1991 champion 200hp hard to steer

[H-D Dad]

Torque tab attaches to the skeg I believe.

[PJ-Rohlf]

Torque tab attaches to the skeg I believe.

I'd hope not. They are attached to the plate above the prop.

I know a lot of newer motors got rid of them by putting a little bend or twist into the skeg.

[twitch]

Torque tabs attach to the skeg and a trim tab attaches to the plate above the prop ,some motors have no trim tab and the torque tab added to the skeg helps with torque on the steering it's an add on the trim tab if there is one is adjusted like stated in another post turn it to the right when standing behind it will help with torque . At least that is how they were on my boat and I have had both on different boats and both worked

[fishnfireman]

Hope this helps me understand-- I believe some of the above comments could be misleading. The picture added by pavi69 is hard for me to figure why they labeled it as a "trim tab." A "trim tab" is to help "trim" the boat. A torque tab is supposed to combat engine "torque"--- Totally different !

A true trim tab attaches to the transom. Mostly for offshore boats and these new wake boats.. Gambler/Sterling bass boats have used some.

A torque/trim tab fastens to the underside of cavitation plate just behind the prop. Not on the skeg. Its also a threaded sacrificial anode. Since the torque tab isn't very effective. Most newer model high HP motors replaced it with a flat anode.

A foil- whale tail etc. is used to aid with holeshot and also attaches to the cavitation plate.

[lpugh]

Seems to be a lot of confusion here, i will try to clear this up
Trim tab on the bottom of the cav plate does nothing for boats that the cav plate is out of the water when on plane should be the case with all bassboats. Cut it off flat or replace it with a flat one, no need for it and it is in the the way of many large diameter props.

If the skeg does not have a built in torque tab built such as torqmaster gearcases do, install one, this does require some skills and time to do properly.
Do not use rivets. Drill and tap the skeg and use counter sink Brass machine screws. grind the paint off in that area first, seat the tab on a layer of marine tex and tighten the screws. Cut The screws that are protruding thru the case off and sand the surface flat. Now use marine tex like a body filler to mold in the the tab, after shaping an finishing use a high quality high adhesion primer to repaint. Stays on better than OE paint and easy to touch up. Primer only, nothing else

Keep an eye on the water pressure and adjust engine height for the best top speed, least chine walk and reduced torque steer
excessive hard left steering is usually mostly caused by, Motor to high or trimmed to high for the setup you have. Larger diameter and four blade props will also help reduce torque steer

[CrusinArnd]

I had a similar issue with a dual cable steering and messed with the trim tab on the lower unit and it made little difference. Maybe this is not your issue, but I would highly recommend you check the dual cables. Here's how I found out mine were bad. I just put the boat in and started to plane out but turned real quick to miss a buoy. I felt the steering wheel spin freely and powered down immediately. If it would have snapped at full speed, it could have been really bad. Apparently one of the steering cables snapped or stripped in the past and only one cable was working. Hence, causing the suspect torque issue. I replaced both cables and the torque issue disappeared.

I would recommend removing one of the cables from the steering mechanism one at a time. Then see if both are actually working and the end is not stripped.

[Flip Flop Fisher]

used to have a boat with no power steering and it was hard to steer

[twitch]

https://www.googleadservices.com/pag...gQIEBBG&adurl= https://www.googleadservices.com/pag...ICBDHAQ&adurl= these are the 2 items we are talking about sorry for the way it posted but didn't know how to get pics on here right...lol These sre the 2 items I'm referring too the trim tab is the one that should be turned to the right when standing behind motor and is located on the plate above the prop the other is one the skeg or will be if installed ...