17.2 DE: replace the mech steering or go Hydraulic?

[seabeyond]

The cable steering on my double eagle is real stiff. It's a 2 handed ordeal to steer the boat and is down right obnoxious while docking. Cable looks new when they hung the 115 yam (2019). Helm I'm guessing is older although I didn't find a year on there. Says Teleflex safe-t on the helm.



I've pulled it off the yam and checked the tube, greased the nipples etc. Those all seem fine. Cable end that extends didn't have any noticeable corrosion either. Moving the cable at the helm while it's detached from the motor is still met with significant resistance.

I haven't had cable steering in 15 years so I'll ask: Should I replace the whole thing with hydro or just replace the steering with a new mechanical? Believe lots of boats in the 17 range and cable so it should be sufficient. Thoughts?

$400 for the seatar xtreme nfb mechanical kit

$1200 for the baystar hydo kit

Plus instal but that looks simple enough to do in the driveway

One is 3x the other. Is it worthwhile?

 

[Brenn61]

The cable steering on my double eagle is real stiff. It's a 2 handed ordeal to steer the boat and is down right obnoxious while docking. Cable looks new when they hung the 115 yam (2019). Helm I'm guessing is older although I didn't find a year on there. Says Teleflex safe-t on the helm.



I've pulled it off the yam and checked the tube, greased the nipples etc. Those all seem fine. Cable end that extends didn't have any noticeable corrosion either. Moving the cable at the helm while it's detached from the motor is still met with significant resistance.

I haven't had cable steering in 15 years so I'll ask: Should I replace the whole thing with hydro or just replace the steering with a new mechanical? Believe lots of boats in the 17 range and cable so it should be sufficient. Thoughts?

$400 for the seatar xtreme nfb mechanical kit

$1200 for the baystar hydo kit

Plus instal but that looks simple enough to do in the driveway

One is 3x the other. Is it worthwhile?

I have a new never opened Baystar from a project now gone. Bought a new boat. If you want more info let me know, located in Port Angeles. I can send pic of box showing model number. I don't think installing is very difficult.

 

[DE 185]

The cable steering on my double eagle is real stiff. It's a 2 handed ordeal to steer the boat and is down right obnoxious while docking. Cable looks new when they hung the 115 yam (2019). Helm I'm guessing is older although I didn't find a year on there. Says Teleflex safe-t on the helm.



I've pulled it off the yam and checked the tube, greased the nipples etc. Those all seem fine. Cable end that extends didn't have any noticeable corrosion either. Moving the cable at the helm while it's detached from the motor is still met with significant resistance.

I haven't had cable steering in 15 years so I'll ask: Should I replace the whole thing with hydro or just replace the steering with a new mechanical? Believe lots of boats in the 17 range and cable so it should be sufficient. Thoughts?

$400 for the seatar xtreme nfb mechanical kit

$1200 for the baystar hydo kit

Plus instal but that looks simple enough to do in the driveway

One is 3x the other. Is it worthwhile?

Where are you located Seabeyond?

 

[seabeyond]

Where are you located Seabeyond?

Hey DE, I'm Comox/ Ukee. Boats on the east side

 

[InterMechanico]

The cable steering on my double eagle is real stiff. It's a 2 handed ordeal to steer the boat and is down right obnoxious while docking. Cable looks new when they hung the 115 yam (2019). Helm I'm guessing is older although I didn't find a year on there. Says Teleflex safe-t on the helm.



I've pulled it off the yam and checked the tube, greased the nipples etc. Those all seem fine. Cable end that extends didn't have any noticeable corrosion either. Moving the cable at the helm while it's detached from the motor is still met with significant resistance.

I haven't had cable steering in 15 years so I'll ask: Should I replace the whole thing with hydro or just replace the steering with a new mechanical? Believe lots of boats in the 17 range and cable so it should be sufficient. Thoughts?

$400 for the seatar xtreme nfb mechanical kit

$1200 for the baystar hydo kit

Plus instal but that looks simple enough to do in the driveway

One is 3x the other. Is it worthwhile?

