Tiller haanlde pulls to the port side at full throttle

When going at full throttle on my 20hp 1985 Johnson tiller on a 1440m lowe jon I have to hold the tiller pretty hard to keep it from pulling the boat to the right and is tiresome on the arm.Should I try moving the motor off center to the left alittle?It is mounted dead center on transom.Not sure if the adjusting trim would do anything either.thanks

Can't remember if an '85 model motor has an adjustable trim tab/anode on the cavitation plate. If it does you can sometimes get enough adjustment to offset torque steer. If you are running with the tilt in the higher notches it aggravates the problem just like your car having a bad castor ajustment.

The "steering tab" below the cavitation plate is there to counteract steering torque. Adjusting it will definitely fix the issue, especially at high speed.
Tim

Move the motor.

This start happening to me when I changed prop. With Suzuki prop it didn't pulled, but with Solas it's pulling to the left. Adjusting the tab didn't help. Fortunately I changed it from tiller to remote, so I don't see the problem any more.

I changed props due to original being busted up pretty well on rocks by PO, so I replaced it with same dia. and pitch Evinrude BRP prop.Issue did not change.No anode/ adjustment on it.Will move it and see what happens.

I had a weird twist in a skeg that was very hard to notice. A block of firewood and rubber mallet straightened it right up. Also make sure the motor is down level on the transom. 1/4' raised up on one side will kick the prop over more than an inch. The tab is obvious but I like to leave them close to the factory setting instead of twisting it and causing more drag. In fact I cut 1/2 the length of of all of mine and grind them smooth. Those things just add drag to fix a problem. If all that is correct then it's time to look at the hull. Little dents and twists due to welding and moving are part of life. When we say center the outboard we mean place it on the back so it pushes the boat as straight as possible. Of course you start dead center but I've never had a hull that liked dead center the best. 1/8 to as much as over an inch may be what your boat and arm likes. It's all good to move it. Get it right and mark it as center.

Unless you have something damaged the tab on the underside of your cavitation plate will cure that with adjustment.

there are several ways to deal with your problem .... is your motor centered on the transom? .. adjust the trim pin up or down, find the best spot with he least amount of pull, then use the trim tab on the cav plate to get the rest out .....

Thanks..There is no "trim tab" on the cavitation plate.I will move it on the transom and try tilting after that.Will do one then the other..Thanks again.

newyota said:

Thanks..There is no "trim tab" on the cavitation plate.I will move it on the transom and try tilting after that.Will do one then the other..Thanks again.

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There is supposed to be, it came with one.

Where?

newyota said:

Where?

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Under the cavitation plate at the back above the prop looks like this. If you look close at the design you can easily see what it does.

No.mine did not come with one according to what I knnow?No hole drilled anywhere for one..Mine only has a small anode on the side of the cav. plate..Not one on the parts diagram I saw.

newyota said:

No.mine did not come with one according to what I knnow?No hole drilled anywhere for one..Mine only has a small anode on the side of the cav. plate..Not one on the parts diagram I saw.

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https://www.iboats.com/Evinrude-20-25-30-35-HP-Gearcase-1984-2002-Exploded-View/dm/view_id.272926

Look at # 39 on the parts diagram

I see that is an Evinrude parts diagram.The Johnson diagram I used does not show the part.Just the anode.Not sure why one has it and not the other?

I have owned about 6 20 through 25 Johnson motors from mid eighties through 07 and every one had them. I can't count the ones I have worked on that did. As for the evinrude diagram, they will have the same hard parts essentially.

Would it make difference if it was Canadian Derated?Mine is the j20crcos.I saw some 20's on YouTube without the trim tab.