Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I am looking to add a Procharger M1 to my 1999 Baja 272 Islander with a 454mpi. I have been told that I should upgrade my stock steering system to handle the new power. Will an add on system suffice or should I spend even more money and by a full system?

Thanks in advance

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I would suggest spending the money wisely the first time and going for the full dual ram system. Safety should be #1 priority before making power. You wont be sorry or believe the difference from your stock cable system. The biggest hurdle I had when upgrading to a hydraulic helm was getting the helm in there. It was tight, I lost alot of blood, but I got it done.

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I also have a Baja 272 (closed bow) with serious hp. Don't even waste your time with the external hyd steering,go full to the helm. My boats a 2000,the external hyd slowed the chinewalk down between 70-75mph but it was still there. When I went full to the helm it was 95% eliminated. A nose cone also seems to double the chinewalk.Your boat probably runs about 60-62 (on gps) right now and will run about 70-74 with the procharger depending on how much boost you give it.If your buying the procharger new pay extra for the aw504 innercooler,you won't be sorry. the aw324 will fit (tightly) between the back seat and the motor but will make working on anything impossible. The aw504 MUST be mounted off to the side,don't waste your time trying to mount it between the seat and motor,it will not fit no matter what you do aside from serious hacking.Don't waste your time with any 3 blade props when testing,just won't work period. 99 % sure you'll need 26 pitch 4 blade,24 pitch won't be enough and 28 pitch will just be too much with only a mag 454 and m-1. My original blower motor (merlin headed 502 with procharger m-3) wouldn't pull a 28 pitch until I turned the boost up to 6-8 psi.I could write a book on hopping up a 272 baja,mine currently runs 93 mph and should run 95 to 97 if I can afford shorter lower and or ext box this year. Call me if you need any other info,I been there and done that when it comes to your hull,Smitty
989-823-7319 4 pm -12 pm daily

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Artic

Thanks for the advise! I am new to the performance oriented boating world. I looked at closed bow models but with a young growing family and the fact that I never used the cuddy on my Rinker 232 we decided to go with the bow rider. I am happy so far but like everyone am now looking for some more speed aka fun.

I guess the blower will have to wait. Family safety is more important than speed.

Thanks again
Chad

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

You should also replace your trim tabs with longer ones. I made my own because I'm cheap. Your hull will get its best speed when trimmed really high when bow "loosens" up which will amplify the chinewalk. The 4 blade prop also amplifys the chinewalk and torque steer. When I was first running 6 psi boost on my 502 I tried everything from 25 pitch 3 blade to 28 pitch 4 blade. With the blower and 272 hull all the 3 blades would break loose at just about any speed,even at 50-60 mph. With 4 blade you could STAND on throttle coming onto plane as your prop centerline is almost 8 inches below pad on the hull.Like I said,call me if you have ANY questions,I spent last 6 years experimenting with same hull as yours,Smitty

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Smitty,

You have any pictures of the home made tabs.....could you e-mails some pictures of them

[email protected]

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

If you look in the corner of this pic you can see it and get a idea of what I did. They bolt in place of the bennets using the stock rams and half the hinge plate. I would just buy some better aftermarket ones if I had it to do over again. If I get out in the big barn this weekend I'll try to take a clearer pic,Smitty

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Hey Arcticfriends, its always great to read about all the neat work that you´ve done to max out your 272. The experience that you have collected taking a hull and making it faster and faster each year is the best. 93 mph is a big number for any 27 footer and you must have the fastest 272 out there.
If everything arrives as planned , after the easter weekend I will be installing the 525 in my Outlaw, along with a 12"( with 3" lift) Imco extension box and full hydraulic steering. I´m replacing my 19" Insta Trim/Victory tabs with 24" EMI billet tabs with indicators. The reaction speed is the main reason for the upgrade. Good tabs and steering are so important, already at 75 mph.

