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Hydraulic Steering Worth it???


KeepinItSimple

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1 minute ago, geeviam said:

My new Redfisher came with a BayStar system.  What should I know or be prepared for?

Nothing... Just take are of it and you'll be fine. Run a couple quarts of fresh fluid through it once a year and it will last. The BayStar is just the "lighter duty" of the line up.

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Hydraulic is nice, but has it's disadvantages, namely maintenance and issues.  Do a google search for steering problems and 99%'what you will get is hydraulic. It's just nature of the beast of having more moving parts.   Cable Steering is as about as reliable as a hammer. It might get stuck if you don't use it for about 10 years. And if you do, it will get a lil loose after those 10.  

When I bought my 1900 I replaced my steering and went with the no feedback cable and couldn't have been happier with it. Smooth as silk and just as its called "no feedback". 

I have hydraulic on my 22 and have to replace ram seals I guess as I keep getting drips in splash well. 

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Get some cheap transmission fluid (ATF) from an auto parts store and put it in a condiment bottle. About once a month put a light coat on the steering rams and the trim/tilt rams on the motor and run them thru the entire length of their travel. It keeps the seals lubricated and keeps dirt, salt, or whatever from sticking to the rams and causing pitting which wrecks the seals as well. If you leave the boat outside do it every time after you wash it.

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20 hours ago, geeviam said:

My new Redfisher came with a BayStar system.  What should I know or be prepared for?

Baystar works fine, it just has cheap parts that are expensive.  The lines are plastic, kink one and your done. Let sun roast them and they burst. End cap seals are expensive since you have to change the entire cap and seal (and they will leak). Also the steering ratio in the Baystar helm is slower. 

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On 1/7/2017 at 3:39 PM, justfish said:

Hydraulic is nice, but has it's disadvantages, namely maintenance and issues.  Do a google search for steering problems and 99%'what you will get is hydraulic. It's just nature of the beast of having more moving parts.   Cable Steering is as about as reliable as a hammer. It might get stuck if you don't use it for about 10 years. And if you do, it will get a lil loose after those 10.  

When I bought my 1900 I replaced my steering and went with the no feedback cable and couldn't have been happier with it. Smooth as silk and just as its called "no feedback". 

I have hydraulic on my 22 and have to replace ram seals I guess as I keep getting drips in splash well. 

If your seals are leaking check your ram for small pitting, it will cut the seals over and over.

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On 1/10/2017 at 9:14 AM, linesider 159 said:

If your seals are leaking check your ram for small pitting, it will cut the seals over and over.

Yup, I just had to have my Baystar seals replaced because of small pitting.  We'll see how long the new seals last before they start leaking again.   Errrrrr.

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