Hydraulic steering

I've been pondering whether hydraulic steering might be a viable
solution to my steering problem. I have a 20' inboard jet with a
Hamilton 212 pump that has about 45 degrees of rotational slop or
dead-zone in the helm/cable. As it's only ~ 270 degrees lock-lock this
is very annoying and I would love to eliminate the slop.

It seems to me that a decent hydraulic helm should have very little play
in it. Is that true?

One problem could be the number of turns lock-lock. Teleflex indicates 4
turns on their SeaStar unit and not specified on the smaller BayStar
unit. I wouldn't want more that ~ 1 turn max. I need to measure the
linear throw needed at the pump lever and perhaps talk to Teleflex. As I
recall it's a pretty short throw required.

I'm considering hydraulic because I don't think there's room under the
dash for a rack & pinion unit and this is the second sloppy rotary
helm/cable I've had in there.

If any one has any thoughts or experiences I'd appreciate hearing them.

Thanks,
-rick-

You can get different Hydraulic pumps with different rates. We just set up
a high perf. boat that the owner wanted a quicker response. I believe he
settled on 2.8 turns lock to lock


"-rick-" <nobody DeleteThis @home.com> wrote in message
news:ppednRqVnv7axZnfRVn-3Q@comcast.com...
 > I've been pondering whether hydraulic steering might be a viable
 > solution to my steering problem. I have a 20' inboard jet with a
 > Hamilton 212 pump that has about 45 degrees of rotational slop or
 > dead-zone in the helm/cable. As it's only ~ 270 degrees lock-lock this
 > is very annoying and I would love to eliminate the slop.
 >
 > It seems to me that a decent hydraulic helm should have very little play
 > in it. Is that true?
 >
 > One problem could be the number of turns lock-lock. Teleflex indicates 4
 > turns on their SeaStar unit and not specified on the smaller BayStar
 > unit. I wouldn't want more that ~ 1 turn max. I need to measure the
 > linear throw needed at the pump lever and perhaps talk to Teleflex. As I
 > recall it's a pretty short throw required.
 >
 > I'm considering hydraulic because I don't think there's room under the
 > dash for a rack & pinion unit and this is the second sloppy rotary
 > helm/cable I've had in there.
 >
 > If any one has any thoughts or experiences I'd appreciate hearing them.
 >
 > Thanks,
 > -rick-<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->