353 hyd steering
 

Just bought a 2006 353. Does not have external hyd steering. What brand does everyone use? And what will it cost? I want it to go all the way to the helm. Tks

Latham or Mercury Racing ITS. There have been some ITS packages for sale in the classifieds lately.

Mine's got Latham, but certainly can't go wrong with Merc racing either.

I did the Hardin/Mayfair on my 292. During the install I had to make a plate to cover my exiting helm hole---From my research at that point I discovered the IMCO helm covers the existing cable steering helm hole without having to do any glass work or plates. They also have a more neat transom plate for where the hoses exit. I like the kit other than what I listed. I installed my self and total cost was around 5500.00 that included a hydro shop doing the hoses for me/new baby and ran out of time.

LC

Latham sells the same teleflex tilt column you have now but with the back side modified to except the hydraulic helm. Bolts right in with no modifications to your dash. Use Imco for everything else. You may pay a few more dollars but their stuff always bolts on with no problems and looks the best. Jeff Wurl

Latham steering factory installed on my 292. It added about $6500 to the bill. Worth every penny.

Can you post some transom pics? I did not know 353s were manufactured without external steering. What power is in there, was the boat re-powered and drives replaced at some point? Anything is possible, just trying to stay up on what was offered with these boats.

YUP,,,, I have one in the shop right now with 496s and no hyd steering,,,,,,, its downright scary to drive

What did they call them "Sport" or something quite a few of them out there...

It has 496/x-drives all stock, no modifications. It is not a "sport" model either

Stepped hulled formula's are all down right scary to drive when the cable wears out. Formula should have known better. They wont put jack in for power because it would be too fast but they will make several that dart all over with standard steering. Makes no sense to me.

I put IMCO on my 311 and was very happy with the results ......by far the best upgrade ....m

If your 353 doesn't have hydraulic steering, it's a sport model, otherwise it has been standard equipment on a 353 since 1998. They were scary to drive with 0 hours brand new!!!

The "Sport" was released in 2006, same hull and deck, but stripped down from a regular 353. Everything was optional, largest power was 496HOs with X drives. No refrigerator, shore power, power floors, Latham steering, cockpit carpet, mechanical indicators, Kplanes, XRs not even available.

The boat has a fridge, power footrest, chrome throttles, gauges, and dash switches. Vacuflush head, and doesn't mention the word "sport" anywhere on the build sheet, title, or any other paperwork. I'm i missing something here? I bought it from unlimited marine at Cumberland and I believe the add is still up. Not disagreeing with anyone here, I would just like to know how to tell if it's actually a sport. Also has carpet, Bimini, and shore power

Quick call to Formula will tell. I have called them in the past and they are very helpful on the phone. The Sport vs regular 353 info from GL@PBC makes sense on the steering but the OPs boat has a lot of options. Possibly you could load up (options) a sport but not with the XR drives or Merc Race engines.

Correct VDR, no XRs or blue power avail on a sport. SC, it sounds like someone ordered a sport with nice options, but if it didn't come from Decatur with hydraulic steering, it is a sport. There are no "sport" badges or markings to identify anywhere on the boat. Fastech sales were low on 35s, so Formula introduced the "price leader" 353 to sell more units.

correct
correct
correct

some things you could NOT get in a Sport build- blue power and Platinum paint are examples
you could one off order 90% of other options in a Sport

the dash trim the OP speaks of was standard on all

I'm betting the OP's Sport has Silver level paint

Looks like imco is who I will use. Called and got quotes from imco and latham. Imco system is almost $3000 cheaper!

You won't be sorry ... mine worked flawless ...

That's a lot of cabbage in the difference, good find. Post pics of the progress thru your project, many on OSO would want to see the modification done.

Will do, tks for the input guys

I put the Mayfair system on my old boat, at the time was the best price. It is a really nice system for the money

Hey guys, ordered the imco full hyd kit with tilt helm. I have all the holes drilled and parts bolted on,only thing left is to run all the lines and hook them up. Very impressed with the fit and finish of the imco product, and Ron has been very good to work with. I'll try to post some pics when I get time to figure out how to post them!

Here are a few pics of the progress

Remeber to remove your internal tie bar. Looks good.

Ya, I took all of the old stuff out a couple weeks ago. That was the hardest part!

Nice install, everything looks straight and well done.