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2005 ZT230 question on ride

M

MTSICharger

New member
Hello fellow Checkmaters,
I have a new 2005 ZT230 as my first Checkmate. I have a question on how it rides. When running at minimum to mid range plane speed 25-30 MPH and the bow down, the boat lists to either port or starboard. There is no pattern of always going one way. Once listing, steering corrects it but it goes back to listing either way once the boat is on a straight line again. It simply will not run level port to starboard at lower speeds.

Also, with the bow down, there is a unnerving vibration that can be felt in the steering, the control, and even on the hand rails. As soon as I trim up slightly, the vibration stops. I have had it checked over thoroughly and there is nothing wrong with the outdrive, prop, or drive system overall.

Are these phenomena normal and a result of the hull design?

thanks,
Dale
 
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I would like to here comments on this as well. I’m going to be getting one of these…..But it sounds to me like it is just happening when you are trimmed way down and plowing water…that would be normal.

-Craig
 
Yes your boat is going to lean if you do not have the same exact weight on bolth sides. You nead to shuffle your riders around or get a big cooler of beer and put it on the opposite side your boats leaning.

Or you can buy some trim tabs.

The vibration you feel means something is wrong. If you run your boat or previous owner with the outdrive up in trailer position it will due damage to the u joints . Somebody correct me if I am wrong but the only way to check the U joints is pull the drive.This is only 1 thing that can cause a vibration and their is many other things.
 
Charger: Whatever the problem is, it is not a hull design issue. I run an '04 ZT230 and have never experienced those problems. The boat definitely tracks back and forth when moving forward up to about 1000 rpm, as I believe almost all sterndrives will do. It's called drive hunt, or something like that - you can search on OSO - the topic has been covered before. It has continued even after I switched to full hydraulic steering. Once I'm plowing good water and the boat is trying to get on plane, there is no tendnecy to veer whatsoever, and certainly not once on plane. Even the weight balance issue, which makes some sense, seems not to be relevant, since I weigh about 220, the battery is on the driver side of the boat and I still get no veering at all when driving the boat alone. I would think that the only way a boat would veer side to side like that wold be due to steering slop. If it was a true design issue, you'd think it would veer one way only. Did your shop do a water test with you?
 
I'm on board with they're shouldn't be excessive vibration in any position. If the vibration only happens when it's all the way down, that would make me lean towards the U-Joint (as pointed out earlier). The only way that I know of to truly check this is to pull the drive, but I would at a minimum do a visual inspection of the drive bellows (rubber boot over the U-Joint) and make sure it is not cut/cracked. I've had an instance on my Enchanter where this was cracked and allowed water to get on the u-joint which will quickly rust the bearings and could cause vibration. If the boot looks good you could at least rule this out.
 
Thanks all.

This is my 3rd I/O. I had a 1978 20 foot Crestliner and a 1992 21 foot SeaRay bowrider.

The ZT was a demo with only 27 hours on it when I bought last summer. I have only put about 20 more hours on it.

The weight distribution is not the cause. It will list to the lighter side too. I intentionally overloaded one side and while being biased to the heavy side, it will on occasion list to the lighter side.

I have installed trim tabs. There has been no change.

It was not water tested with the marina. They did claim to have removed the outdrive to inspect the u-joints. It was not a Checkmate dealer but a certified MercCruiser repair facility.

I did not see or hear reference to any gimbal ring inspection when I picked the boat up after inspection.

This is my first Bravo outdrive and it seems to have less "bow down" trim range than the Alpha one. In fact there are aluminum spacers to limit the down range. Are the spacers normal for this outdrive?
 
It\s too bad you you spent the cash on the tabs - that boat definitely does not need tabs. I wish I knew what the problem was -somebody will. Try a post in the technical section of OSO if the answer doesn\t come up here.
 
I would try to find somebody in your area with another C-mate close to yours with a level head. And let them ride in it to feel your problem. If not your going to get shanked at a repair shop. And if they did pull the drive to check the u-joints the gimble bearing should have been checked to. Do you get any water in your boat after you use it ?

Where are you located ????
 
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