Does the steering angle change as you adjust your jetovator?

[JayBee]

I was just looking at some pics of the Berkeley jetovator, and it looks like the steering angle would change drastically if you move the trim up and down. I am asking because I have just installed a jetovator on my boat and am making the control arms myself. It seems like it will be difficult to make the steering stay constant with trim changes since the steering linkage is so far above the center of the jetovator pivots.
So, those with Berk jetovators - is this a problem?
Jason
BTW - I don't have the hydraulics installed yet, but I did take it to the lake with a turnbuckle that allowed me to stop and adjust the the jetovator nozzle to different angles. It's the first time I've seen a roost in person!! Way cool!!

[JayBee]

After studying some pics I've found of various boats on here I just thought of something. Does the steering cable mount move with the jetovator control line on the Berk factory jetovator? That is the only way I could see the system working... The exploded parts diagrams for the jetovator that I've found online aren't high enough resolution to tell...
Jason

[Snorider]

http://www.1stklas.com/boats/jet/P1000846.jpg
http://www.1stklas.com/boats/jet/P1000845.jpg
Took that pic from my boat, it HAD a hyd. jetovator. As you can see from the pic, the nozzle was all the way up, and the steering arm tilts up to match it.
Hope this helps
**the pics may take some time to show up, especially on dialup but i wanted to keep the detail so you could see what is going on.
[ June 29, 2003, 04:28 PM: Message edited by: Snorider ]

[JayBee]

Sno - those are the exact 2 pictures that I had found and was studying! You had posted them with 2 more of the actual boat somewhere else, and they were the best detailed pics I could find of the jetovator linkage. I wish you had one of the parts on the inside! But thanks for posting those!
Here is what I am playing with. I am a hobbyinst machinist, welder, and fabricator so I enjoy making stuff on my own. I'm an engineer for a company that builds sportscars and we use the hydraulics out of a late model Ford Mustang to power or convertible tops. The pump is positive displacement and bi-directional with a self contained reservoir - hummmmmm. The cylinders were way too long, so I cut one down to just over 3" travel and made a new billet aluminum endcap for it. I cut the shaft down, too.
Well, besides the goofy steering angle problem it works pretty well! I guess I am going to build a sliding seal tube to go through the transom adapter and add an arm from the jetovator so that the steering tube slides in and out with it. Right now if you were to turn the wheel all the way to the left then run the jetovator from all the way down to all the way up the geometry makes the nozzle turn full right!
Here are some pics:
http://webpages.charter.net/jlbarnes/boat/berkeley640.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jlbarnes/boat/jetocylinder640.jpg
http://webpages.charter.net/jlbarnes/boat/toppump640.jpg

[Wet Dream]

I cut down all of the stops on my Jetovator, so it goes higher than any stock setup. When you are trimmed all the way up, most of the thrust is forced out of the water and into the air. At this angle, no amount of steering angle difference is going to matter. You can still make a great turn, but not as crisp as you could compared to when you are trimmed at at good running angle. Is it a problem? Not that I've noticed.

[Snorider]

Ok, i will try to snap a picture of the inside of my boat later today. Got the pump out of it right now, but the jetovator cable is still installed in the transom, those pics will help you out immensly.
From your picture, you are mising some springs and spacers on the steering cable. Mine looks 'special'.
Here are the pictures: (I made links because they are very detailed and big)
Linkage (http://www.1stklas.com/boats/jet/DCP_0917.jpg)
Inside of housing (http://www.1stklas.com/boats/jet/DCP_0918.jpg)
On the second picture, the small black cable below the steering cable runs the jetovator from the hydraulic pump.
Hope that helps
[ June 30, 2003, 09:10 AM: Message edited by: Snorider ]

[JayBee]

Thanks for the pictures - those do help!
Jason

[travis hathaway]

Your steering arm has to have an up and down pivot outside the transom to compensate for the (arc) movement of the nozzle. The spring inside the transom housing assists the upward movement of the standard jet ovater, also holds the bushing in place that the steering tube moves thru. Although I seem to recollect that one model of the jetovator uses a pivoting tube attached to the transom. There is a photo of one somewhere in the archives of this site. I think the thread is titled, "A Picture of Your Pump" or something like that.

[MANIC MECHANIC]

It seems to me that the only way to limit the amount of directional change on the nozzle while altering trim angle would be to alter the steering arm(make a dropped arm) that would put the steering rod connection point at the same level as the trim(jetovator/place diverter)pivot point. the steering angle would still change, but not as much. then you would probably have to relocate the steering cable that much lower .... How much do you change diverter position while underway????

[MANIC MECHANIC]

[ July 06, 2003, 04:22 PM: Message edited by: MANIC MECHANIC ]

[JayBee]

MM - I looked at changing the steering arm to get better geometry, but since there is a 3-4" distance between the pivot points of the steering and the jetovator it is pretty much impossible to eliminate the problem. I ran it this way for the weekend, and it makes using the jetovator rather dicey. If you move the jetovator while running the boat steers itself pretty drastically. most of the time that you are going to play with the jetovator is while you are under motion, so I definitely want to get it working properly.
The real fix is to set up the steering mount like Berkeley did - use a sliding steering tube that connects to the jetovator nozzle so that the steering cable anchor point changes the same amount relative to the steering nozzle when the jetovator is moved. I will be working on this change soon...
Here is a pic of somebody else's jetovator that shows what I am talking about. It's an odd looking jetovator, but shows what I am talking about. The control line that is in the front of the picture is what moves the nozzle up and down. The one on the back is the steering control - and it is anchored to the arm on the nozzle so that steering moves with the jetovator.
http://webpages.charter.net/jlbarnes/boat/jetovatorold.jpg
Here is a photo taken on the 4th of my boat with boost!:
http://webpages.charter.net/jlbarnes/boat/roostright.jpg
Jason
[ July 06, 2003, 05:16 PM: Message edited by: JayBee ]