Steering makes my arms hurt

[NelsonQ]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Here are some pics. I am going to assume this is dual cable. If it is dual cable, does it make sense it is this difficult to steer? If so, it sure would have been nice to know before I bought the boat. Is adding hydraulic assist an option? Do you think it is a do it yourself option? Also, inside the helm, the gray box the cables hook into certainly has Teleflex stamped onto it. In my bundle of owners manuals I have 2 Teleflex manuals (one is for the SH91610/SH91630 backmount performance tilt standard/no feed back helms and the other is for the SH91800/10 and SH91900/10Teleflex Pro Series Tilt Mechanisms). However, there is certainly no way to tilt my steering wheel.
Here are the pics.

jhndere.....from looking at your pics (btw, first pic of the boat, very nice boat you have there) you have a manual dual cable systems but nothing hydraulic about it. From the factory its about $750 for the upgrade. After market do it yourself, you can probably do it for several 100 less. In the shop, I'd suspect you'd be around $1200-1500.

I don't think there is anything wrong with it. Does it move freely when turning it sitting on the trailer? I suspect so. I'd talk to Bass Pro.

I just ordered a new 2010 boat from Hurricane. Comes standard with manual steering on my 19 footer (much like the 215 CC you have). When I started talking upgrades from a 115HP motor, he quickly pointed out that at 150HP and above (I went 175HP), you better get the hydraulic steering or it'll twist your arms off.

I'd bet the boat was an inventory boat, and when they purchased it powered with the 150HP, they didn't do a steering change/upgrade.

 

[BaileysBoat]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

jhndere.....from looking at your pics (btw, first pic of the boat, very nice boat you have there) you have a manual dual cable systems but nothing hydraulic about it. .............150HP and above (I went 175HP), you better get the hydraulic steering or it'll twist your arms off.

I'd bet the boat was an inventory boat, and when they purchased it powered with the 150HP, they didn't do a steering change/upgrade.

I'm with NelsonQ, love the Teleflex hydraulic.

Jhndere, you have Teleflex "no feedback" steering. Here is the manual;

http://www.downloadingfiles.co.uk/teleflexfiles/library/marketingaids/IS-SH4910 4920.pdf

Make sure there are no bends less than 8" radius in the cable. There should be a small amount of play at the steering wheel. If not get the cables adjusted as per the above.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

I agree with what Rocky said above. It's an easy couple of steps to finding out what the problem may be - cables, motor steering pinion, both or neither.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

I can't believe what I just noticed...you have a DUAL HELM steering kit in your boat. You have two cables trying to turn your engine, where you only should be using one.

You can unhook one of the two cables totally back at the helm unit, and reduce your turning resistance by one half.

Look at the owners manual provided by Baileysboat...it shows that you only need two cables for dual helm operation. YOU HAVE ONE TOO MANY STEERING CABLES IN USE!

Time to call Bass Pro...and ask just which 'pro' is responsible for this!

Happy boating!

 

[jhndere]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Rocky Road
Thanks for the advice. Any idea which cable would be correct to disconnect? The one connected closest to the engine or furthest from the engine?
Also, I got an email back from the service rep at Bass Pro. He said he would be willing ot drive out here and pick up my boat and have it fixed. That was nice to hear since it is a 2.5 hour drive to Bass Pro.
However, if disconnecting one of these cables is the fix, it will save me some boat downtime.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Rocky Road
Thanks for the advice. Any idea which cable would be correct to disconnect? The one connected closest to the engine or furthest from the engine?
Also, I got an email back from the service rep at Bass Pro. He said he would be willing ot drive out here and pick up my boat and have it fixed. That was nice to hear since it is a 2.5 hour drive to Bass Pro.
However, if disconnecting one of these cables is the fix, it will save me some boat downtime.

If this were mine, I would take up his offer to come for the boat...so that he can see what his 'pro' gave you.

