Save your money and put it into the new boat! You will never get your money out of the upgrade, you are more likely to lose value. Just my opinion.

And honestly, if you really have an HO in a 288 running 74, you have the fastest one on the planet, so why upgrade?

Pretty much by definition boating is a bad finanical decision. If I was worried about losing money I would invest my money in something more stable like the stock market? As for "why upgrade" isnt that why we are all here ,to have a faster boat then the next guy.

There are 3 types of hydraulic steering available;

Full INTERNAL hydraulic where you replace the steering cable and factory power assist with a hydraulic helm and a gimbal mounted balanced ram.

Partial hydraulic where you add external ram(s) to the outdrive and tie into the stock steering "Brazil" valve at the end of the steering cable inside the boat

Full EXTERNAL hydraulic system where you completely replace the internal cable and Merc. assist ram and install external rams(s).

It's considered mandatory to go to either the partial or full external system whenever your boat is at or past the 70 mph mark. Aside from the precision it adds (and you really don't understand just how bad your cable steering is until you drive a full hydraulic boat) it provides a safety factor by preventing gimbal housing failures at speed.

There are 3 things in the stock system that can and have failed in boats running speeds above 70 mph (or at any speed for that matter), steering cable, tiller arm and gimbal housing. ANY one of these failing at speed can be fatal to you and your passengers. Adding the external ram system removes virtually all of the stress from the gimbal housing and tiller arm. It also locks the drive in place should your steering cable break.

The problem is magnified as the boat gets heavier and is prone to flying. Imagine the force of your 28' boat leaving and entering the water with 400+ HP slamming the prop into the water with a 3/4" cast housing being the only thing that's providing steering and holding the drive in place. Now consider that same force working on the 2 pins that support the gimbal housing onto the transom plate. That's a lot of force to be trusting to the cast gimbal housing with it's 2 location points on the top and bottom.

The cost breakdown is as follows (MSRP of Zeiger systems which I think are about the best going at this point in time)

Partial single ram external ~ $1795
Partial dual ram external ~ $2800
Full single ram external ~ $2850
Full dual ram external ~ $3690

http://www.everettperformance.com/products.asp

You're living on borrowed time, take the cash you were going to spend on a stereo and put it into something that WILL save your life!!!!!

Thanks MJW ,for that very informative post.Putting as you did I guess I will be throwing another log on the fire.I guess I would probally lean to the partial ram system. Is the single model enough for my application or should I go with the dual app.And again thanks

You should be OK with a single ram partial system though a single ram full system will add precision, especially when you are driving the boat at 80+. Going 80+ is a whole lot different than going 74. Trust me, things happen @ 80 a whole lot faster than they do at 70.

Go with the single partial system and see how you like it. Upgrading to a full system from there is pretty painless.

Thanks again,I hadnt realized the saftey aspects of the hyd.steering I was under the impression it was mainly a handleing upgrade and I hadnt had any handleing issue's with the boat in it's stock form.I'll be on the phone on monday making arrangments for installation.

Full dual ram is great.
speed is nothing without stable handling.

And it looks cool ;-)

I knew 70 - 72 was in reach but not mid 70's. The one Mentalpause ran that shows in the F-4 promotional video ran right at 70. Most people don't boat in the 40's so they wouldn't benefit from running in that kind of air.

Go with a dual ram system. You will not regret it.

My 2001 288 w/ a 496ho on it's best day only hit 68.4 averaging mostly 67.5 or so. I know the new full step has helped a bit, but i didn't know that much. Good luck with your upgrades and hydraulic steering is a must for anything over 70really to be safe. If something snapped in the drive at 70+ wicked things can happen whereas the hyd steering would help stabilize.

Myself and a couple other guys meet out on the river one day mid November, and all were getting our best numbers out of the boats that day due to the cold crisp dry air and a nice chop. getting an accurite mph reading on a river with in and out going tides is near impossible . The average of the two direction pass (73.8 GPS) was the fastest I've seen with this boat.Typically the boat will run 72mph which I've seen in several different conditions.Bottom line is it is a fast boat for what it is a single 28' bowrider .

live wire, I ran with you that November day, I thought for sure you had a Blue motor in that bow rider of yours. The numbers were real good that day in the cool air and choppy water. I got 83 gps out of my tank and Jimmy's Sutphen ran 95 or 96 . I know you were running a real mid 70's cause I had to keep the hammer down to stay in front of you. That day was a lot of fun. See ya on the river in the spring. Do the hyd. steering and Raylar, I bet you will break the 80 mark for less than 10k.

Whats up Talon, that was a great day looking foward to trying to keep up with you again.See ya in the spring.

Yes, Sunsation really hit the mark with the new hull. To be able to run those speeds on a black motor that you can get 5 - 6 years or warranty on is amazing. I've driven an '03 (the first MCOB produced, actually) and an '04. Both had 375HP 496 MAGs and both ran low 60's at LOTO in the summer. Keep us posted on your upgrades (pics, results once the season gets here).