Seastar tie-bar issues?

Sharphooks

Well-Known Member
Anybody else having problems with the tie-bar binding and bending, leaving you dead in the water without steering?

I just went through my second tie-bar—always happens at a really bad time. I even disconnect when not using but it still bends

How do I get a fool-proof connection between the main and the kicker that’s RELIABLE ? I don’t have some weird set-up—-I have a DF300 and a Honda that sits next to it on a bracket—-no major offsets or angle or anything else—-just a normal side-by-side outboard set-up

I’d be interested to hear some comments on what guys do to get a few years out of their set-ups

Thanks
 
Well I'm on my second one as well in 7 years. I didn't lube it right at the end of the season one year. Got in the boat to clean one day the following May before taking it out on the water and tried turning wheel. It wouldn't turn, I forced it and broke the SS tie bar. I was told post that incident they need excessive lubrication regularly. Mine is Yamaha Main F225 to Yamaha kicker with zero offset. Other than the one incident, it's been bullet proof. I've used the new one hundreds of hours. I love the system.
 
Have you considered putting together your own system. My tie bar system is put together out of parts available from marine suppliers such as Trotac. The system on my boat ties the 225 Opti (Seastar hydraulic system) to a 9.9 Yami kicker and is bullet proof. The system stays in place permanently for the season with the boat in the water and allows both motors to go up and down independently with out interfering with each other. The tie bar can be removed in seconds if necessary, but we usually only do that when we remove the kicker.

The brackets are bolted to the front of the motors. The stainless bracket for the 9.9 was available from the local Yami dealer when I bought the new kicker and the one for the main looks like it was fabricated by the previous owner. Both brackets have a bolt through them with a small ball on top. The tie bar itself is a solid thick pre-threaded heavy duty stainless rod. The ends are stainless and screw on and are adjustable with a lock nut. The kicker end is spring loaded and you pull back the outer cover and it slips over the ball on the bracket. Both ends work like the ball joints on a car and allow multi directional movement. This system has worked flawlessly for me since 2001 and I believe worked well for the guide that had the boat before me for 5 or 6 years. I bought a spare end just in case of a failure as they only take a couple of minutes to change out, even at sea, but have never had to use it. All we do for maintenance is put a little heavy marine grease on the ends at the beginning of the season and of course also grease the motors at the beginning of the season so they have little turning resistance. I don't see why this system won't keep working flawlessly for decades to come.
 
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Sea Star makes a tiebar kit that gets rid of that weak stainless rod that always bends when you least expect, It is just a solid rod that connects to your motors, No cable, No grease and no thin week rod.
 
Yes, I think it’s time to make the switch. Today it puked in tight quarters—-surrounded by boats at Point No Point, me fighting a fish, and I couldn’t turn either engine in either direction. Had to pull the plug on the day —-missed a nice tide...

Third time this has happened.... this pic is not my boat or engine —-got the pic from the web——but mine bent in exact same place

B692C04F-49A3-4BEE-B904-5A7BA50D3239.jpeg
 
Yes, I think it’s time to make the switch. Today it puked in tight quarters—-surrounded by boats at Point No Point, me fighting a fish, and I couldn’t turn either engine in either direction. Had to pull the plug on the day —-missed a nice tide...

Third time this has happened.... this pic is not my boat or engine —-got the pic from the web——but mine bent in exact same place

View attachment 44743
I'm on my third, Just waiting for this one to bend, Then I will get the Sea Star solid tie bar set up. You have to grease the heck out of the rod that runs through the kicker motor constantly to keep it from getting stuck and bending that small rod on the other end.
 
The one that bent today was installed this past December—-rod installed in kicker tilt tube had plenty of lube.
 
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Not sure how your system works or what it looks like, but is there anyway to slide a slightly bigger ID pipe over the shaft to give it some extra strength?
 
Good idea but there's a small diameter seal in the main outboard tilt tube and if you pulled that out to make room for reinforcing pipe, you'd end up with salt water intrusion and eventual rod freeze-up
 
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