As for which cable can be eliminated, I can only go by past experience and that is that the single cable normally goes through the engine mount pivot--that is the farthest one back, in your picture. It should be fairly easy to disconnect the extra cable at the engine...but unless you totally remove it from the helm unit, you are still 'pushing and pulling' an extra cable, even though it isn't doing any work. The removed cable could be kept as a backup, or sold on eBay to someone that has damaged theirs.

I am beginning to wonder if this dual helm setup was installed in case the boat was outfitted with two engines...then each cable could be routed to an engine each. That would make some sense, and the extra cable could be kept in your garage just in case you ever went that route. But for now, you are fighting yourself with this setup...!

Let us know what you do next!

Happy boating!

P.S. Since you are getting through to the manager with email, you can give him a link to this forum discussion, so that he can see what has transpired...and what direction he needs to take to 'fix' your problem.

 

[jhndere]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Ok, so I have a couple more questions then.

If my motor is suppose to only have one cable hooked up to it, why is there the ability to hook both cables to it?

If you look at the picture of the steering connections, what are the two black tubes on the left for? I thought maybe that was where a second set of cables would go into for a second motor?

I am willing ot just unhook one of the cables to see if it still works, but I just want to be clear on those two questions before I unhook.

Thanks again to all of you.

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Ok, so I have a couple more questions then.

If my motor is suppose to only have one cable hooked up to it, why is there the ability to hook both cables to it?

If you look at the picture of the steering connections, what are the two black tubes on the left for? I thought maybe that was where a second set of cables would go into for a second motor?

I am willing ot just unhook one of the cables to see if it still works, but I just want to be clear on those two questions before I unhook.

Thanks again to all of you.

jhndere

Just to clarify, when its sitting on the trailer, will it steer easily side to side from the helm?

Rocky's right in that they may have installed a dual setup, and mounted a single engine which would have them counteracting each other.

 

[jhndere]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

It is difficult to steer no matter where it is. I sprayed some WD40 on the pistons this morning just to see if it would make a difference. It did make it a bit easier, but certaily not as easy as I assume it should be. This is not just a "on the water" related issue.

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Hold on folks.

Roc this is not a dual helm set-up but rather a dual cable set-up. Look carefully at the pics. You can see two cables coming to a single pivot bar on which the engine steering rod is connected. This is a two cable version of the single rotary. Why two cables? Double the leverage and control. Everything looks correctly installed. These are not complicated set-ups.

John, just get the Bass Pro shops guys out to take a look at it. Usually a two cable system like this should work well for that size engine.

 

[jhndere]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Greg,
You just killed all my excitement. Ha! But, better to do that than me unhooking stuff to find out it is wrong.
I am going to tell Bass Pro to just come get it and fix it. I asuume they are going to just replace the cables since it is warranty work anyhow.
I will keep you guys posted. Thanks again!

 

[Greg Mrozinski]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Sorry my friend. But if you still want to take a cable off go for it Keep us posted on the outcome.

 

[scorpionfs]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

well i have listened to a couple of boaters they say they like the dual cable,safety issue i guess not likly one is gona break i wouldnt think but what do i know lol,u have one pushing and the other pulling should make it that much easier to operate or on other hand that much harder lol

 

[jhndere]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

Quick update

Basspro came yesterday and picked up the boat. The service rep said it certainly was hard to turn. He said he would just wind up replacing the cables. I should have it back next weekend. Hopefully this shall be the fix. He assumes the grease in the cables are probably gummed up from sitting at the dealer for 2 years. I will keep ya posted.

 

[BugsBunnyBoater]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

The problem might just be in the helm its self. Mines has water wick down the steering wheel nut and corrode the gears. It made steering really hard.

 

[jhndere]

Re: Steering makes my arms hurt

I thought I had posted the results on here of my steering issues but apparently I had not. BassPro had the boat for a week and brought it back. They replaced the steering cables. I took it out right away and it seemed easier to steer but was hard to tell due to some windy choppy conditions. This past weekend I finally got it out on a hot day and did some tubing etc. It certainly steers better! Thanks for all the input and help.
Happy Boating.