ratherbefishing
Well-Known Member
Any recommendations as to who might have the best prices on a hydraulic steering kit on the Island/Lower Mainland? Getting awful tired of the cable steering when the kicker is hooked up...
hydraulic steering
- Thread starter ratherbefishing
- Start date
If you are over 150HP, a Sea Star kit shouldn't cost more then $1200. Under that power, you can get away with a Baystar kit for around $600. There are some great deals to be had below the line however, google up Sea Star kit.
If you are over 150HP, a Sea Star kit shouldn't cost more then $1200. Under that power, you can get away with a Baystar kit for around $600. There are some great deals to be had below the line however, google up Sea Star kit.
Island Fish Lifter
Well-Known Member
??? Im pretty sure theres more to it than that...
\
This steers your boat, and makes you get home!! There is a HELL of a lot more to it then a simple hydraulic ram. Any iron ram will turn into a steaming pile of sh*T in a matter of time. If you look at the base of a Sea Star helm, you'll see that the in/out ports are TINY, about the size of a pencil lead. I can't see ANY industrial ram being of the size that will work off that small amount of flow, and be "weak" enough to not bust the steering tab off the motor.
Ooops, sorry to fly off the handle, guess I've had a few wobblys, but steering shouldn't be taken lightly in my books.
S
SIR
Guest
With the Seastar/Baystar kits matched to your motor type you don't have to worry about the ram having the right throw length to match the turning radius of the outboard, you also don't have to worry about the helm fluid capacity and how many turns of the wheel it is going to take you to go from hard port to hard starboard so I'm thinking for the cost of the kit... buy the kit.
The sea star kit is working fine on our boat but I would have to say that I may not bother spending the money on the new boat to convert. On smaller boats even though the motor is not turning once you install hydrualics when you stand to one side to work a downrigger, if you have a deeper V hull you cant the boat to one side and the keel acts like a rudder and turns the boat (like how you turn a kayak by leaning the keel over) So bottom line you don't end up getting as straight of a line as I had hoped for in anything under 22' with a V hull...
Make absoluely sure not to use plumbers tape when you install the hyraulic lines to the helm and ram, use liquid pipe dope. The dealer who installed mine used tape and I was forever having to flush the helm and filter my h-fluid after the tape broke down into peices in the system and started clogging the valves :-( Same old story if you want anything done right, do it yourself!!!
The sea star kit is working fine on our boat but I would have to say that I may not bother spending the money on the new boat to convert. On smaller boats even though the motor is not turning once you install hydrualics when you stand to one side to work a downrigger, if you have a deeper V hull you cant the boat to one side and the keel acts like a rudder and turns the boat (like how you turn a kayak by leaning the keel over) So bottom line you don't end up getting as straight of a line as I had hoped for in anything under 22' with a V hull...
Make absoluely sure not to use plumbers tape when you install the hyraulic lines to the helm and ram, use liquid pipe dope. The dealer who installed mine used tape and I was forever having to flush the helm and filter my h-fluid after the tape broke down into peices in the system and started clogging the valves :-( Same old story if you want anything done right, do it yourself!!!
Similar threads
