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Author Topic:   1987 SPORT 15 New Steering

TTB posted 07-11-2014 10:02 AM ET (US)
I've been a longtime reader of ContinuousWave, but this is my first post.
I need to purchase a new steering system for my 1987 15' Sport and I'm not sure what to get. The boat is used to get to and from an island off the coast of Southport, NC. Given the tides, the wind, and the current of the Cape Fear River it is often very tumultuous water, so I built a console for the boat that enables the captain to sit or stand depending on conditions.
I didn't want to have to worry about refinishing the console in future years so as much as I like the look of mahogany, I decided to build the console out of 3/4-inch-thick King Starboard. It came out great, but heavier than I anticipated. Therefore without any passengers aboard the weight of the console and the captain cause the boat to list heavily to starboard unless it is up on plane. To fix that I'm planning on relocated the console to make the boat a CC. I plan on cutting a section of the deck, installing a PVC pipe, then glassing the deck back together, similar to other projects that have been posted here.
Here is my delema: I don't know how long the steering cable needs to be because I'm not sure where the console should be placed fore/aft. I'd like to use some trial/error to figure out the best weight distribution of the battery, fuel tank, and console before cutting the trench. The current steering cable isn't long enough to use, so I need to purchase a new steering system, but I need some flexibility so that after I determine the correct console placement I will be able to re-route the steering through the not-yet-installed-below-deck-PVC-pipe.
It seems to me that hydraulic steering is better than cable steering for my purpose for two reasons:
(a) It feeling like having a cable rise out of the sump vertically and then loop around to the steering tube would look sloppy.
(b) I can leave the hoses longer than I ultimately need, then once I'm done playing around with console placement I can built the rigging tube and use appropriately long hoses.
The boat has a Bob's Machine hydraulic jack plate, so there are no issues regarding splash well width.
Since the boat has only a 50 hp 2-stroke Yamaha, and has a max rating of 70 hp, the Baystar system seems to be an appropriate choice, but based on posts I've seen I have 2 concerns with Baystar:
(1) Tubing flexibility - it sounds like the Seastar system would be easier to work with during the trial/error portion of my project.
(2) Number of turns lock-to-lock. I read somewhere that Baystar would be a 6 turns lock-to-lock setup which seems way to bus-like for a 15' Whaler. I'd rather be closer to 3 turns to make this boat more fun to drive.
So, I'd love to hear comments from others who have done center console conversions.
In summary: Should I go for a hydraulic system? If so, which one? Or, should I buy an Xtreme helm system with a cable that is my best guess for what length I'll ultimately need, and then just buy a second cable if it turns out I need something different.
Thanks for any advice,
TJ
contender posted 07-11-2014 10:59 AM ET (US)
You can not get the correct lenght of your hoses until you set your console in place, (I put mine forward a little) Running a 50 Yamaha you just need to purchase the Bay Star System for your whaler. (Diffenent helms have different turns) Using this type of steering its easy to fish the hoses through the PVC you plan to put down. How did you get the star board to hold together? The only way I have found is by thru bolting the parts together with aircraft nuts, other wise the threads in the star board do not hold for long...good luck
Hoosier posted 07-11-2014 11:41 AM ET (US)
I think hydraulic is overkill for that boat/motor combination.When I refitted my 1978 Outrage V20 10 years ago I went with a Teleflex No-Feed-Back system and it has worked out wonderfully.
EJO posted 07-11-2014 01:22 PM ET (US)
I love my No-Feed-Back Teleflex on my 15 and wouldn't want to deal with hydraulic.
Binkster posted 07-11-2014 04:27 PM ET (US)
Here are some numbers for you. I'm in the finishing stages, working on my Custom 15' Center Console Whaler. It started life as a Striper model. I did the tunnel thing with 3" PVC pipe and used a long elbow to come up from the floor. Ir comes up from the floor at 70"(center)from the back of the sump. This is the forward part of my center console. I just got done installing the Teleflex Safe-T 15' steering cable, perfect length for this setup.
rich
TTB posted 07-12-2014 12:24 PM ET (US)
Thanks for the replies guys.
Contender - wow, thanks for that heads up. I hadn't thru bolted any of it and I just checked and I was headed for a catastrophic console disintegration! I thought I'd been pretty clever by building it with stainless steel Kreg pocket screws. It looked great but obviously wasn't going to hold together. I've got some redesigning to do.
Hoosier - no doubt about it that hydraulic steering is overkill for this boat/motor, it is flexibility of rigging that I'm looking for.
Binkster - Thanks for the number. I'll start at 70" for my first sea-trial and I'll work from there. What did you use to replace the voids where you removed foam? I was thinking I'd just use a can of "Great Stuff".
Thanks,
TJ
Binkster posted 07-12-2014 01:12 PM ET (US)
Great Stuff is great stuff, thats what I used.
rich
TTB posted 07-18-2014 08:17 PM ET (US)
Hey crew,
Just to close out the thread I figured I'd announce that the Baystar system was a clear choice once I learned that you can buy extra fittings for the helm end of the tubing, so it is very easy (in theory) to shorten the tubes. My plan is to install the steering system with longer-than-ultimately-needed tubing and leave it lying on top of the deck. Once I determine the appropriate fore/aft location of the console I'll cut my rigging tunnel, then re-route the steering tubing and cut it to the appropriate length.
