or two.

Also, having a repair manual will give you the official instructions (including toe amounts, if any).

Hope that helps.

 

[itsdgm]

Hello all, my wife and I bought a 2022 212xd a few mounts ago and we have been really enjoying our summer on the water. One thing that has really bothered me is that the "alignment " is off a fair amount. With the steering wheel straight on land / trailer the nozzles and rudder are pointed to the right. like a lot. I have to turn the wheel almost more than a quarter turn to get them pointed straight. At slow speeds like docking or loading / unloading it is very frustrating and a constant effort to remember to have the wheel turned just to point straight. It does have the Drive system but it seems to make it even worse.

So my question is, is there a way to align or reset the steering? My dealer said no problem bring it in but they don't take appointments and are a month wait minimum. I don't want my boat sitting there waiting to be looked at all season basically. Thanks for the help.

Welcome to the site and congrats on the boat. I’m not 100% sure about t
How the mechanics of your boat steering work. But if the boat drives straight and it’s the wheel that’s slightly off, I’d imagine that you could make one adjustment under the helm to move the wheel in relation to the back end. If that’s not the case, it might be possible to pull the wheel, rotate it a bit and mount. If neither of those are possible, it wouldn’t be that hard to secure the wheel where you want it and adjust the nozzles and fins into alignment at the back of the boat.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

That is common I always have my customers center their wheel and align their nozzles and center the rudder when they add my steering system to their boat. first un hook the cables at the nozzles then turn on your key if your system is a electronic one otherwise no problem to see if it is just turn the wheel and have someone watch to see if the cables for the nozzles are moving. Next turn it all the way to the right and place a piece of tape on the top center of the wheel and then turn it all the way to the left and place a piece of tape on top of the wheel now rotate the wheel so the 2 pieces of tape are pointing evenly at the floor and place some tape on the top of the wheel now it is centered,
next put the controls in forward and place a level across the nozzle openings tight so the level is touching bolt nozzle openings evenly at the same time, Now have someone hold that level tight against the nozzle openings as you adjust the cable ends back to the steering arms of both nozzles , The wheel is centered and the nozzles are even now adjust the rudder position via the tie rod so the rudder is dean on 90 degrees from the back of the boat .

 

[Neutron]

His boat is an xd witch has an electronic helm with an assembly at the stern that is also electronic that has 2 short cables to the nozzles. Very different animal

 

[tdonoughue]

But those still do have the adjustment at the nozzle, right?

 

[Neutron]

Yes but with it being a D model you want to make sure the nozzles are adjusted perfectly even so the swing to each lock is even. I have seen nozzles adjusted to be straight with the wheel or handlebars but will go further to one side more than the other. Its not as easy as you would think if you want equal steering both ways and if its electronic than even more reason it need to be spot on

 

[drewkaree]

Since this is your first post, you will want to look around here for info regarding the DRIVE system and maneuvering around the dock - your issues probably aren't just related to the steering wheel not being centered

Regarding not wanting to lose a month of boating time, this necessarily means you will need to do the work, therefore you will need to buy the service manual for your boat.

This will give you the correct procedure on how to do what you want. Given that the DRIVE system is relatively new, you may not find information as accurate and effective as you need - you now have an example of this with what @Neutron has pointed out, which means the information in the responses you got here may be 100% accurate for other boats, but may take you down a path that causes you more problems

Get the repair manual.

It would be great if you were to share what you do, and the outcome, as well as any tips or tricks you discover as well, as this is what makes this community great (and likely why you're here as well)

 

[anmut]

Something I did within a month of owning my boat - once you get the aesthetics of the wheel being "centered" figured out, center the wheel and wrap a piece of colored electrical tape on the top of the wheel, dead center. I put it on top so I can feel it while piloting from a standing position.

This gives you a visual and tactile indication of your thrusters being centered. I've found this incredibly useful docking and when starting someone in the water for surfing or wakeboarding. Becomes like second nature to feel for the center tape and there's no guessing on thruster direction.

The other thing it does is give you an indication of potential weight distribution when traveling at speed. If you see the center tape to the left, move a human to the right side of the boat to center out your tracking.