That is exactly what I did. Except I found a used ram here on OSO. I bought the helm from Northerntool.com, the seering column to. I made my own bezel out fo 4.5" aluminum tubeing.
Jon, you can buy a trs wingplate or, I made my own by welding 2- 3/8'x1"x6" straps to the rear cap of the drive. It's the same thing that, I think it's IMCO does for the mounting point. I had the transome mount made out of 3/8" SS plate. I got those dimensions from another steering kit company. I think it was WPM. The tru-transome fittings were 6" ss pipe 3/8". I cut the treads a little longer than normal and tightened a nut down on each side of the transome. With some epoxy on the wood after I drilled the hole and silicon to seal it all up. It worked great!

Too Old
I found a used WPM cylinder. The ones from most hydrualic supply places are painted. They are made by the same companies, but only for the guys like WPM, Laytham, ect.

now you guy's are catching on !

Dammit Shane,
That was my secret. External power hydraulic steering for under $500. I've done the same thing on a couple boats. I used the heavy 3/4" hynautic rams or Merc rams though.
Audio,
Read the Email I sent you more carefully about this subject, I think you sent a response to me that was intended for someone else.
Gary

Too Old,
I sent an Email to Audio about it. I've deleted it, but if he wants to post it, that's fine with me.
Gary

I have done the same thing. It very easy to do. You can buy the same helm unit that IMCO and the rest sell from the Char-Lynn dealer for about half price.

mike

I'd be interested to see what it takes too. Some part numbers and sizes etc.

Thanks,

Too Old,
Forget the rams from the implement dealer. They're not made for a marine environment. The best one's I've found were the hynautic 3/4" They're used on OB, IO, and IB applications, are easy to find used, easy to rebuild, and VERY strong. They don't look as good as Latham, etc but work great.
The ones I'm referring to are a cylinder with 2 square block endcaps. 4 very long screws hold the encaps to each end of the cylinder. There are 2 styles. One has a 3/4" ram that comes out one end, another has the ram going through both ends. These are used on IB and some OB applications, dont get these. I recently saw a used pair of the correct ones for under $150.
Anyway, the biggest single expense when I put mine together was the 3/4" S/S heim joints that connect the rams to the drives.
Gary

Too Old,

Your ram length will depend on the wing plates, mounting brackets, etc. You will want to take the time to make sure the steering geometery is correct or you will have bnding problems and bent or broken parts.

I would find a boat with set up similar to what you want and look at it and take some measurements. Just because you buy a ram with the stroke and overall length as something you see in a catalog does not mean it will work with your set up. The parts must all work together. Bracket size and mounting will affect the geometery, the wing plate style will also need to be taken into consideration.

Take your time and think it through or you could end up with something you will have a lot of trouble with.

mike

Good Luck, should be a fun project.