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.

 

[JayHawkScott]

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.

The LFP battery swap seems like it would help with the lean of boat to the starboard and may look into that option. The other issue that I have is that with the great seating up front everyone wants to sit up there which results in the stern of the boat raising up and the jet wash spraying behind the boat. I was thinking about trying add weight to the back of the boat to help raise the bow. I plan to get trim tabs or zip wake to help level the boat but that won't do anything to help raise the bow.

Maybe I should just get a larger cooler and carry more beer.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

The LFP battery swap seems like it would help with the lean of boat to the starboard and may look into that option. The other issue that I have is that with the great seating up front everyone wants to sit up there which results in the stern of the boat raising up and the jet wash spraying behind the boat. I was thinking about trying add weight to the back of the boat to help raise the bow. I plan to get trim tabs or zip wake to help level the boat but that won't do anything to help raise the bow.

Maybe I should just get a larger cooler and carry more beer.

Unless you really need the storage capacity just stick with the flooded lead acid batteries and keep your starboard aft live well full of water.. unless you want to use that for storage..

My boat does the same thing with people up front but is really not an issue for me as that only happens at idling or trolling speed with the engines on, then if I switch over just the electric trolling motor people will switch to riding on the swim step while at slow trolling speed. It’s just how our boats are, adding weight is a bit of a no go, unless you need more libation on board, when you consider the moment arm from the cg of the boat and where the people sitting up front, and the moment arm to where you could add weight on the stern, you would have to add an exponential amount of weight to the stern to counter act that bow low attitude at idle or floating. If you want to do a simple experiment, take a 150 quart cooler and put it on the lower swim step and fill it with lake water, that should be about 37.5 gallons of water or 311 pounds and see how that affects things..

IMHO, if I were to ever want trim tabs of any kind I’d go with the Sea Keeper Ride system. Trim tabs would be a no go as they affect the turning ability of the boat even when retracted as @MilesPrower found out and reported on this site. The ride system is by all accounts nothing short of amazing. Another member on here with a boat like yours, same year and model, stated just the other day, that he had originally installed Lenco tabs then took them off and put on the Sea Keeper Ride system and said the difference was night and day. One of the big advantages of the Sea Keeper Ride system is that while underway it will keep the boat level side to side.

With all those people up front that is going to have the same affect as trim tabs keeping the bow down.

 

[qwikkotatx]

Adjusting my art. keel turnbuckle helped a little.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

This lack of straight tracking on the newer boats with articulating keels is very common When people add my super steering I give them instructions on how to get rid of the pull and the bow wander as well as the loss of speed in turns and the loss of steering if you rapidly decelerate in a turn, If people follow the instructions they fix the issues. here is a message from on of them who did not follow the instructions and then FINALLY did and he was very impressed,

Actual message
Jeff…..I love it! It’s absolutely PERFECT! It can’t get any better! The measurement from left onto rudder is EXACTLY the same measurement from the right fin to rudder!!! The wheel is dead center! Rudder is dead center! The boat drives AMAZING! Slow or fast! AMAZING!
Thanks so much for all your patience and not giving up on me (you almost did on my fourth try though….hahaha).
Talking to you on the phone helped me tremendously! Thank you very very much!

He installed the super magnum ak-19 deluxe twin system shown here, but he did not do the steering wheel and the nozzle alignment as instructed and each time he contacted me I knew immediately what he skipped so I finally explained to him that he built a house but not a foundation. That was when he decided to go back and do the prep and then he received the correct results.
SO having a pull to one side, loosing control in a turn if you back off the throttle, having bow wander , losing speed in turns as well as poor fuel economy is all part of the reason you need to correct those issues