Reverse to Port???

[Five Faces]

Been boating for over 40 years, but this is my first season with a jet, my 2017 242x...

Reverse to port has never worked well (or at all), it pretty much goes straight back no matter the amount of throttle. Even after adding Cobra Jet Super AK Magnum with Mega Fangs no change in reverse to port. I should mention reverse to starboard works beautifully, would love to see this reaction on reverse to port.

I have chalked this up to the direction of the impeller rotation but after a quick search haven’t seen any other reverse complaints TO JUST ONE SIDE, so thought I would see if something else is at play here???

Does your Yamaha reverse in one direction better than reverse in the other direction? Is this reverse to port issue “normal“ or do I have some sort of alignment issue that can be corrected?

I’m very happy with my Cobra’s in forward at both low and high speeds, but may ditch the fangs for lateral thrusters if I can’t correct reverse. Thoughts?

 

[Gunner]

I have a single engine and I agree that besides the slow response in general to reverse, it seems that starboard is much more responsive than port reverse. I chaulked it up to the engine/boat dynamics that I wouldn't understand anyways as I am as dumb as a stump.

 

[Gym]

Strange. I would check your alignment. Also have someone go hard port an starboard as you observe from the rear to make sure cables are adjusted properly and your fangs aren't impeding your bucket travel. You can use asymmetric thrust in reverse until you get this figured out or change your hardware as you mentioned.

 

[Gym]

From a fluid dynamics standpoint all boats are not well designed for rearward operations as the stern is flat to the water as opposed to the bow being pointed. This affects our boats more than most as we have less control as our speed drops. The aftermarket fixes available to us are a pretty good compromise. I do believe @Five Faces has an additional issue going on that should be fairly easy to resolve.

 

[Five Faces]

Strange. I would check your alignment. Also have someone go hard port an starboard as you observe from the rear to make sure cables are adjusted properly and your fangs aren't impeding your bucket travel. You can use asymmetric thrust in reverse until you get this figured out or change your hardware as you mentioned.

I did this after Cobra install and everything appeared to be okay, might have to check again to be sure nothing has changed. Having downsized from a 40 ft motor yacht and being very familiar with asymmetric thrust, I still couldn't get much (if any) reverse to port.

From a fluid dynamics standpoint all boats are not well designed for rearward operations as the stern is flat to the water as opposed to the bow being pointed. This affects our boats more than most as we have less control as our speed drops. The aftermarket fixes available to us are a pretty good compromise. I do believe @Five Faces has an additional issue going on that should be fairly easy to resolve.

I understand and agree with the intent of your post in general, but in my specific case if my reverse to port was even half as good as my reverse to starboard I wouldn't have even posted my concern. I hope you're correct and something is amiss and that this isn't how it is intended to operate.

 

[tabbibus]

242 here. I know not of what this reverse to port that you speak of is. It is a magical non existent entity. Reverse to SB is real. I have JBP lateral thrusters that I've been too lazy to install. Maybe they will make the reverse to port unicorn become a reality.

 

[Rowdie]

Cause the big guy is making the boat lean to the starboard?

I’ve been part of pre keel rudder boats not wanting to turn but all these messages on newer models with issues is amazing to me.

if the boat isnt rotating as quickly as you like counter steer and bump it forward.

I feel like watching the vid on the 27’s paddle system that may help a lot of people.

Instead of just long constant turning force, turn up the idle and use bumps. Boat should spin around in its own length just like having two motors you’re working against each other in the good old days.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Yes first be sure the nozzle alignment is correct the reverse buckets are both even when in neutral and in reverse if one is higher that the other it will have a serious effect on reverse also be sure the nozzle travel is even in both directions. if you really want to whip the boat to either side just learn to use the twin throttles on in neutral and one in reverse or one in forward and one in reverse , the ability to rotate by applying different throttle positions especially with the increased usable reverse thrust provided by the mega fang plus setup should turn the boat very easily. also be sure the steering fins are aligned properly and the rudder is at a 90 degree angle with the back of the boat when the wheel is dead center the rudder being off could be the issue

 

[ctyke]

My boat has the lateral thrusters built in. On Saturday I went to drop off some people on the dock, of course someone left a lilypad tied up to the dock so I didn't have much room to dock. I put the nose in and steered full port and reversed, the back end swung over to the dock perfectly. I amazed not only myself but the people on the boat. As Jeff stated, these boats can do amazing things if setup properly and in the right hands.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Have you tried adding any extra thrust to the outboard engine? thus when backing to the port, try adding some extra thrust to the starboard engine. With my 09, I'd add extra thrust to the inboard engine and it'd turn relatively well. However, with the keel down there, I've noticed a definite difference. Thus I've changed to adding extra thrust to the outboard engine as that'll let the thrust move to the side...from there, it's also a matter of getting water moving past the rudder.

 

[OrangeTJ]

A trick you can adopt from the inboard world: Use a very short period of forward thrust steering to starboard to bring the stern to port, return to neutral and steer to port, then engage reverse. You can do that over and over again to get going backward in whatever direction you want, even if the boat "fights" going that way in reverse directly.

 

[Jdizzle11]

2007 AR230 here and mine is opposite...turns really well to port in reverse and damn near straight line when trying to reverse to starboard. I’ve just used the engines independently to over come this behaviour, or try to dock on the port side mostly.

 

[Five Faces]

Lots of comments regarding using independent throttles, again I’m coming from the yacht world and I’m very familiar with how to operate throttles independently, it hasn’t been much (if any) help. Also it’s not about the response time of the reverse to port, it basically reverses straight back.