I have hydraulic now on a 3 year old 18.5 SS w/150hp Merc. It works well, but I've already had to replace the helm due to leaks at a cost of $900 or so.
I also have an 18.2 hourston with mechanical steering (Volvo AQ211a I/O) that got very stiff over time. I replaced the cable and like magic it was steering easy as pie, like one finger at the dock. The thing with mechanical steering is when it starts to get stiff it usually takes a few years to get to the point of replacement, so it can be hard to remember how nice it works when it's in good order.

 

[seabeyond]

I have hydraulic now on a 3 year old 18.5 SS w/150hp Merc. It works well, but I've already had to replace the helm due to leaks at a cost of $900 or so.































































I also have an 18.2 hourston with mechanical steering (Volvo AQ211a I/O) that got very stiff over time. I replaced the cable and like magic it was steering easy as pie, like one finger at the dock. The thing with mechanical steering is when it starts to get stiff it usually takes a few years to get to the point of replacement, so it can be hard to remember how nice it wrks when it's in good

Good point. The mech steering doesn't have any expensive part to replace. Can replace the whole system 2x for the price of your helm.

 

[N2013]

Hydraulic 100p

 

[Fishin]

Owned a few different boats mostly hourstons and double eagles all had mechanical cable style steering, I’ve since switched to hydraulic steering when I re powered my hourston in my opinion I’ll never go back, easy to install on your own well worth the money just go with a quality kit and your set, I haven’t had to do a thing to it. . My boats a 17’ hourston with a 2022 115 mercury I found with cable steering on a smaller boat that if I had 2 people on one side netting a fish the motor would tend to turn left or right depending which side the weight was on, now just point where you wanna go and the motor only turns when you want it to.

 

[Corey_lax]

I have this one on my boat and no issues with it. Huge improvement from the cable steering. Everyone in North America leans to bay star or sea star and no other options, but after researching this model, it seems very popular around the world. And half price of seastar

Hydraulic Steering System for boat till 120 HP - Hydrodrive MF115MRA https://a.co/d/9CcvgP9

 

[Rockfish]

I have hydraulic now on a 3 year old 18.5 SS w/150hp Merc. It works well, but I've already had to replace the helm due to leaks at a cost of $900 or so.

I have a duel helm Seastar system on my boat. You can buy a rebuild/repair kit at reasonable cost if they start to leak/sweat and we have repaired one of the helms twice now. It is not difficult to do. The hardest part was getting the Al. wheel off the helm shaft the first time. You do not want to pry on the wheel as it can damage the helm. We used a 3 arm gear puller and a bar to keep the wheel from turning to remove the wheel without damaging the helm. The first time it sounded like a gun shot when the wheel broke free off the shaft. We silicon greased the hell out of it so that it was easy to pull the second time we rebuilt the helm. We got the Seastar helm rebuild/seal kits from Trotac in Victoria.

 

[ship happens]

I have hydraulic now on a 3 year old 18.5 SS w/150hp Merc. It works well, but I've already had to replace the helm due to leaks at a cost of $900 or so.
I also have an 18.2 hourston with mechanical steering (Volvo AQ211a I/O) that got very stiff over time. I replaced the cable and like magic it was steering easy as pie, like one finger at the dock. The thing with mechanical steering is when it starts to get stiff it usually takes a few years to get to the point of replacement, so it can be hard to remember how nice it works when it's in good order.

I don't know what seastar helm would cost 900 dollars to fix a seal. Maybe to replace but these things last forever. I've seen very few leak, and the seal kit costs 50 bucks lol.

Hydraulic is so much nicer then mechanical steering it's not even close to the same realm.


There is probly nothing wrong with the Chinese hydraulic steering stuff, however there is are reasons why boat builders don't use them. One is parts. Second is steering systems in boats are such a huge liability so in order to pass transport canada regulations and get past the liability portion, we generally don't waste time trying to save a few hundred bucks and just stick to the tried and true.

