anode fin vs no fin?

racingricka87

i notice boats with the same notor and outdrive as mine (4.3lx with alpha 1 gen 2) that dont have a fin on the anode above prop. Questions why, whats the purpose of the fin not the anode but the fin and my anode fin is slightly angled purpose or incorect?

jhofmann

I know that on the older alpha drives the fin could be adjusted to help the boat track straighter. If your boat pulled or wandered to one side, the fin could be angled to compensate. This was helpful on a 1983 Searay cuddy with no power steering. The boat would turn to the left by it self, but you had to fight to turn right. By angling the fin to help the drive push to the right, it made it easier.

nhsd

As jhofmann said, it is for non-power steering boats. My previous boat did not have power steering and without the fin (properly set) it would not track straight and I was always pulling the steering wheel when on plane (kind of like a car that needs an alignment badly). Unfortunately, when set to track well at plane, it would pull left at slower speeds. When I got my current boat with power steering, it did not have the fin and did not need it. The power steering held the lower unit in a straight line. If you need the fin, you should note that they sell different size ones depending on the size of your prop. The first time I changed anodes on my old boat I got the wrong size fin and couldn't understand why it was hitting the prop!

racingricka87

i have a power steering boat and a fin....I am wondering if getting a non fin anode would have any sort of performance advantage