20 Best Hydraulic Steering For Boats (2023 Updated)

First of all, I don’t know why I waited so long to change from cable steering to hydraulic steering. I was worried about the tubing at first and some of the connections but they worked flawlessly. I installed system on a 17 foot Xpress bass boat with a 90 horsepower Yamaha and a 10 inch Jack Plate.

There is a couple things you will have to be ready for and I will fill you in on what I had to deal with. Number one, be prepared to fight the very stiff hose. Even though it is very abrasive resistant and very tough it is very hard to deal with.

I was fortunate enough to have a garage with tall enough ceilings two strap both ends in the rafters and let gravity take its toll that helped more than anything. Second, fill system for steering Helm is not that great.

It works but there is a couple things you could do to make life a lot easier. If I had to do it again I would make sure I put some kind of hose clamps on the fittings from the helm to the cap of the bottle and I would also put some kind of seal under the bottle cap so it would not leak everywhere when you’re trying to fill the helm.

Also, for the hoses going to the actual cylinder, make sure they’re in the right position when you tighten them. They have a tendency to twist and direction of the nut being tightened. So if you could twist slightly in the other direction and tighten up that point you should be fine.

I also installed some quarter inch thick rubber from the hardware store so anywhere the hoses touched the surface of the boat and was under pressure it would be protected. Overall, you will not be disappointed with this system.

It will help to have someone help you pull out the old steering cable and install the new hoses.

Before my Stearing was easy by hand at the stern on land on the water 175hp you had to muscle it and if you let go it would start turning instantly now I can stear with 1 finger and if I let go the motor doesn’t move.

Box was open and missing material Seems like someone had previously returned

Replaced older classic helm with this unit. All holes lined up perfect. Rubber cover for the lever to tilt helm didn’t fit into plastic housing perfectly, but was able to make it work. Updated steering wheel to three spoke with steering knob to finish updated look.

Old five spoke sat to far from housing.

Changed out my HC 5741 with the HH6541-3. Only had to ream out a couple hole. Fit great and great quality.

Came in timely manner. the part was just what i needed

I installed this unit on my 1994 Lund. The installation wasn’t too difficult. The steering is amazing. I also installed a Raymarine auto pilot. The two units work perfectly together.

The uflex components are high quality but the hose supplied is unusable. It is so stuff an un-twistable it is impossible to install it in a boat with a typical splash well. Over $100 wasted because I had to buy another set of more flexible hoses.

two finger steering!! Best boating choice I’ve ever made. Uflex has amazing customer support and will help with install questions. The manual is a little lost in translation so be careful – hoses must cross to work properly – port side of helm goes to starboard side of cylinder.

Bleeding is tough, but they’ll send you an updated manual.

You never go wrong with SeaStar Marine products. It really changed the way of steering on my two outboard engines, great handling and powerful helm.

Too bad they changed the fittings from NPT to O ring, but we still got her installed. I had to island swing some brass piping into the mix for an elbow fitting, but it is working well. I run 5 full day charters a week and the new helm has been performing well.

Great product! Easy to swap out existing unit!

Good helm unit that I purchased to replace a 10 year old HH5271 that was leaking. I decided not to rebuild it so got a new one. Buyer beware – SeaStar uses new ORB fittings not the older NPT fittings.

You will need adapters if replacing an older helm. The “-3” on the model number signifies this.

Direct bolt in replacement for old seastar helms however the new pump requires ORB type hose fittings which are not included with the new pump. For the price of this pump seastar should include all the required fittings.

I just started using it. It does prevent the knuckles from being busted on removing and placing the stop. My recommendation would be to make it a bright fluorescent yellow and bright fluorescent blue.

The dark gray color is easily lost during early morning launches. Just a suggestion to improve it. Also reminds one to remove it before launching too.

The Steer Stop looks well engineered and built. However it does not fit all sizes of hydraulic steering rams. It was too small to fit my 7/8†diameter Hynautic hydraulic ram. TH Marine took care of the return.

