NF Hydraulic Steering

[mike rousseau]

A bit of a side note

 

If any TILLER guys are reading this and are considering hydraulic steering for a big tiller it makes a HUGE difference.

 

I run a 50hp without

I often drive my cousins 90hp with

And I also use my brothers 115hp without

 

I can honestly say my old 9.9 and 25hp motors were harder to use then the 90hp with hydraulics...

[grimsbylander]

Better late than never...here's the update to my steering swap. I bought the hydraulic HK7400 steering kit and spent a good part of a day installing it. The toughest part was opening the hole in the console to accept the 3" helm pump. But all in all, pretty easy install. The bleeding of the lines was straightforward as well.

As mentioned, I also installed a jackplate so I'd have easier access to motor height adjustments. This made a huge difference to how the boat handles and has made pad to prop tuning dead easy.

 

I love the feeling of the steering...especially when small quick adjustments are necessary, like driving onto the trailer. Surprisingly, even at WOT the steering is extremely stable. Yesterday I was testing some adjustments I'd made and the boat tracked perfectly straight and I could let go a the wheel at 64 mph on the GPS. This was impressive, I expected it to be "loose".

 

I would hesitate to switch to hydraulic.

[Old Ironmaker]

The boys picked up a big boat last week that I want to go in on, 27 footer, 10 foot beam twin screws at 160HP each. At a price you can't refuse. The discussion is to go hydraulic steering so a Auto Pilot system can be installed. I'm voting hydraulic and Auto Pilot myself. No more being blown off the water often.

 

Thanks for the info guys, it will help greatly when we go hydraulics.

 

edit: I had the opportunity to run a 115HP tiller a few weeks back. I couldn't believe how effortless it was to turn that 300lbs or so of steel.

Edited June 5, 2016 by Old Ironmaker