 

[InterMechanico]

I don't know what seastar helm would cost 900 dollars to fix a seal. Maybe to replace but these things last forever. I've seen very few leak, and the seal kit costs 50 bucks lol.

Hydraulic is so much nicer then mechanical steering it's not even close to the same realm.


There is probly nothing wrong with the Chinese hydraulic steering stuff, however there is are reasons why boat builders don't use them. One is parts. Second is steering systems in boats are such a huge liability so in order to pass transport canada regulations and get past the liability portion, we generally don't waste time trying to save a few hundred bucks and just stick to the tried and true.

And yet, here we are lol.
Shop damaged shaft removing wheel, replaced whole unit at a cost of 900. I actually think it was more, but I'm not counting.
Is hydraulic steering a good option? Sure, it's fantastic.
Does a guy who needs a $200 cable to restore his existing steering system to good working order need to spend far more time and money upgrading to a system that like it or not, is more complex and will certainly cost more per hour to maintain? Probably not.
I get the desire to upgrade to the latest and greatest, really I do. I get a kick out of the pod trend where people are encouraged to invest $30-120k in a pod conversion to save themselves the the hassle of replacing a 8k small block Chevy long block. The performance gains, all of it.
Let me tell you this though, all of it true:

I have a 2019 SS Gambier Cabin with hydraulic steering, 150hp Merc on a pod, and a 2019 9.9 CT for a kicker.

I also have a 1987 Hourston 18.2 H/T with a bulkhead. It has an AQ211a (210hp 305cu.in small block) and mechanical steering.

They both top out at 44 mph, and use 130L of fuel to go from Reed Point to Thormanby and back. Literally the same boat 30 years apart.

The steering cable for the hourston was $120 two years ago, and as stated above the helm for the SS was $900 in October of this year.

In my humble opinion, latest is not always greatest. Your mileage may vary, etc etc....

 

[SpringVelocity]

I went with Uflex on my hydraulic steering/helm based on recommendations from others. I used to run cable. It is like night and day difference. I would do it is well worth it.

 

[ship happens]

And yet, here we are lol.
Shop damaged shaft removing wheel, replaced whole unit at a cost of 900. I actually think it was more, but I'm not counting.
Is hydraulic steering a good option? Sure, it's fantastic.
Does a guy who needs a $200 cable to restore his existing steering system to good working order need to spend far more time and money upgrading to a system that like it or not, is more complex and will certainly cost more per hour to maintain? Probably not.
I get the desire to upgrade to the latest and greatest, really I do. I get a kick out of the pod trend where people are encouraged to invest $30-120k in a pod conversion to save themselves the the hassle of replacing a 8k small block Chevy long block. The performance gains, all of it.
Let me tell you this though, all of it true:

I have a 2019 SS Gambier Cabin with hydraulic steering, 150hp Merc on a pod, and a 2019 9.9 CT for a kicker.

I also have a 1987 Hourston 18.2 H/T with a bulkhead. It has an AQ211a (210hp 305cu.in small block) and mechanical steering.

They both top out at 44 mph, and use 130L of fuel to go from Reed Point to Thormanby and back. Literally the same boat 30 years apart.

The steering cable for the hourston was $120 two years ago, and as stated above the helm for the SS was $900 in October of this year.

In my humble opinion, latest is not always greatest. Your mileage may vary, etc etc....

The volvo might me a mechanical cable but it's power assisted.

Some of the new non feedback mechanical kits are actually not that bad. Little stiffer than hydraulic but at least it's non feedback. Guess end of the day it's matter of spending 500 bucks or 1200 bucks.

Hydraulic is not the latest and greatest. It's just the greatest. It's been around forever

 

[InterMechanico]

The volvo might me a mechanical cable but it's power assisted.

Some of the new non feedback mechanical kits are actually not that bad. Little stiffer than hydraulic but at least it's non feedback. Guess end of the day it's matter of spending 500 bucks or 1200 bucks.

