Rack and Pinion Power Steering vs Hydraulic-gctid805102

[Flip]

Hello Everyone! First of all, I am completely new to power boating and planning to buy a VR5 with a 115hp OB. I looked a lot on the internet to get an answer if hydraulic steering is worth the extra money. From the Bayliner webpage it appears that the mechanical setup is actually power steering? So I am wondering what actual benefits the hydraulic steering has and if it is indeed worth for a 20 ft boat with a 115 hp engine. Also, i am no sure if the standard steering has a no-feedback setup or not. We would be using the bot mainly on the inter coastal around Miami. Thank you all in advance and I hope my questions are mo too confusing. If so, then the reason is quite simple - I am confused.

[Pcpete]

Welcome! Please fill out some personal stuff like where you live and what part of the icw you plan to boat on.

The rack and pinion setup may or, most often does not have power assist steering, at least with outboards that I'm familiar with. Then again, I stopped looking at outboards when 125hp was huge. I have power assisted rack and pinion steering on my sale pending, almost sold boat that I've had for almost 30 years, and hynautic steering on my 3818 and both steer easily. However, with the engines shut down the 3818 wheel moves the same. The power assisted 4.3's, not so much. More like "Armstrong" steering. If you don't understand what that is, find an old guy.

I never had an issue with the power assisted steering, just rotate it from lock to lock a few cycles every few weeks.

[builderdude]

Your OB powered boat can have hydraulic steering. It'll be nice to have on a 20 footer but not neccasary IMO until the horse power goes up near 200.

My 2 cents

[mr.bent]

A hydraulic steering normally has the advantage of having valves closing so you get no feedback, and the "rudder" stay locked if you take your hands of the steering wheel. If you want a mechanical steering to act that way, you will have to tighten a screw or something that makes the steering harder, it┬┤s well worth the money to convert to hydraulic. Enjoy :P

[2850Bounty]

In my opinion, Hydraulic Steering is superior and intrinsically they offer "No Feed Back".

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