Upgrade to hydraulic or electric steering systems

[wrxhoon]

Nice setup! What model Simrad is the 1st picture?

SIMRAD NSS 12 Evo 3 Combo

Best Price, Best Deal on SIMRAD NSS 12 Evo 3 with GPS, CHIRP Sounder & Wi-Fi, SIMRAD NSS evo3 range comes in NSS7, NSS9, NSS12, NSS16

www.bluebottlemarine.com

And this transducer, I do a lot of deep water fishing.

Airmar TM265LH Transom Mount M&M Transducer for Lowrance /SIMRAD​

 

[wrxhoon]

Seasick, Don't know if this helps, but I changed my cable steering to installing a hydraulic systhem on my older Seaswirl. I cut the steering rod to remove the whole thing without removing the F 150. Do not remember if I cut the cable also to get it all out. The seastar system a was fairly easy install just the bleedings of the lines was and is always a pain.

Back in the 90's I bought a boat with cable steering, when I converted it to hydraulic I cut the cable to get it off too.

 

[hanke777]

Thanks!
I am getting close mentally to making the call to sales Lol!!!

Yes working on understanding the equipment, what it will and will not do and what my end game is.

The people n this site have been Very helpful! Thank you!

 

[hanke777]

SIMRAD NSS 12 Evo 3 Combo

Best Price, Best Deal on SIMRAD NSS 12 Evo 3 with GPS, CHIRP Sounder & Wi-Fi, SIMRAD NSS evo3 range comes in NSS7, NSS9, NSS12, NSS16

www.bluebottlemarine.com

And this transducer, I do a lot of deep water fishing.

Airmar TM265LH Transom Mount M&M Transducer for Lowrance /SIMRAD​

Dang! nothing cheap anymore Lol!

 

[wrxhoon]

Dang! nothing cheap anymore Lol!

Don't panic , that's south Pacific pesos ( shitvilian $$) in your part of the world you should be able to get the same for around $3000 and about $1400 for the ducer.
I was going to get the 16" but figured it wouldn't fit on the dash. Bigger screen is always better, especially for old eyes.

 

[wrxhoon]

I run twin Yamaha 300's and have the new helmaster electric steering and love it (Freedom 285). Very precise, smooth, and thus far, reliable (only 75 hours on it). It's also very nicely integrated into a Yamaha autopilot. I think a retrofit like this would cost well north of $15k for a single, and probably $20k+ for twins. I've run a friends boat with twin Yamaha 200's with hydraulic steering and its night and day.

I would like Helmaster in my boat. I can't see the value in retrofitting though, about AU$20k . If buying a new boat it's a no brainer though. You save the $$ for the hydraulic steering and auto pilot. I would even consider if I was to repower.
I know it works very well on tweens as I have been on a boat with it. I have seen videos on a single but haven't been on a boat with it yet.

 

[J-cubed]

I installed Seastar hydraulic steering and Lowrance autopilot on my 208 this past spring. I didn't have enough room for the mechanical autopilot. So I converted to hydraulic. Have fun it's not that hard.
If you have any questions about the installation, feel free to ask. I really love it and don't know what I did without it.

 

[hanke777]

I installed Seastar hydraulic steering and Lowrance autopilot on my 208 this past spring. I didn't have enough room for the mechanical autopilot. So I converted to hydraulic. Have fun it's not that hard.
If you have any questions about the installation, feel free to ask. I really love it and don't know what I did without it.

Do you recall what model number it was? I plan on installing a Simrad AP-44 VRF auto pilot. I see it comes with a pump was wondering if I need to get the Seastar hydraulic steering kit with a pump or use the one that comes with the Simrad AP?

 

[J-cubed]

Do you recall what model number it was? I plan on installing a Simrad AP-44 VRF auto pilot. I see it comes with a pump was wondering if I need to get the Seastar hydraulic steering kit with a pump or use the one that comes with the Simrad AP?

You only need a pump for the autopilot.

 

[hanke777]

To make sure I understand; I need to order the Seastar hydraulic steering without a hydraulic pump?

 

[J-cubed]

To make sure I understand; I need to order the Seastar hydraulic steering without a hydraulic pump?

The helm pump, which the wheel attaches to is needed. Be careful when attaching the hose fittings. Do not over tighten, use the lock nuts in order to stop the fittings from moving.

 

[hanke777]

The helm pump, which the wheel attaches to is needed. Be careful when attaching the hose fittings. Do not over tighten, use the lock nuts in order to the fittings from moving.

