Hydraulic steering

I was at the boat show today with a good friend who bought a new 18′ Lund Impact with a 150 Merc four stroke. The 150 Merc doesn’t come standard with hydraulic steering whereas the Yamaha 150 on G3’s, Alumacraft and other brands, hydraulic steering seems to be standard. The dealer for the Lund said they hardly sell any 150 Mercs with hydraulic steering for that particular boat and the reason being is that the hull is very efficient so it doesn’t need it. Does anyone here know this to be true, as it’s a pretty expensive option to add to the package. Thanks.

Pretty sure the hydraulic steering is a boat option rather than a motor option. I would not buy a boat without it.

-J.

Are you talking about a Sea Star unit for a console boat? If so don’t buy without one. I would get a second opinion from a different dealer.

Is your friend someone I know

Dutchboy wrote:

Are you talking about a Sea Star unit for a console boat? If so don’t buy without one. I would get a second opinion from a different dealer.

Yes, from what I’ve seen, the Sea Star seems to be on most boats. I’ve never driven a boat with a bigger motor without the Sea Star, but the dealer seemed adamant that the Lund didn’t need it. They must be trying to keep the price point low for the boat show….

BassMasterFunk wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Dutchboy wrote:</div>
Are you talking about a Sea Star unit for a console boat? If so don’t buy without one. I would get a second opinion from a different dealer.

Yes, from what I’ve seen, the Sea Star seems to be on most boats. I’ve never driven a boat with a bigger motor without the Sea Star, but the dealer seemed adamant that the Lund didn’t need it. They must be trying to keep the price point low for the boat show….

Or they ordered an abundance of boats without it.

jeff_huberty wrote:

Is your friend someone I know

Too funny! Jeff, I wish it was the guy we know. I’m doing my best to try to convince him on a new boat in the garage!

Don’t touch it without steering.

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I also nearly pulled the trigger on a boat without the hydraulic steering.

Would the hydraulic steering be recommended on an Alumacraft Competitor 175 with a 140hp motor? According to the vendor I spoke with, the 140hp outboard is on a slightly smaller block than most 150s.

As long as it has no feedback steering it would be fine, but there is no doubt hydraulic steering is nicer. I had a 1999 pro v with a 150 and no hydraulic steering and I had no issues with turning.

Biggest thing is that its a no feedback system and that is the biggest advantage of the SeaStar steering. If there non hydraulic system is no feedback then you should be fine.

Hydraulic has nothing to do with “power steering” so as far as turning the wheel it will steer just like a cable drive. Its a matter of if the motor fights you at all to want to go back to straight or some other direction or if you let go of the wheel what would happen.

I think the biggest thing with Sea Star hydraulic steering is you can let go of the wheel and it won’t move. Can’t take your hands off the wheel with cable steering. Hence the no feedback. Also with cables they will eventually start to get sticky. You can not stop dust and dirt from building up inside the cable.

BassMasterFunk wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>jeff_huberty wrote:</div>
Is your friend someone I know

Too funny! Jeff, I wish it was the guy we know. I’m doing my best to try to convince him on a new boat in the garage!

Damm I was looking forward to test driving it.

buckybadger wrote:

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I also nearly pulled the trigger on a boat without the hydraulic steering.

Would the hydraulic steering be recommended on an Alumacraft Competitor 175 with a 140hp motor? According to the vendor I spoke with, the 140hp outboard is on a slightly smaller block than most 150s.

I’ve never tried my ’04 Tourney Pro without hydraulic steering because it came with a 115hp 4S with hydraulic steering. A couple years ago it was upgraded to a 150hp 4S and it still have hydraulic steering. It probably would have worked fine with cable steering but I’m happy it has hydraulic.

gizmoguy wrote:

I think the biggest thing with Sea Star hydraulic steering is you can let go of the wheel and it won’t move. Can’t take your hands off the wheel with cable steering. Hence the no feedback. Also with cables they will eventually start to get sticky. You can not stop dust and dirt from building up inside the cable.

The downside to hydraulic is that it can spring a leak. The fall of 2015 I noticed some extra play in my steering. Put the boat in storage and by Spring the hydraulic fluid had leaked down and the 150hp motor turned freely by hand from the transom. I could also spin the steering wheel with little affect on the motor.
Sent $100-some to Amazon and a couple hours of work and the seals were replaced before opener 2016.

That was an eye opener to me. If it springs a leak you could be left with zero ability to steer and the motor flopping around on the transom. If the hydraulic steering suddenly has a little bit of play make sure to check everything out.

I have the 150 Merc 4 stroke and have hydraulic steering and am happy with it. I would not buy one without.

A friend of mine has the same motor on a similar boat without hyd steering and it lasted about 2 months before it had to get installed. It was just really stiff to turn as they needed more tension on the non-hyd steering system that the smaller user of the boat could not readily operate the boat (women and children).

I own a 2004 Lund 1800 Fisherman with a 140hp Johnson (actually its a Suzuki with Johnson stickers). Bought it brand new 13 years ago without hydraulic steering. I never have had a problem with the cable steering. Don’t think it needs hydraulic steering, but I have nothing to compare.

On a side note, here’s what happens when you have a steering part failure at “57 mph”:

I made the upgrade last year and best decision ever! You will regret it if you don’t add the option. Makes it tough to doc and load boat without!

My two cents…

I wonder how many people are swayed towards Alumacraft because of this reason alone. When you look at a Alumacraft with a 150+, it’s included on at least the Yamahas and Suzukis. In Lunds, it’s always an extra option to the price you see on the sticker. And I believe it’s something like $1400 or something, which seems insanely high. It’s one of those things where after adding all the other options and electronics, it just hurts to add an expensive option like this on. It just has to stop somewhere. So when you see what all is included with the Alumacraft, hydraulic included, and add onto this you get motor choice, it starts to make you go Alumacraft.

Nice Fella wrote:

On a side note, here’s what happens when you have a steering part failure at “57 mph”:

<div class=”oembed-wrap”><div class=”fluid-width-video-wrapper” style=”padding-top: 56.2353%;”><iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/1AkgjPkCQXc?feature=oembed&#8221; allowfullscreen=”” id=”fitvid919384″ frameborder=”0″></iframe></div></div>

That vid is freaky! I wish they showed a close up of the part failure.

-J.

Jon Jordan wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Nice Fella wrote:</div>
On a side note, here’s what happens when you have a steering part failure at “57 mph”:

<div class=”oembed-wrap”><div class=”fluid-width-video-wrapper” style=”padding-top: 56.2353%;”><iframe src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/1AkgjPkCQXc?feature=oembed” allowfullscreen=”” id=”fitvid919384″ frameborder=”0″></iframe></div></div>

That vid is freaky! I wish they showed a close up of the part failure.

-J.

From what I gather the nut that holds the ram mount to the motor came loose.

That should be a nylon nut. If it were my boat, I’d be thinking sabotage!

-J.