Constantly steering right at cruise speeds

[R29Sunshine]

At cruising speeds, our R29S 2020 pulls left excessively. I have to continually steer right, steer right....steer right...and I’m never able to just let go of the wheel. Autopilot holds heading perfectly but I’m guessing it is working constantly with a right correction too....? Slow trawling speeds are not a problem....but power up and I’m steering right without finding a limit or stop in the steering. Any help finding a solution would be appreciative !! Thanks in advance....

Tim K.
Sunshine

 

[Karll]

My trim tabs don’t react at the speed, have you tried adjusting the one side more than the other?

 

[R29Sunshine]

Yes....I’ll trim it up with the autopilot on....then go to manual steering and off to the left we go....but I trim both tabs very similarly and they feel at about the same positions. I’m able to tweak the nose using either trim tab....so I’m not convinced it’s a trim issue....

 

[Hydraulicjump]

If you search this site there are numerous discussions. Just start with steering issue. Some found it to be a failed Garmin autopilot pump, others found they needed to add hydraulic steering fluid and bleed/flush the system, some found they could cure this problem by better adjusting their trim tabs. And some just noticed a slight pull which is just forward propwalk. Or so I was told. Lots and lots of discussions that are useful.

 

[Toki]

Here's a test; turn the wheel hard over side to side. Does it stop hard at each side, or is it a bit mushy at the ends and with just a little more force you can keep turning the wheel?

If its mushy, next test is to tighten the 3 big brass screws on the end of the block attached to the autopilot pump. Does that firm the stops up at the wheel?

If so, bad autopilot pump. Call Garmin, you can exchange yours for a new one for $400 (as opposed to the $1200 list price for a new pump).

Installation is reasonably simple, toughest part is bleeding the system. Maybe have a mechanic come out with vacuum bleeding equipment for that

 

[Wee Venture]

I would just add to Toki’s good advice... after tightening the three brass screws, take the boat out for a spin. Tightening the screws locked out the pump, so the autopilot won’t work, but how is your manual steering? If you can now steer the boat on a straight course without constantly turning the wheel to the right to keep a straight line you can be quite sure you have a pump problem (an internal leak).

John

 

[bluestreak]

Thanks to Toki's assistance, we determined we also had a bad auto pilot pump on Blue.
Constantly had to keep turning the wheel to starboard to maintain any kind of course.
So lots of manual steering for the balance of our recent San Juan Islands trip.
My wife is brand new to boating so it was good practice station keeping on Toki as we cruised.
Bill

 

[Larry1030]

Lots of postings on Tugnuts about the topic of bad Garmin Autopilot Pumps. Seems to be a constant problem. Our 2019 R27OB is on its third pump. All covered under warranty with excellent service by our dealer in Pensacola, FL. Hope this one will be the charm. Once we are out of warranty I will upgrade to the higher level of Garmin pump. Sure wish Garmin and FM could get this fixed. It’s the only issue we’ve had since our purchase 18 months and 175 hours ago. Great boat otherwise.