Thanks for everyone's input.
TJ

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Author	Topic: 1987 SPORT 15 New Steering
TTB	posted 07-11-2014 10:02 AM ET (US) I've been a longtime reader of ContinuousWave, but this is my first post. I need to purchase a new steering system for my 1987 15' Sport and I'm not sure what to get. The boat is used to get to and from an island off the coast of Southport, NC. Given the tides, the wind, and the current of the Cape Fear River it is often very tumultuous water, so I built a console for the boat that enables the captain to sit or stand depending on conditions. I didn't want to have to worry about refinishing the console in future years so as much as I like the look of mahogany, I decided to build the console out of 3/4-inch-thick King Starboard. It came out great, but heavier than I anticipated. Therefore without any passengers aboard the weight of the console and the captain cause the boat to list heavily to starboard unless it is up on plane. To fix that I'm planning on relocated the console to make the boat a CC. I plan on cutting a section of the deck, installing a PVC pipe, then glassing the deck back together, similar to other projects that have been posted here. Here is my delema: I don't know how long the steering cable needs to be because I'm not sure where the console should be placed fore/aft. I'd like to use some trial/error to figure out the best weight distribution of the battery, fuel tank, and console before cutting the trench. The current steering cable isn't long enough to use, so I need to purchase a new steering system, but I need some flexibility so that after I determine the correct console placement I will be able to re-route the steering through the not-yet-installed-below-deck-PVC-pipe. It seems to me that hydraulic steering is better than cable steering for my purpose for two reasons: (a) It feeling like having a cable rise out of the sump vertically and then loop around to the steering tube would look sloppy. (b) I can leave the hoses longer than I ultimately need, then once I'm done playing around with console placement I can built the rigging tube and use appropriately long hoses. The boat has a Bob's Machine hydraulic jack plate, so there are no issues regarding splash well width. Since the boat has only a 50 hp 2-stroke Yamaha, and has a max rating of 70 hp, the Baystar system seems to be an appropriate choice, but based on posts I've seen I have 2 concerns with Baystar: (1) Tubing flexibility - it sounds like the Seastar system would be easier to work with during the trial/error portion of my project. (2) Number of turns lock-to-lock. I read somewhere that Baystar would be a 6 turns lock-to-lock setup which seems way to bus-like for a 15' Whaler. I'd rather be closer to 3 turns to make this boat more fun to drive. So, I'd love to hear comments from others who have done center console conversions. In summary: Should I go for a hydraulic system? If so, which one? Or, should I buy an Xtreme helm system with a cable that is my best guess for what length I'll ultimately need, and then just buy a second cable if it turns out I need something different. Thanks for any advice, TJ
contender	posted 07-11-2014 10:59 AM ET (US) You can not get the correct lenght of your hoses until you set your console in place, (I put mine forward a little) Running a 50 Yamaha you just need to purchase the Bay Star System for your whaler. (Diffenent helms have different turns) Using this type of steering its easy to fish the hoses through the PVC you plan to put down. How did you get the star board to hold together? The only way I have found is by thru bolting the parts together with aircraft nuts, other wise the threads in the star board do not hold for long...good luck
Hoosier	posted 07-11-2014 11:41 AM ET (US) I think hydraulic is overkill for that boat/motor combination.When I refitted my 1978 Outrage V20 10 years ago I went with a Teleflex No-Feed-Back system and it has worked out wonderfully.
EJO	posted 07-11-2014 01:22 PM ET (US) I love my No-Feed-Back Teleflex on my 15 and wouldn't want to deal with hydraulic.
Binkster	posted 07-11-2014 04:27 PM ET (US) Here are some numbers for you. I'm in the finishing stages, working on my Custom 15' Center Console Whaler. It started life as a Striper model. I did the tunnel thing with 3" PVC pipe and used a long elbow to come up from the floor. Ir comes up from the floor at 70"(center)from the back of the sump. This is the forward part of my center console. I just got done installing the Teleflex Safe-T 15' steering cable, perfect length for this setup. rich
TTB	posted 07-12-2014 12:24 PM ET (US) Thanks for the replies guys. Contender - wow, thanks for that heads up. I hadn't thru bolted any of it and I just checked and I was headed for a catastrophic console disintegration! I thought I'd been pretty clever by building it with stainless steel Kreg pocket screws. It looked great but obviously wasn't going to hold together. I've got some redesigning to do. Hoosier - no doubt about it that hydraulic steering is overkill for this boat/motor, it is flexibility of rigging that I'm looking for. Binkster - Thanks for the number. I'll start at 70" for my first sea-trial and I'll work from there. What did you use to replace the voids where you removed foam? I was thinking I'd just use a can of "Great Stuff". Thanks, TJ
Binkster	posted 07-12-2014 01:12 PM ET (US) Great Stuff is great stuff, thats what I used. rich
TTB	posted 07-18-2014 08:17 PM ET (US) Hey crew, Just to close out the thread I figured I'd announce that the Baystar system was a clear choice once I learned that you can buy extra fittings for the helm end of the tubing, so it is very easy (in theory) to shorten the tubes. My plan is to install the steering system with longer-than-ultimately-needed tubing and leave it lying on top of the deck. Once I determine the appropriate fore/aft location of the console I'll cut my rigging tunnel, then re-route the steering tubing and cut it to the appropriate length. Thanks for everyone's input. TJ