Thanks! Looks like the Sea Star kit I need is HK 6400A-3

 

[wrxhoon]

Yamaha	1990-2007	40-90 HP 2-STROKE	HC5345-3	See Note 1
1986-DATE	100-300 HP 2-STROKE	HC5345-3
2000-DATE	150-300 HPDI	HC5345-3
2003-DATE	25-70 HP 4-Stroke	HC5348-3	See Note 1
2007-DATE	200-300 HP 4.2L V6 4-Stroke	HC5345-3
2007-DATE	F300-F350 HP 5.3V8	HC5345-3	See Note 3
2011 TO DATE	F115A inc. SHO 90 & 115 HP	HC5358-3
2012 TO DATE	150-200 HP 2.8L 4 Cyl.	HC5345-3
2014-DATE	F115B	HC5345-3

Dometic SeaStar Outboard Cylinder

Dometic SeaStar Outboard Cylinder - Steering cylinder, front mount, HC5345-3

www.seastarsolutions.com

Check it out on the Seastar website.
I think the HK6400 is a sports helm 1.7, my 228 has a 2.0

As Cubed said , the manual helm pump comes with the kit, you don't need electric pump just for the steering ( you need that if you want power steering ).
You will need electric pump for the Auto pilot , again you can buy that in a kit .

​

 

[hanke777]

I talked with Bruce Technical Service Representative from SeaStar today and he suggested the HK 6400A-3 kit.
It has a front mount helm pump and the steering cylinder I would need for my 2002 Yamaha 200hp four stroke motor.

The front mount helm pump fits a 3" hole. If you have a 4-1/2" hole the reducer P/N is HA5418.

When ordering the hoses he suggested a long and short sets. Long set is for where the hoses are not exposed and the short set is the last couple feet to the motor steering cylinder.

Hose parts number is HO51xx; xx = the number of feet in length.
The hose couplers P/N to connect the hoses together is HF5527.

Kicker hard tie bar is HO6010.

He said they also sell a nice bulkhead fitting you can use instead of the hose couplers but I forgot to get the P/N

 

[Holokai]

You can run the hoses through your cable boot in the splashwell and do away with the added cost and possible leak points of bulkhead fittings. The multiple hose install does look cleaner, though. Might have to increase hose length if you go through the cable boot.

Whatver you do, do not get the Garmin Compact Reactor autopilot; it doesn’t perform well at trolling speeds.

If you have Simrad MFDs you can save some money and get the Outboard Pilot or Drivepilot and use the display to control the autopilot.

The Simrad autopilot kits will come with all of the fittings and hoses to integrate with an existing hydraulic steering system; the installation isn’t too bad if you take time to plan out your hose runs.

Good luck and feel free to ask any more questions!

 

[hanke777]

What I have ordered.

SIMRAD
AP44 VRF Autopilot Pack Medium Capacity
Model # 17933656 MFG # 000-13291-001

SeaStar
HK 6400A-3 kit includes helm steering pump & steering cylinder for a 2002 Yamaha 200hp 4 stroke motor.
Need to get hoses.

SeaStar
HO6010 Kicker hard tie bar

Innova Design
iTroll G2 Electronics kicker speed control

Adventure Marine
High Thrust Outboard kicker Motor Bracket

Need Yamaha 9.9 kicker with electric start & tilt.

Need a 2nd job to pay for it lol!

Oh and
Simrad Nss12 Evo3 Chartplotter/Fishfinder With Insight Chart
SKU: SIM000-13235-001

 

[wrxhoon]

The AP44 kit you ordered doesn't look like it has any hoses or cables to connect to the computer. You will need a couple of T's as well. You can T off at the helm or the Electric pump. It is a good idea to use a clear hose for the return line so you can always see if you have air in the system.
Besides the hoses that you need for the hydraulic steering you need these 3 in the picture below to connect the AP pump to the system. As you can see these are fairly short, the length will depend on how close to the helm you can fit the pump. Note the clear hose if for the return. I also used fitted hoses, you may use compression fittings, I prefer factory fitted.
The other pic shows the brass T'S you will need.
In the last picture you can see where I located mine on my 228 , probably irrelevant to you . I made a S/S bracket and used some rubber under it so I don't get any vibrations.
Before you fit anything on, lie everything on the ground or bench and dummy fit everything, no need to actually screw anything together.

"You can run the hoses through your cable boot in the splashwell and do away with the added cost and possible leak points of bulkhead fittings"
Good advice for your boat, if they fit in the cable boot. You will save some $$ as well.

 

[hanke777]

Thank you Very helpful information!!

 

[Holokai]

I think Octopus or SeaStar make kits to add a second hydraulic helm/autopilot pump. West Marine/Hodges/BOE/etc. sells them. They should come with a few different types of ORB fittings and hoses (2 pressure rated and 1 clear/return) to allow you to try a couple different configurations.

As wrxhoon mentioned, it might be helpful to try the tees both at the helm and the autopilot pump and see what layout works for your layout. Consider placement of the autopilot pump, autopilot computer, NMEA backbone, power/fuse panel, and heading sensor since the cable lengths aren’t too long.

Also, make sure to test the system out before finalizing the position if the heading sensor. Might even be a good idea to get a spare NMEA2K cable in case the heading sensor works better located a bit away from the backbone.

 

[PNW_Drifter]

Look at the prop wash of that ferry! Looks like a boomer sub out of SD.

Never seen a Boomer sub but I can tell you our ferries have a prop at each end. So they don't turn around. They use the front prop as the brakes, which is the wash you see in the front. I'm pretty sure the ferry could have stopped if he wanted to but he had the right of way. Amazing how tough that fiberglass boat is right!