I am ready to purchase a full hydraulic dual ram external steering system for my 22 Donzi Classic. But, it looks like I do not have enough room between my gimbal housing and K-planes. I am looking at the WPM system. I am waiting for a call back to see if we can make it work. Hopefully they make some type of adapter. Anyone else run into this problem?

I've got Marine Machine/Mayfair on my 28 Pantera. The mounts are very close to the k-planes. You can see a pic of my transom in my photo gallery.

Blackhawk,

You cant beat the controle of hydraulic, or the man to water feel you get. Most times we only use a single ram on a single motor set up. Unless the manufacturer of the steering recomends two.

Either way steering is nothing to mess with, the position on the transom is critical. The people at Latham should be able to steer you in the right direction. They have rams in different lengths, be sure to measure drive movement lock to lock and follow installation to the letter.

If you are not certain, recruite some help from an experienced hi-performance mechanic in your area. Anyway, well worth the extra effort and expence on any boat !

I have a single ram system with k-planes on 7' beam boat. It should all fit.

The ram(s) need(s) to be mounted horizontal to the pivot point for trimming the drive. If you don't, a single ram will change the steering geometry when the drive trim angle is changed (not a very big deal)...

...on a dual ram, they will bind up (a very big deal).

HH,

By pivot point do you mean when the drive is fully down? When my drive is fully down it is at or near horizontal position. My steering seems to work five except some times when I trim real high I feel a pull to the right. I don't know if this has anything to do with the way my steering is rigged or not.

Dave M.

Please keep in mind that I am not an expert...just a guy who has been shopping for steering...and I have a similar problem with the mounting point...

The pivot point is where the drive hinges vertically on the gimbal housing. The ram should be on the same plane as the hinge, because when you trim up, the ram geometry will stay the same, but the distance will be different...therefore, the steering will change. An adjustment on the wheel will be necessary.

If the ram is on the same plane as the pivot point, then the distance will not change, and no adjustment on the wheel will be necessary.

Your mounting point is probably a little off the horizonal plane of the hinge.

Dan faxed me a page with all of their mounting options(different wingplates, rams, etc). They have another wingplate that will allow me to mount the brackets higher(above the K-plane) so I think I can make it work. Plus this wingplate has a built in drive shower.

Dave M, I was trying to mount the brackets on the inside of my K-planes. My other thought was to mount on the outside like you did. I think that would have worked too. But it would have been close though

Jeff,

My boat would be impossible to drive without the tabs.

I have notched the inside
upper of each tab on some
26' Boats when installing
Duel Rams with 1 Bravo.
Never had any problems
Mike J.