255 FSH wants to go right

[JayHawkScott]

I purchased a 2025 Yamaha 255 FSH Sport E last fall and while I'm not new to boating this is my first jet boat. I have had a pair of wave runners for over 10 years so the get drive concept isn't new to me but twin jet drives in a boat is. Coming from a single outboard center console set up there has been a learning curve to say the least but I feel like I'm getting things figured out.

One issue that I have been struggling with is the steering on the 255. More specifically when I'm running more then 10 knots and maintaining a straight heading I have to keep my hand on the wheel to keep the boat headed straight but the second I let go of the wheel the boat will immediately start turning to the right every time. I thought that maybe this was because the weight in the boat wasn't even but regardless of which side of the boat had more weight the boat would always go to the right. Could there was something wrong with the alignment of my jets causing this or is this just something that is a known issue?

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

I purchased a 2025 Yamaha 255 FSH Sport E last fall and while I'm not new to boating this is my first jet boat. I have had a pair of wave runners for over 10 years so the get drive concept isn't new to me but twin jet drives in a boat is. Coming from a single outboard center console set up there has been a learning curve to say the least but I feel like I'm getting things figured out.

One issue that I have been struggling with is the steering on the 255. More specifically when I'm running more then 10 knots and maintaining a straight heading I have to keep my hand on the wheel to keep the boat headed straight but the second I let go of the wheel the boat will immediately start turning to the right every time. I thought that maybe this was because the weight in the boat wasn't even but regardless of which side of the boat had more weight the boat would always go to the right. Could there was something wrong with the alignment of my jets causing this or is this just something that is a known issue?

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

Congrats on the great boat! Sorry you’re having this issue.
I assume you bought the boat new?
Are you filling the rear starboard live well? If that water weight is not in right rear that will make the boat turn right.

Another thing you might check is to center the steering and put a straight edge across the jet pumps to make sure they’re parallel.

 

[JayHawkScott]

Congrats on the great boat! Sorry you’re having this issue.
I assume you bought the boat new?
Are you filling the rear starboard live well? If that water weight is not in right rear that will make the boat turn right.

Another thing you might check is to center the steering and put a straight edge across the jet pumps to make sure they’re parallel.

I actually have filled the livewell and that helps with lean on the boat but haven't seen an improvement on the steering. I'm getting ready to take my boat out of the water and will place a straight edge on the pumps to see if the jet pump alignment that is adding to the issue. Another thing that is unique about my boat is that I had to remove the T-Top off the boat because I have a low railroad bridge that I have to get under and no way would that top ever get under that bridge (clearance 5-6 ft). By removing that top I have taken a lot of weight out of the middle of the boat which I'm sure is not helping the lean of the boat. Next week I'm having a custom folding radar arch installed on the boat which will change the weight distribution and might help some with the steering issue but not hopefull.

 

[CastawayRK]

Yes. Note I’m 22’ not 25’ but yes.
In my case it is not weight distribution. When I converted to LiFePo batteries for house and start I had one mounted on each side instead of both on port side. My troller batteries are still lead. The are mounted on the shelf in the head as far starboard as possible to help offset the weight of the troller on port side.

I can fill livewell or not it didn’t matter. Honestly the livewell sitting on top of the engine is pretty useless so I usually just use it for storage but I digress

Last year I arbitrarily adjusted the rudder linkage by 2 full revolutions to see if it would pull to port and I noticed no difference so I put it back

The dealer says jets are (were ) straight.

I lubed the steering cables (as described in a thread with air pump) while preparing for the trip I’m now on. When reinstalling the linkage I again arbitrarily put them back one turn less than when removing, aiming jets a little to port. This seems to have worked and maybe was a little too much.

All this goes to say in my opinion it’s jet alignment.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Did you look at the rudder and see an angle on it in the middle rather than being straight ? https://www.yamahapartshouse.com/oemparts/a/yam/671677f6086d713e3f0ddcb7/steering look on this paarts diagram for your boat it shows an angled rudder.. So here is some info Yamaha stopped using different pitch impellers to deal with the drift sideways on twin engine jet boats because they rotate in the same direction not counter clockwise.
I have a complete proceedure for my customers to set their nozzles and rudder to get straight tracking on twin engine boats .

 

[CastawayRK]

I’m curious @Cobra Jet Steering LLC you obviously have more experience with this stuff than I do. If I understand you Yamaha used to use different props port and starboard in the past? What was the difference?
Thanks

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I’m curious @Cobra Jet Steering LLC you obviously have more experience with this stuff than I do. If I understand you Yamaha used to use different props port and starboard in the past? What was the difference?
Thanks

My understanding was the twin engines rotation in the same direction creates a rotational jet wash from the nozzles causing the hull to want to move to one side, so by reducing the force in the pump on the outside of that turn would be the same as reducing the throttle on that side changing the force it was many years ago and it was well known that the props in the pumps were a different pitch now with these boats having a rudder and when they use my steering I have a second tie rod to set the rudder and hold the nozzle alignment there by allowing you to set a slight angle to the rudder to delete the hull pull on plane.

 

[CastawayRK]

Interesting. Thanks.

 

[CastawayRK]

So to support that I looked up impellers for my boat and they are the same. Randomly I looked up 2005 AR230 and it lists Port impeller 17.3 degrees and Starboard 16.3. That seems like pretty big difference just to make boat track straight.
I guess as set from factory the “articulating keel” isn’t doing its job. Huh.
Thanks again.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

So, the reason that the port impeller had more pitch is because that side has less load, and the starboard side has more load on it, the way I understand it this is due to the non contra rotating engines.

My boat, a 2020 210 FSH, also came with the same impellers on both sides and the port engine would always turn more rpm’s than the starboard side. But, I’ve had my impellers massaged / pitched for their respective sides to balance the load on the engines, which has greater pitch on the port side when compared to the starboard side. And I will tell you this is well worth the effort, a huge difference in performance and handling.

The reason there are stators on the jet nozzles is to stop the water coming out of the pumps from rotating as a result of the impellers pumping of the water that would influence how the boat handles.

I too once thought my boat pulling to one side was a result of jet pumps not being aligned correctly. I checked them and there were perfectly straight, then I thought well I just need adjust the articulating keel rod to make it push the steering the way I wanted it to go, this did not work. So I went through the process of making sure that the articulating keel is perfectly in line with the boats keel, it’s what the service manual calls for. What I found was that it was the weight distribution on the boat that was affecting the straight line stability of the boat at cruise in calm water with NO wind, the slightest wind will push the boat to one side or the other. I have found that my boat can be steered slightly by simply changing my seating position on the helm seat. In my case, it was where I had the down rigger weights stowed in one of the aft storage compartments. I did swap out my group 24 lead acid house battery for a group 27/31 LFP battery which made me have to re distribute weight since it dropped about 30 pounds on the port side. It took me a bit to get it sorted out, but now my boat goes arrow straight at cruise or WFO on a calm lake with no wind.