Is hydraulic steering REALLY worth it?

[Tennessee Pulsare]

I still have time to delete this nearly $900 option from my Pulsare build sheet. I had a 86 Starliner 21' with a 235 Johnson that was no problem to steer. Im going to have a 225 Opti on this one. Really need the hydraulic? Just wondering>? THanks

 

[Tennessee Pulsare]

I still have time to delete this nearly $900 option from my Pulsare build sheet. I had a 86 Starliner 21' with a 235 Johnson that was no problem to steer. Im going to have a 225 Opti on this one. Really need the hydraulic? Just wondering>? THanks

 

[vinny p.]

I dont have any experience with outboards, but with I/O's it is the only way to go. No doubt about it, it is the best money you can spend.

 

[illMATTic]

i have run both, you want the hydro. its like having cruise control.

 

[montiboats24]

we have hydrolic steering on our 86 enchatnter with a 200 yamaha vmax best steering i have ever delt with! you can be going and just let go and it will keep going strait, unlike the old single cable crap we have in every other boat we have. very easy to turn! I HIGHLY recomend it

 

[JW]

I don't personally think it's worth it. The Teleflex NFB Pro dual cable setup is just as good as the Hydraulic, without the mess of the hydraulic fluid and needing to bleed the lines occasionally. The hydraulic is a little easier to steer, but on my fast boats I've always liked a little resistance to steering inputs at high speeds. With the NFB pro cables, the prop does not turn the motor to the side. You can let go at speed and the boat stays where it's at.
It comes down to a little easier steering for several hundred $ more cost. If you're spending less than 10 grand on a boat it's probably not worth it. But you're probably spending close to $40k, and on an expensive rig it's probably worth it. If you do spend the big bucks on the hydraulic, tell them you want the 'Allison' cylinder.

 

[Mark]

They say the new "Allison" type steering doesn't have the play of the former systems. But I'm wondering if they have got it to the point where the steering wheel centers? $900 for steering that won't come back to center!

 

[jgreen]

I have the dual ride guide on my pulse, and I have driven jkeiper's with hydraulic, I would definitley put the hydraulic on it, it works really nice!!
You are laying out some serious cash for the pulsare, set it up the way you want now, then you wont be wondering later.(Maybe I should have done that)

Its probobly a little cheaper to have it installed now as compared to installing it later.

 

[JW]

jgreen, don't confuse the Dual Ride Guide with the Teleflex NFB Pro dual system. Completely different.

I've driven all styles of steering, and the new Teleflex NFB Pro dual cable is the sytem that put the Mercury Dual Ride Guide out of business...............

 

[jgreen]

My dual ride guide is pretty stiff, is the pro dual that way also ?

What is the difference?

If that is the ticket for non hydraulic, where would I find one ?

 

[JW]

The advantage of the Teleflex NFB Pro is that the cables don't stiffen up as you tighten the motor side. Here's where I got mine:

http://www.boatpartstore.com/accesssearch.asp?cat=items&cval=1&hval=64&val=103

 

[jkeiper]

Get the hydraulic! You won't be sorry. If it were a used boat or one you were going to get rid of or on a really tight budget the next best thing is the NFB Pro. If I were looking to cut back the price I wouldn't cut out the hydraulic steering on that boat. As stated above: get the "High Performance" cylinder.

Jim

 

[Craig]

All and all, I liked the Sea Star Pro Hydraulic I had when I had my Pulsare. Here are the pros and cons I saw with it:

Pros:
Easy to steer . Very responsive. Kevlar hoses that are very tough. You could let go of the wheel and the motor would stay put...so no prop torque - nice for high propshaft heights.

Cons:
They have a small amount of "sponge" or "play" in the system due to compression of the oil. I never had a problem with it, but some say it increases chine walk. ( just always kept the boat guessing and counter steered.) You have to mess around with oil all the time. The fittings can go loose and leak slightly. The tiller arm connection on mine was a bad design. With 300hp and running 85+ mph speed runs it wore easy, I replaced that assembly twice. Gotta watch that or you could end up dead. And the big disadvantage the wheel never comes back to center, right away that is and you turn the wheel more times than a cable system to make a turn. So you can't do a helm mounted trim control or the cord will wrap up and the controls will end up at different spots all the time. I just bought a floor mounted control, instead. I really liked that. The next outboard I own will have a floor trim switch - very nice.

-Craig

 

[boatman4021]

I've driven pulsare's with and without hydraulic steering and there is night and day between the two. Hydraulic feels like power steering at cruising speeds. I did have a bit of a torque proble above 70 mph, but a torque tab from Bob's machine shop cured that.Also, after installing the tab, chine walk was far easier to overcome. Go with the hydraulic! After all, you wouldn't buy a rolls royce without power steering. Right? boatman

 

[MERC-MATE]

My Pulsare had hydraulic and it never chined walked even at mid to upper 70's. I've had 3 other hot outboards and wished they had it. My ZT 280 has full hydraulic and love it. Besides, Checkmate recomends hydraulic for its boats that run over 70 mph.

 

[Tennessee Pulsare]

Ok guys...youve convinced me. Im going to go with the hydraulic, Allison type if available and if the Allison doesnt cost much more. Thanks for the input. Coop