I had a hose crack at wot. It put the boat in a slow turn for a second before I knew something was wrong and pulled power back just in time before the unknown could happen. I had no steering and used the throttles at idle speed to steer in to dock. Not something you ever want to happen. Lucky it was flat water.

Rich

[QUOTE=BOSSMAN;2413910]I had a hose crack at wot. It put the boat in a slow turn for a second before I knew something was wrong and pulled power back just in time before the unknown could happen. I had no steering and used the throttles at idle speed to steer in to dock. Not something you ever want to happen. Lucky it was flat water.

Rich[/QUOTE
If that hose had come off it would have turn sharply on you,
you were lucky it cracked and had a small leak and not complete lost of presure on the cylinder.

I would have to say there are lots of things that "could" happen and be dangerous.

Lose a steering cable
Blow a hyd hose
Grenade a u-joint
Crack a gimbal ring
Hit a wave wrong
Blow a drive

As the speeds get higher, so does the risk of getting hurt. I believe full hyd steering makes the boat handle safer, and less chances of steering failure, but is not the end all safety add on that means its okay to go out and run balls out care free. anything could happen. With that being said, I think cable steering doesnt belong on a offshore boat. JMO

Hydraulic and proper maintenance - inspections, hardware ... etc.... is the only way to go. Too many points of contact within the factory system that gets sloppy after time goes on.

I've been ejected and it wasn't fun...... nor where the next 8 days trying to find the boat.

Stupid questions!! If you use add on steering, you would still have the cable as backup if the Hyd. system failed?!? What are the pros/cons of Full Hyd., Add-on Hyd., and Mechanical (Power assist)??

The add on system still uses the cable, which I believe is the weak point in the system. Most guys who put the "add on" system, later went to a full system.

I know my old boat with the cable rack system sucks. The cable gets worn, the rack gets worn, the little tie bar pins get worn, and the gimbal shafts get worn. What ends up is nothing but slop.

Anything can happen at any time nothing is completly safe or unbreakable .I guess my question is by installing a partial single hyd steering system what am I protecting myself over mechanical steering. Most of the problems above are not linkage related they seem to be hyd steering pump related.I have no problem dropping an extra 3000 or more on the upgrade for saftey I just want to know why.It seems the upgrade is mostly a handling upgrade to me.

Im no steering expert, but I believe with the add on, you will be taking the slack from any worn parts like the gimbals, internal linkage, and the overall steering should be better handling I believe, because the outdrives are now controlled by the hydraulic pistons mounted to them, rather than the links, rods, pins, bolts, etc, that control their movement without external steering. Im not sure if im making any sense or not here.

Mild thunder I appreicate your help Im heading over to my dealer tomorrow to finalize the upgrades raylar and hyd steering and I am just trying to get as much info as I can so I can make intelligent desicions on the upgrades thanks.

Hydraulic snubber cylinders
 

It seems Drew Marine had hydraulic cylinders that were independent of the steering and were there simply to arrest any quick turns on the outdrive. They were basically like shock absorbers to slow down the side to side motion. It was connected between the transom and the outdrive. It can be used on either mechanical or hydraulic systems. Makes sense to me.