Stearing failure.

saddlemaker

saddlemaker

Member
Had a sudden and complete failure of a seastar nfb cable steering system. Appears that the cable completely broke inside. No warning.....On a 19 foot with a suz 115hp. Thankfully on a lake 300 yards from the boat launch and not next month in quatsino sound...
Probably replace with hydraulic.
Any way to forecast such failure?
 
Mine went with little warning. After 2 cables going I finally went hydraulic ............................ what a difference, I wish I did it years ago and did not cheap out on the cables right from the start.
 
I had one go while in a derby with the winning fish on board,thankfully a friend towed me in from Sherringham point.Hydraulic is great but get ready for sticker shock compared to a simple cable renewal.Probably about $2K compared to $300.
 
from US amazon


Robert a.
3.0 out of 5 stars Paying to much
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 20, 2023
Style: With 10ft HoseVerified Purchase
Liking the adjustability of the hoses but other then that the pressure release valve is way to weak. Don't buy if your driving over 30mph in 22' skiff. But works if your in a pinch for cash I guess


kelly heckmann
2.0 out of 5 stars Too much wheel play
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 30, 2023
Style: With 20ft HoseVerified Purchase
I was excited changing out my manual to hydraulic. I purchased the Vevor because of the price and the reviews. The steering cylinder grinds at the wheel and the wheel play is 20- 45. I bleed the system 6 times both side to make sure all air was out. Also the clear hose to put fluid in does not fit the hydraulic fluid bottle, so made a funnel. I am going to reach out to dealer for a replacement, but doubt I will get because it was installed. Very disappointed.


Daytona
4.0 out of 5 stars Good value
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 1, 2023
Style: With 22ft HoseVerified Purchase
These systems function well-cons helm needs to be flushed out -lots of micro metal shaving are on these helms-bleeders are are cheap and very messy compared to sea star-get what you pay for-pros-once installed they perform very well-any v engine just buy the 300 hp kit-bigger is always better!!!

some reviews loved the system. these are the negative comments
 
I have a Hydrodrive. I have nothing to compare it to on my boat, because i installed it when I built it. Seems to work quite well. I don't have experience with other hydraulic brands.
The service was very quick.
 

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hydrodrive.eu

Hydrodrive® Hydraulic Steering System

Outboard, Inboard and Stern-Drive Hydraulic Steering Systems by Hydrodrive. We have applications for racing boats, sailboats and catamarans. We do also manufacture hydraulic stick steering systems and we can manufacture special steering systems on client requirements.
hydrodrive.eu hydrodrive.eu
This is the link to their website.
 
TMan said:
hydrodrive.eu

Hydrodrive® Hydraulic Steering System

Outboard, Inboard and Stern-Drive Hydraulic Steering Systems by Hydrodrive. We have applications for racing boats, sailboats and catamarans. We do also manufacture hydraulic stick steering systems and we can manufacture special steering systems on client requirements.
hydrodrive.eu hydrodrive.eu
This is the link to their website.
Click to expand...
I also have the Hydrodrive system. Bought on Amazon. It ships from Hungary but arrived quick. I've had it for 3 years or so. It was around $600 back then and around $850 now. Much more affordable than Seastar and I've had no issues with it. Just because it's on Amazon, don't think it's crap quality like Vevor products. The Hydrodrive systems are very popular overseas, but everyone here likes Seastar.
 
Well.....bought a Vevor. 300hp model. Fast shipping. 750.00. Installation went well .The worst part was getting the old cable system out. Bled. System is smooth. Hàve been testing every day. Time will tell if it was a good decision or ...........

20230720_081308.jpg
 
saddlemaker said:
Well.....bought a Vevor. 300hp model. Fast shipping. 750.00. Installation went well .The worst part was getting the old cable system out. Bled. System is smooth. Hàve been testing every day. Time will tell if it was a good decision or ...........

View attachment 94986
Click to expand...
Thank you for being the Guinea Pig. Looking forward to seeing how it holds up in a couple years.
 
saddlemaker said:
Had a sudden and complete failure of a seastar nfb cable steering system. Appears that the cable completely broke inside. No warning.....On a 19 foot with a suz 115hp. Thankfully on a lake 300 yards from the boat launch and not next month in quatsino sound...
Probably replace with hydraulic.
Any way to forecast such failure?
Click to expand...
This past Friday I had a sudden and complete failure like you, with no previous signs of a problem. I was on the flats out off of Pedder and had drop my hali anchor. I started to back away from the buoy and lost steering and the wheel just spun freely with a bit of a cable grinding noise. Checked the access hole above the rudder to confirm and of course there was no movement.

Could not see the connection point to the rudder arm through the hole in the floor so with the use of my camera was able to get pictures and could see the pinned connection to the rudder with a cotter key in it. After about an hour of playing by feel I could not straighten the cotter pin enough to pull it but was able to cut it with a little pair of side cutters that I was fortunate enough to have on board. Also had a pair of vice grips and was able to grip a bit of the rudder arm to allow us to get back into Pedder Bay. It was a slow process picking up the anchor, a couple of crab traps and docking. Was very fortunate to have someone with me as he handled the throttle and I sat on the floor taking his direction steering with a pair of vice grips that slipped off every 10 mins or so.

Took it apart today and the cable snapped inside the helm and chewed up the spool in there so I'm in the process now of tracking down replacement parts. Isn't boating so much fun.

We did get some fishing in and my buddy picked up a little chicken so it was not a total loss.
 
ship happens said:
You can tell just by the sheen on the stainless parts that its absolute **** quality stainless
Click to expand...
Most stainless comes from china now doesn’t it ??, I replace All kinds of fasteners on my POs and they all go rusty in no time, really soft too, easy to strip
 

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