Hydraulic steering
 

Replaced the helm, cable and also the transom assembly and still have some play. Go figure it will just be there with the standard power steering Merc setup. Wouldn't mind going external rams but don't want any holes drilled below the water line. Thinking of installing an internal hydraulic steering similar to what is installed on inboards. Issue I'm unsure of is, can it handle the torque of over 500 hp single motor and 11K boat?

This is a pre-repower pic, but note the water line is above the gimbal ring
http://i609.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps3f473e8d.jpg

Your putting all that leverage/load on the tiller arm connection.it doesnt really matter how much you build/overbuild whats inside the boat, your still putting it all thru that little tiller arm.

Good point, guess maybe the real question is will a internal setup work without play or at least a lot less play then the standard power steering ram setup?

you could start rebuilding everything to the point its pretty tight, but it wont last all that long. Especially with a b3 hanging off the back.The holes arent a problem if you seal it correctly.

If you decide to go external- I've got a nice Latham Twin ram set up I'll make you a good deal on.

Everything is not more the 5 years old and not that many hours. Changing the helm and cable did help but didn't remove that much slop. I really don't want the rams outside below the water line, so if it can be done above then I'm open. Otherwise I would like to find an internal system that would work.

As before the transom assembly is only one season old and is a HP assembly

Geometry is not your friend as far as keeping things above the waterline.

Where is the slop comming from?

The only difference between and HP and non HP assembly is the gimble ring. The gimble ring on an HP is thicker where the wear pads on the drive slide. Yes, they also use different pins but I doubt they are really any stronger than the standard screw in style. Either way, neither has an advantage over the other when it come to developing play.

The play will usually develop in the swivel shaft due do the high loads placed on it. External steering is going to remove some of these loads from this shaft and help it last longer. There really isn't anything you are going to do inside the boat that will solve your issue. With an inboard, the hydraulic ram is connected directly to the rudder inside the boat. There is NO WAY for you to do this with a sterndrive inside of the boat. If you want tight steering you need to be connected directly to the source that is steering the boat. You already have at least 16 holes in the boat with the bennett tabs, what are a few more holes, especially if you do them yourself and do them right!

I think its the cable. Motor off and there is 3 to 5 inch slop with new cable and helm. I do notice on plane, more so idling out thru no-wake. Its a nit from my thought, but if I can get rid of it, or at least 80% that would be great

Your probably right, but like to way out all options before drilling more holes. Just spent twice what the boat is worth on the repower and rebuild of the transom

Just remember many a boat have full external steering. Done right no issues.

What is done to do it right?

Measure twice. Drill once. Seal all holes and brackets. Done right. Lol

if you want no slop, full hydraulic helm to external ram is the only way. its also worth it. its like going from a worn out 86' I beam ford pickup to a new corvette.

and dont forget to close your swim ladder :party-smiley-004:

??

Clean everything up good and seal with 5200. It will be pretty much bullet proof.
However,,if you're as anal abt your transom as I am, I would suggest drilling the holes over size, fill them with epoxy, let dry and drill the normal size holes thru the epoxy. It will add another barrier between the wood and water in case the sealant fails for some reason.

What kind of speeds are you expecting to reach? Less than abt 60 mph, I would probably just go with your orig plan to tighten-up your internal steering.
If you're running over 60-65 mph, I'd go with a dual ram, full hyd to the helm sys.

The drill and redrill would be the way to go.

I'm just trying to get to 50, have another set of props coming in Tuesday. Don't see how the current steering can be tightened up any more. There is no play in the transom assembly so its all in the cable and helm, and they are basically new. Thinking of pulling the motor this winter to fix some things, don't want to pull because its such a bear to do, and this is way I'm also looking at a steering change

What kind of helm did you use??

Brand new normal boats have that steering slop and it feels terrible.

The one non-hydraulic option is the Seastar HPS Rotary http://www.seastarsolutions.com/prod...ry-steering-2/

I have not used it, but have talked to seastar and they said huge improvement.

Don't remember which brand but it was the ones that are used on the new Formulas at the time. Got the part numbers from them, assumed it would be like new, that's the old saying about assuming.