Great fit and seems like they’ll last, only had them a few months. Kind of hard to get on and off as the high handles make them very close in proximity to motor. Scrape a knuckle from time to time but seem like a good fitting product.

Edit 29 Oct 2019: extremely difficult to install/remove. Can only imagine what it will be like in cold months. fingers/knuckles be cautious. If they were shaved a small %, would probably enhance install and removal and still have good fit for application.

arrived in Australia in one piece due to it being packed really well. Fitted it to the boat and every thing fitted really good. Works really well. 100% recommend this company.

Five Star Marine Solutions is the best company to deal with. Their years of experience with rebuilding Hydraulic systems really shows, and I had peace of minding sending my system in to be rebuilt. Five Star Company, no pun intended.

Thanks Again!!!.

Function as designed. Using it on a 200hp Etec G2 and so far it’s been great going on it’s second season.

Very easy system to install. Biggest hassle is running lines/hoses in tight spaces. Makes your boat drive like a dream!

Makes my boat drive like a Automobile, Can’t imagine Steering A boat with Twin engines without this.

Great product, added this to my Seastar hydraulic steering makes steering underpower a breeze.

Going from a tiller to this made all the difference for trolling. This installed in about 2 hrs complete. I rate this a 10. Measurement are key. Follow pre-order instructions and it installs well

it is easy to put together. But it has about 3 inches of play in it and I don’t know why!!

works great

Ordered and was in dire need of this unit as I had a week day trip planned with friends on the lake. Wholesale Marine got the system out the door Thursday and into my hands by Saturday (I picked it up).

All marine technicians were backed up, so I removed old system Friday, and installed new system Saturday and finished by noon Sunday. Don’t ever want to do this job again. Biggest thing here is that Wholesale Marine got it out the door and into my hands in record time.

Used the Free Shipping option as well. Thanks Wholesale Marine.

Received the steering system quickly. Somewhere I read about using 5/8″ garden hose to attach to the ends of the old dual cables and pulling these through the side of the bass boat to the console and attaching to the new cables and pulling them back through to the engine.

It was a quick repair.

Exactly as the original. Great service. Didn’t think I could find the original setup going back to the early 1990s, I was impressed.

Product works great and cheaper than the name brand cylinder. No complaints.

I contemplated just getting a seal replacment kit, but decided to go with the newly upgraded ram piston instead as it’s supposed to be a better alternative than the current ram I have on my boat at present.

Great product good quality 100% recommended

Excellent pump for my application. I rigged this up for a front stick steering In one of my boats. Take my advice on people thinking about doing this and do away with the stick and go with the wheel on the pump.

Much better.

Surprisingly easy to install and purge the air out of it.

Defective out of box wasted a lot of oil and time takeing in and out of boat

I finally had the chance to test this product on two separate trips. It works great with less fatigue at the end of the day. I still have to get used to the 5 lock to lock turning; My cable system was 4 lock to lock.

I use a steering knob turner and its all over the place; So I’m going to have to get used the slip that comes with hydraulic steering also. On my cable system the knob alway returned to the same spot for straight ahead travel.

Overall, I feel that this is a great improvement over the mechanical steering.

The steering units seem to be well made and easy to install but the plastic hose was difficult to deal with, wanted to stay in a roll. The fill adapter leaks when attached to the bottle of oil. I installed mine in colder weather, hose may be easier to deal with in warmer weather.

Looking forward to warmer weather so I can try it out on the water.

Switched from cable steer, and what a huge difference. I had to use both hands and a lot of effort to turn my boat before, now, I can turn it with ease. Easy installation, great instructions, great product.

The steering on my Ranger boat seized and ripped apart, so I decided to retrofit it with hydraulic. Vevor was the least expensive option. To remove all of the old system took a long time, considering 30 years of corrosion.

To install the new system took maybe 4 hours. I had two minor issues on installation; 1) The arms did not reach far enough to bolt to the cylinder shafts, so I took a 3-pound hammer and bent them further.

