Hi All I'm new to this site and very happy to have found a place where multiple skier outboard boats is the local language. Looking through old posts (its all interesting to me), I saw some people comment that they didn't much like the sea star setup for this application. In 2003, I removed a Hynautic K6 System which was about 5 turns lock to lock which I considered too slow and heavy. I replaced it with a Hydrive 12 Volt power assisted system. The steering is very light. Just enough weight in the wheel, just enough but no extra. It has three turns lock to lock and being so powerful, it will easily turn the motor, even when the RAM is connected to the bolt hole which gives the most motor movement (most direct steering action). For example, if you want to dodge a stick that is 20 feet in front of you at 40mph, no problem. Just throw the boat then throw it back to where you were going. Takes maybe 1/2 a turn of the wheel to do this. I don't work for these people, but I do like my outboard ski boats and this steering is nicer than almost all inboards run. Here is a picture of a boat with eight 250 3.1L Yamaha outboards on the back. http://www.hydrive.com.au/site/home.html This boat uses the exact same steering system as I do. The only difference to their setup is they run a second hydraulic ram. Each group of four motors is tied together using rods with one RAM per four motors. There is only one helm, one power pump and all the other bits are the same as what I use. The price is high at a bit under USD$3000 but I've had 4 years and about 300 hours out of mine, no problems and have been very happy with my investment. Anyway, for steering these awesome twin and tripple rigs you guys run, I'm sure the option of a power assisted system must be of interest. Greg
It's good to hear someone out there has tried a power assist hydraulic system. When I was working on ordering the rigging for my boat over the winter, I noticed that Seastar (Teleflex) also has an electric assist hydraulic option. I did not get pricing on it, but would be interested in finding out. It looks like the pump just gets connected in line with the hydraulic lines off the helm, connects to the battery, and is good to go. Seems like a really simple system. I am glad to hear that you have had good results with your system.
The key to the system I use is a variable speed pump. It has a 70 amp fuse and you just can't draw that kind of power continuously on an outboard application. The pump speeds up when you actually steer but there is always 1000psi of boost there waiting, it just takes more power to maintain that when you are actually drawing from it. I ran it for three years on a Yamaha which had a 25 amp alternator and it never had trouble keeping the battery topped up. I also ran perfect pass plus all the standard usage (cranking and trim), gauges etc.
