jigstick

Well the answer is "YES" you can. Worked on the boat a little bit today. Im definitely going to have all the cylinder clearances I need. Most of today was deciding on how to plumb the autopilot pump. Either with T fittings off the back of the helm...or T fittings back by the engine. The autopilot pump will be mounted back by the engine. Im not sure which hose route will perform better???

There’s hydraulic fluid in the power assist cylinder. I believe if I start the engine and manually push and pull on the shuttle valve it should activate the factory cykinder

So I’d like to check for any clearance issues with the cylinder during turning of the boat. However the helm isn’t installed. Does anybody know know if I can manually activate the shuttle valve on the factory power assist? I believe I can just push and pull on it as the steering cable would. And that will get the steering yoke assembly to activate? If so so this will let me ensure that the new cylinder isn’t going to touch the exhaust manifolds when I’m all done

Mark from Seastar originally told me to use the HC5328-3 cylinder. However that cylinder is 17in long, and wouldn't fit in my configuration. That cylinder would hit the inside of my transom. So in order to gain clearances Mark said I could use the HC 5370-3 (outboard) cylinder which is only 13in long. It is still rated up to 300hp, and Mark said it should work fine. I was scared to order it, but it screwed right on. Im hoping everything works properly when I get the helm and autopilot pump installed.

This IS the setup I am going with, witch requires you to keep the factory power assist in place. They work in conjunction with each other. I believe there IS a way to convert totally over, removing the power assist and pump from the motor. But the cylinder you need is more expensive and much more difficult to install. At least this is what Mark from Seastar told me. I took his recommendation and went with the setup he told me to.

The transom looked fairly dry in the thru Hull holes. I cleaned out all the old caulking with a Dremel and sanding bit. Then wiped it all down with acetone. Then I mixed up some Marine Tex and skim coated the exposed wood. I’m just waiting for that to dry. Once I reinstall the 90* thru Hull fittings I’ll coat them good with 3M 4200 and everything should be water tight and protected.

Got the hydraulic cylinder installed today. It’s a tight fit but I think it’s torqued down enough. It was near impossible to get a crescent wrench on it to tighten down. I also pulled the old thru hill fittings and put a 90* one in to check for clearance. I think it’s going to work and allow me to run the scupper hoses up and over the new ram. I have to coat the thru Hull hole with some epoxy to protect the transom from water. Now im off to order the hydraulic helm, hoses, and hydraulic auto pilot pump.

Try dragging some kwikfish along the bottom. Funny...the last few times out for me its been a better spoon bite than cowbells. Who knows

You need the standard hydraulic helm. Not the pro series. And you most likely need the same cylinder I’m using. I’m not sure exactly what the pro helm is used for. Maybe dual motor outboards or something like that.

It would depend on your current steering and motor. I’m not sure what you have. Mine is going on a Merceuiser V6 with Alpha 1 outdrive hydraulic helm is $400 hydraulic cylinder is $370 Raymarine Type 1 AP Pump is $600 and I have maybe $150 in hydraulic hoses and fittings.

The binding is the clutch pads inside the sport pilot heating up over time. Then they get sticky. And don’t release when you flip into manual mode. So when you grab your wheel and start steering you are now fighting all the gears inside the sport pilot. It won’t matter if the sport pilot is installed on a cable steered or hydraulic steered boat. The same scenario will happen as those clutch pads heat up. This is why im installing hydraulic steering. So I can get rid of the sport pilot and instead use a hydraulic autopilot pump. The cable steering on my boat was fine to use as it was smooth with minimal slop. I’m going to hydraulic just for the pump.

This is what I’m finding. So it basically needs inserted from the outside of the boat because of that flange. But if it “won’t make the bend” then I don’t see how I’ll get in in. Unless I can fine one with s flange that threads on. FWIW the thru hull that is there has a Perko scupper cap over it. With a rubber curtain to prevent water from backflowing. This fitting is above the waterline.

Can you please post a picture of the fitting you mentioned? The only 90* fittings I’m seeing have a permanent “flange” on the outside portion, with a threaded body that goes through the transom...and then the lock nut secures from inside the boat.

Disc brakes? Or surge brakes / drums? Where are you located? Im very interested.

Ok. Thanks guys. I worked a little on the boat yesterday. My thru hull fittings are 1.5in I believe. The tubes connecting the scuppers to the current thru hulls are 1.5in internal diameter. So Im guessing I need to order a 1.5in thru hull 90*. Im hoping that I can install it though. Getting that 90* bend through the hole in the transom may be difficult because of the angle of the fitting? If I could find a 90 degree 1.5in thru hull that had a removable nut on both sides it would alleviate the problem.

Do they make thru Hull 90s? I got the platform form made for the autopilot pump. Once the cylinder gets here everything should move pretty quick. My current dash dash only has a 2 1/4in round opening from the old helm. I’m going to have to open that up to 3in for the new one.

I’m running into one issue. The new hydraulic ram is going to encroach in the drain tubes for my deck scuppers. I’m not sure how to go about rerouting the tubes. I’m going to need a really flexible type of tubing in order to route the pipe over or under the new hydraulic ram. Any suggestions? in the middle picture you can see the old steering cable in relation to the white drain tubes

So I got the dasher and old steering all torn apart. Went pretty smoothly. The hardest part was pullling the pin securing the steering cable.

I fish “the humps” out of Barcelona. Loaded with lakers