Hydraulic is not the latest and greatest. It's just the greatest. It's been around forever

Look it's all good. The (my) volvo is not hydraulically assisted, it's a teleflex gear reduction helm with a cable. It doesn't require constant correction and is (for me) more responsive than the hydraulic system on the SS.

Hydraulic steering has been around for ages. I troubleshoot and repair at least four different types of hydraulic steering on a regular basis. I just think that on smaller boats it's a bit of a novelty. Simplicity on the water has a quality all it's own, right?

 

[ship happens]

Look it's all good. The (my) volvo is not hydraulically assisted, it's a teleflex gear reduction helm with a cable. It doesn't require constant correction and is (for me) more responsive than the hydraulic system on the SS.

Hydraulic steering has been around for ages. I troubleshoot and repair at least four different types of hydraulic steering on a regular basis. I just think that on smaller boats it's a bit of a novelty. Simplicity on the water has a quality all it's own, right?

Your Volvo doesn't have an actuator at the gimbal housing?

100 percent it's a novelty. Guess it just comes down to how much money you want to throw at it and how you want the steering to feel. Both are simple imo. But yeah I agree simple is best all the way.

 

[InterMechanico]

Your Volvo doesn't have an actuator at the gimbal housing?

100 percent it's a novelty. Guess it just comes down to how much money you want to throw at it and how you want the steering to feel. Both are simple imo. But yeah I agree simple is best all the way.

Mine does not, but it could definitely be an exception!
Full disclosure, I meant to reseal the helm on my own but it got replaced despite my request to leave it be. It didn't seem to be worth pushing the issue with the shop; I think they were trying to be helpful.

 

[Corey_lax]

I don't know what seastar helm would cost 900 dollars to fix a seal. Maybe to replace but these things last forever. I've seen very few leak, and the seal kit costs 50 bucks lol.

Hydraulic is so much nicer then mechanical steering it's not even close to the same realm.


There is probly nothing wrong with the Chinese hydraulic steering stuff, however there is are reasons why boat builders don't use them. One is parts. Second is steering systems in boats are such a huge liability so in order to pass transport canada regulations and get past the liability portion, we generally don't waste time trying to save a few hundred bucks and just stick to the tried and true.

I’ll assume that you are saying the link that I posted is the Chinese product. It’s European. Pretty sure most of the instructions were in Italian. And looking into it, it seems to be a favourite over there. Seastar is great but I dunno if it should be the only option in North America. Hydraulic steering isn’t super complex lol.

 

[ship happens]

I’ll assume that you are saying the link that I posted is the Chinese product. It’s European. Pretty sure most of the instructions were in Italian. And looking into it, it seems to be a favourite over there. Seastar is great but I dunno if it should be the only option in North America. Hydraulic steering isn’t super complex lol.

I didn't click on the link, I just assumed it was a knock off like the ones online. Not sure about US patents but I'm pretty sure seastar has their share of patents. Your 100 percent right that is not complex. Even though it was a Canadian company, it's now under the Dometic umbrella. They started in Sweden I believe making marine toilets, but they pretty much bought up all the big names. Who knows. Good ol corporate America

I guess in the end it's all about quality of material really. Cheap hydraulic rams usually dont hold up well in ocean environments. As long as the aluminum castings are good and the stainless material is good with proper seals, I'm sure it's the same thing in the end.

I did a test run with the knock off side mount control boxes a few years back. I had to buy a half a dozen at the time because it was before they went mainstream for purchasing. Not the same stuff. Really cheap castings, wiring was garbage, inside mechanical parts were junk. Every single one had a bad keyswitch. They all blew the ignition fuses intermittently. Turns out the pins inside the switches were shorting out with the key on. It's best to stick to what you know works sometimes because tiny little problems can soak up alot of time. Turns into a huge pain in the butt.

 

[Adrenafin]

77 DE 17.5 We replaced with the anti feedback seastar and no problems so far in 3 seasons use. Noticeably better than the regular cable without AFB. That said there is nothing better than hydraulic but $$$