A $500 kit, so no turning back now. Next, the flare nut that was included had stripped out, so I used the original brass that I had. The strength and quality of the nut it is questionable. Other than that, everything else installed smoothly, and I had it out on the water just a few hours ago.

This is an excellent kit but my experience has been painful to say the least. My issues: 1. Instructions are appalling and written in typical Chinese English. As a result, what should have been a relatively easy install took 3 times longer than it should as some things ended up being trial and error.

I am mechanically experienced having done much more complicated work. 2. Tech support virtually non existent. Replies are prompt but it is almost like speaking with a BOT: (i) Asked question regarding how much hydraulic oil the unit takes for a first fill.

Tech support responded telling me what type of oil to use. Asked again, pointing out that they had not answered the question asked. Same response. Finally on the third attempt I received an answer telling me that I needed 2L.

Ended up only needing 1L. (ii) Compression fitting snapped during install. Asked tech support of the type and spec /thread count etc. Couldn’t give me a reply. Didn’t even know which part I was referring to despite a clear explanation.

I ran around town going to all specialty hydraulic stores within an hour’s drive. Noone could match the part. Ended up heading to marine mechanic and guessed that it was a Seastar copy. Finally received this part at a cost of $47.

Two weeks after commissioning and running the boat with new steering , tech support finally replied stating that they would send me replacement fittings. Great that they did this but a frustrating experience.

Received new parts 6 weeks after purchase. So, I’m complaining a bit here as all of the above was avoidable and cost me heaps in terms of time and effort. On the plus side, the unit performs very well -steering has improved considerably.

It’s not finger touch but it’s not far off that either. A very worthy upgrade.

This product was as described and was very easy to install and worked like a charm. Installation took about one hour an I was back on the water again.

Ordered this product on Wednesday got it on Friday. Great service

Very easy to install and bleed. Comes with all the needed fittings!

Rehabbed a 13′ classic Whaler with new mahogany and 2019 Yamaha F40. Telefax Safe-T II NFB installed perfectly using supplied template to cut and drill through new console. Cable is a bit stiff, but, careful installation planning made it easy to install.

Sea trial was thrilling with new motor complimented by excellent steering control.

My measurements indicated that an eleven foot long cable was a “safe bet”. But, now that is in place, I wish I had gotten a ten foot long cable. I sent messages to Home Essentials Direct and hope they get to the kit maker so I can exchange the cable.

Shopping at Home Essentials Direct is easy, resolving minor issues like this are difficult.

How did I enjoy boating without this no return helm??? This is so much better, I set my turn and “let go” until I want to change course. It fit in the old space perfectly and was easy to install. (I’m a 62 year old woman!) ha ha.

Do everything right and pay attention to details, but just do it! This is on a 115 Honda, so I definitely don’t want a steering problem. Plus I link up my trolling motor to main motor and while trolling it maintains direction perfectly.

Sea Star hydraulic fluid is top shelf product. After market bleed and fill kits are a bad match and may cost you a quart of fluid before you get started. Dozens of service kits out there all look identical but the adaptor that goes on the fluid bottle doesn’t match the bottle size and threads so be aware not to lose the fluid in preparations to bleed and fill your system.

It’s a bottle of the recommended hydraulic fluid for Baystar hydraulic steering systems. Cheaper thru this source than my local marina or other online sources. Not quite sure why it’s so expensive. Must have a dash of unobtanium in it.

That’s it LOL.

Necessary expensive item if you own a power boat. Because it’s a marine produce the manufacturers think they can charge double or triple a similar non marine product costs. Sad. Not sellers fault, commercial reality.

Been in the boating world for many years. Sometimes a product really impresses and sometimes it doesn’t. Well this product impresses with its heavy duty appearance and great quality and finish. Top performance also when I installed it on my 2014 H18 Xpress/F115 Yamaha.

Very pleased!.