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Once you've had full hydraulic steering you'll NEVER be happy with cable steering again.
I talked a guy into adding Mayfair steering to his 38' TopGun to the tune of about $5,000. I told him if he didn't think it was the best money he EVER spent on his boat that I would pay for the steering myself. (I never was asked to pay him one penny!).

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

If you have the extra $ go for it. If not the add on system should be plenty safe.

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Based on my personal experience I have to disagree,My boat (a 2000 baja 272) when I first added the procharger and a nosecone chinewalked BAD to the point where it was dangerous.Now maybe the nose cone which might not even be needed at those speeds was the culprit but I never removed it to find out.It ran 62 mph stock with mpi 502 and low to mid 70's with 6 psi boost. The speed it chinewalked at was between 70-75 mph,especially once you were no longer accelerating. I first added Imco twin ram external hydraulic steering with the brazil valve cable adapter thinking thats all it needed.The boat had less than 100 hours on it so cable was still nice and tight,not worn or sloppy. It cut the chinewalk to 1/2 of what it was but it still got really ugly between 72-75 mph to the point where it was still out of control. Reading Teauges tech advice I saw where he said you should never run just external hydraulic when running a nose cone on a bravo. I called him up and he said even though you would think the twin rams would be holding the drive solid the fact it was being actuated and controlled by the stock internal bilge ram and cable brazil valve adpter deal it would still allow drive to move around while hauling arse.Running a 4 blade prop (which is needed on a boat like this when adding all the torque from the blower) makes it worse also.I was skeptical thinking it was just a nasty characteristic of the Baja 272 hull but I went ahead and added the full to helm parts making mine full hydraulic. About this time I also upped my power allowing me to run in the low to mid 80's. The boat was rock solid all the way thru the 70-80 mph range and only had a ever so slight ,slow chinewalk that you could barely notice unless catching alot of cross chop,Smitty

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I agree w/you MM...that's from my personal experience and just my opinion of course...every boat is different.

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Previous boat had the dual Lathem add-on. Boat would run 83mph and solid as a rock. Only down side was at idle the steering was bit stiff. Normal side effect of add-ons.

You can alway upgrade at a latter date.

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

EXACTLY!!! :drink:

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I had an add-on...Striped the helm unit out after running hard in big water.
Damn lucky we had just stopped...I'll never be without FULL again

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I'm with Smitty, I bought my boat(also a 272) running in the low 80's w/o hyd steering. I didn't know any better at the time and dodged a major bullet. I started with an add on but it was squirrelly as hell. Put the full on and feel alot safer. My buddy has a Nordic running in the 80's w/no hyd and I won't ride with him. If something breaks going that fast you ARE toast!

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

[QUOTE=carrboy]I agree w/you MM...that's from my personal experience and just my opinion of course...every boat is different.[/quote
Talking SPECIFICALLY about Baja 272's -Me and Kennyo both tried external hydraulic steering on our 272's and they were still out of control. Maybe a better boat would be fine but I wouldn't waste my time with the add-on external steering on this particular hull,IT'S JUST A WASTE OF TIME-IT WILL STILL CHINE WALK,272 Bajas NEED FULL HYDRAULIC TO NOT CHINE WALK IN THE 70-80 mph range,Smitty

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

Artic
Thanks for the info I am looking at buying a full systems. Any thoughts on manufacturer? I saw the picture of your trim tabs. What are the measurements and gauge of the tabs?

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

One other thing. single or duel rams?

Re: Steering add on or full sytem?
 

I am using twin ram hydraulic imco steering. I don't have any personal experience with the single ram. These boats were never intended to run 75 or 80 mph so if you do it I would say to use the twin rams because you will be fighting a battle to keep boat under control. As far as the trim tabs,mine are about 21 inches long but I made them out of stainless (thinking it would be pretty stout) and they come to a tapered point. If I had it to do over again I'd use 3/8 inch or 1/2 inche aluminum plate or buy some,when I welded mine they warped and I flattened them out afterwards using a hydraulic press and a sander but they are still kinda cobbled,Smitty