santina Posted June 6, 2018 Share Posted June 6, 2018 I own a 5.5m 2010 trophy boat in a very good condition. I can handle the boat by myself as I drive it on and off the trailer. I want to make the boat as friendly as possible before I get older. I want to put an electric anchor winch, convert the steering to hydraulic, automatic launch and retrieve boat latch, repair rust on the motor, replace the American coupling over-ride with an Australian one, replace the trailer's springs and whatever else that needs to be done. Can somebody please recommend a company that can do the above work. I am after an excellent quality work and will not accept less. I am willing to travel anywhere to get what I want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swivelfish Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 Have you checked out balex systems? http://www.balexmarine.com a mate of mine had them on a maclay boat, here in nz...he's a 'senior'...and he loved it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Hi @santina, You're pretty much on the path I was on - happy with the hull and improving the configuration to make it more capable, enjoyable and simpler to operate. Many of the jobs, even the ones that seem very complex can be done as a DIY with some research and preparation eg: But if you want a turn key solution, please PM and I will send you details of a few establishments that I am aware of . FYI, I see you are in Wangi Wangi, these are in mostly in the Windsor / Mulgrave area so you will have to travel. Cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 Some of the later outboards come with power steering on the motor. I presume that most of the bigger models will have this as standard meaning that cable/rod/hydraulics will become obsolete. Are you a practical person? Would you have a go at doing some of this yourself? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
locodave Posted June 14, 2018 Share Posted June 14, 2018 Would you travel interstate for the right job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted June 15, 2018 Share Posted June 15, 2018 Hmmm... doesn't look like @santina is responding on this anymore. Z 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 well maybe we can keep talking about it instead ? A drive on trailer, you need a way of getting in to and out of the boat at the ramp. People usually try and put a ladder there, but I don't know where you'd attach it to an FG boat. Anyone use hydraulic steering and how do you find it? The coupling over-ride looks pretty straight forward, take of the old and bolt on a new one, using engineered fastenings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Hahaha.... yes we can continue to amuse ourselves. I have used Hydraulic steering since 1996 -- it is smooth and efficient ..... I originally had a single hyraulic ram - side mount system, but upgraded to a front mount HyDrive BullHorn kit as the bullhorn design was rated for heavier and higher HP capacity motors. I have a linkage shaft between the main and aux motors and the hydraulics capacity can handle steering both at the same time. The hydraulic steering has been faultless for >15yrs and it was relatively easy to install. Maintenance is almost non existent. I have changed hydraulic fluid twice in 15yrs. I keep the ram/shaft hosed clean of salt, and applying a squirt of WD40 / Silicon lube spray and that has kept the seals intact. So in my experience there is nothing to it. I had a cable-pulley system on my 16ft savage and although it did the job I found that clunky and it did require maintenance/lubrication etc. My brother in law had a flex cable system on his 16ft pride, which eliminated a lot of the cable-pulley responsiveness issues, but the flex cable was prone to getting stuck due to corrosion if left unused for a while. So we had to pull it apart, clean and lubricate the shaft several times. Add ofcourse the eTec guys and some of the new 4St now offer power steering... but I don't think @santina was considering repowering... Cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 Well, lets continue ... Drive on/drive off sounds good. How do you get on the boat? A ladder of some sort I guess. Was your hydraulic expensive/hard to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted July 1, 2018 Share Posted July 1, 2018 Hi Antony, Not sure if any others are still interested in this topic...but in answer to your questions. How do you get in the boat? In my case a fold down ladder off the back pod. Re Hydraulic steering, I purchased a kit from the W***s chandlery place. Kit came with the helm pump, bullhorn ram, pressure tube, fittings, fluid etc. It was relatively pricey but was a complete solution. It was quite easy to install for the handy DIY person. The helm pump needs a cutout to protrude into the cabin where you attach the pressure tubing with york-tight type fittings. It is bolted into place on the dash. The bullhorn bolts through the outboard pivot tube (no modifications required to outboard) and the ram is attached to the short stubby outboard tiller arm (again in my case all the bolts were provided). The hydraulics are a cinch for a mechanic or anyone with experience bleeding hydraulic brakes. Working with a buddy definitely made the job easier especially when it came to bleeding the lines - one on the helm pump keeping it topped up and the other at the back bleeding the air out. If you want any more specifics on hydraulics Antony just PM or call me. Also, if you want to extend the topic, in my case, to make my boat "more friendly" I also converted from a marine canvas bimini to a taller hardtop with plate glass screens and a washer wiper system. Surprisingly this has made a bigger difference in terms of ride comfort then I had ever imagined would be the case. My mates and I come back dry from the sloppiest swell and less dehydrated or burnt when out in the sun. Also big thumbs up from the Mrs when she ventures out. (Before)Marine Canvas Bimini: (After) Hard Top Version: And on the water...front view... (ignore my bro-in-law's mug shot) Cheers Zoran 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Time to bump this one. I've got a new boat (to me) and it has hydraulic steering. The issue is that there is no fluid as it was removed to fix the ram. Do you have any preferences for what fluid to use? Can you use anything or should you go for a specific marine one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 I use the following stuff - same brand as my unit. Cheers Zoran Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishop Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Same. I have a hydrive unit as well though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 Thanks. I can't see a brand name on mine. It looks like the fluid that was in it was green. I'm guessing that I should just drain it out, then pick an easy to find brand and stick with it. From what I've seen they all seem to be around $22 a litre Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted December 6, 2018 Share Posted December 6, 2018 (edited) Can you post a picture of your unit - the helm pump and the ram near the motor please. Maybe we can identify the brand/model. If you read the hydrive container it makes some compatibility claims - could be to do with the types of seals used. Cheers Z Edited December 7, 2018 by zmk1962 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 (edited) The power of daytime and the sun has revealed to me that it is is a Hydraflex system. I ended up buying the Seastar brand of fluid before I discovered this. I can get it local so I'll check that it is compatable and then see about getting it installed Update, I found a website with what looks like my steering system and on the page is an orange bottle of fluid, just like what I bought so I think I'm going to be a winner. Thanks @zmk1962! Do you want to keep this thread going or shall I start a new one about my installation? Edited December 7, 2018 by antonywardle Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zmk1962 Posted December 7, 2018 Share Posted December 7, 2018 Good stuff Antony. I didn’t start this thread so it’s up to you. But it probably makes sense to start a hydraulic steering installation topic. Cheers Z 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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