Steering Advice

[ShoreThang]

Howdy S&Fers,
It's been awhile since I've been to the site and I can see that a lot has changed. Well, it's almost spring here in the northeast and I am getting ready to install hydraulic steering on my 85 Sleek SST. Problem is, I'm not sure which system would be best. Here are the specs: Sleek SST 20'6" hull, Merc Pre Bridgeport 2.4 w/Bob's cone and torque tab, 28* Chopper (going to a 24-26*), 12" setback with Detwiler Hydraulic 6" on setback bracket. Presently, my top speed is 75 @ 6500 RPMs, but I'm looking to break 80 this summer. Any suggestions?? Thanks in advance.

Steve

[Rickracer]

And as luch would have, we are having a group purchase special this spring as long as the stock holds up. Let us know if we can help. :cool:

[ShoreThang]

I will give a call tomorrow. It has been a long winter and I need to send you folks some money.

[Bahner Tunnel]

I'll be in the market for a Sea Star Pro for my 19' Liberator in a week or two, how much are they selling for ? Thanks.

[Rickracer]

Seastar Pro with Pro Kevlar hoses: $840.00

Seastar Pro with upgraded Cylinder (Allison) (6345) and Pro Kevlar Hoses: $879.59

Seastar Pro with Tilt Helm and Pro Kevlar hoses: $1,035.00

Seastar Pro with Tilt Helm and upgraded Cylinder (Allison) (6345) with Pro Kevlar Hoses: $1,055.00

*If you have a Seastar Pro and just want to do a upgrade:
Cylinder: $425.00
Tilt Helm: $510.00

This is a special we are receiving for a limited time. Please contact us by email/phone for this rate. We don't have this special on the website.<!-- / message --><!-- sig -->

[wideglide55]

That is without a doubt the lowest price you boys will find on the Sea Star Pro,better get your order in while the special is still on!!!!!!!

[ShoreThang]

I ordered the Seastar Pro with the upgraded cylinder this morning. I have one question. When measuring the hoses, obviously one end terminates at the helm, but should I be measuring to where the pump will be placed or where the fittings will go through my splashwell. I intend to get the braided hoses and fittings from Hoser and mount them in my splashwell. I sent out the money order this morning, so I have a few days to figure out what hose lengths I need. Any suggestions??

Steve

[Riverratt]

Steve, does this mean the transom is done? How is the Sleek coming? Email me a picture if you have it done.

[ShoreThang]

Hey Ralph,
Almost spring here, although we just got 6" of snow last night. I gave up on my misguided effort to do the work myself, and brought my boat to the fiberglass dude many of my friends recommended. I was over there Monday, and the transom and knees are in. He has to glass the splash well back in place. It will be smaller, as it has to fit between the knees. He is also eliminating the holes for my bowlight and steering cables. I am going with the dual recessed side lights and the hydraulic steering. All told, this little project is costing around $3k, so I guess I'm keeping my boat for awhile. I will keep you updated.
Steve

[Riverratt]

Are you painting the entire boat then to cover the filled in lights? Who did the repairs?

[Rickracer]

...then the Sea Star Pro hoses only need to go to the transom where they will connect to the bulkhead fittings. If you get them too long, you can always coil up and hide the excess. :cool:

[Tampa Cat]

Shorethang


I put a pad under a sst to take the rocker out from the lowest point to the rear of the boat .It stopped 8 inchs short of the transom.The pad was the same width as the sponson ,flat and about 2 inchs thick at the tail.Filled in the motor well and put the motor 10 inchs back.Ran 95 gps with 225 pm and 114 with 280 2.5merc.Steering must be on starboard side for the 280.Rode dry,good in the ruff,nice in 2 ft a 80, hard to stuff.It was well worth the effort.

[Tampa Cat]

If the splash well is out leave it out.

[wideglide55]

Run an old piece of rope exactly along the path you intend to mount the lines from the helm to the termination point at the bulkhead fittings,lay it on the ground and measure it,remeber to always round off the measurement to the next longest length hoses,if they're to short your done before you start.

[ShoreThang]

SOunds like the way to go WG. I will do that this afternoon. Holy smokes, TC!! A sleek over 90 mph!! Is yours the light layup or do you have a floor and the 200 pounds of seating like mine? I will have 12" of setback once I put this baby back together, a 6" Detwiler hydraulic and 6" static extension. I hope to get 80, and I think I will be happy with that. I have heard from several people that Sleeks like to blow over above 80, and I may add tunnel extensions to combat this. As far as the pad goes, that kind of work is way beyond me, and I hope that after the new transom, power steering, etc, I will be done for a while (yeah, right...) Do you still have your Sleek? I can't imagine running mine in rough water, as it slaps pretty hard. Maybe I'm just not going fast enough to get up on top.

Steve

[Tampa Cat]

Regular lay up I think,100 pounds for seats,no plywood sub floor.But weight loss does not fix the SST.The problem is THE BOTTOM.It's a perfect banana,just the center sponson.Go look at yours.I think the one we did is in Maryland now.Again,with the rocker in the bottom that boat will never respond to the usual go fast tricks.IT will just flip faster and handle bad.How much does your glass man want to fix the banana.I suspect very few have been corrected so feed back may be hard to come by.Once fixed they are a DREAM to drive,tail up nose down o trim on a foot of pad!

[Tampa Cat]

I glassed the pad to the bottom of the sponson,don't know if that was proper or not but it got lots of brutal abuse.2ft at 80, 4ft at 20 all while trying to get back down river to the ramp.

[Yamaha 225]

Hi ShoreTang! Can you post a picture of your boat? and please specify the weight too!! :rolleyes:

[Tampa Cat]

Shorethang

You would not need the hydrojack any more.How much $ does that save?

[ShoreThang]

Good Morning to all. It's actually sunny here in the northeast, and you can almost feel the heat when it shines on your back. My ordeal with the transom (another thread) is almost over and I have really gotta come up with a plan to get this boat back together. I don't think I'm gonna be adding a pad anytime soon TC, although I found your info very interesting and informative. I am a 49 year old dude, with a kid in college, and if my wife knew how much I was spending or how fast I am planning on going, my load would be about two balls lighter :eek: :eek: ... would that add any speed??
Enjoy the day!

Steve :cool:

P.S. Yammi Deuce and a Quarter, I used to have a pic in my avatar, but the new format won't allow it. I have to figure out how to get it back in. ST

[transomstand]

Hey Steve,

Who did your transom?

Pete

[ShoreThang]

His name is Frank Briglia and he is a fiberglass wiz. He has a company name which eludes me at the moment. I was going to do it my myself, and got as far as de-rigging it and ripping out the carpet before I realized that I didn't want to spend every weekend this winter on my belly in fiberglass dust. A few of the guys at my dock club recommended this guy. Turns out he spends a few months each winter working with the national bobsled team, and he also fabricates custom street rods and ships them all over the country. He has had the boat for about two weeks, and I went over yesterday to check out his progress and I am very pleased. He cut out the splashwell, fabricated the transom and added two knee braces at my request. This made it necessary to modify the splashwell, and he came up with a very cool idea. All that remains is the cosmetic stuff, and she is ready to rig!! His number is 203-879-5442. I don't know how busy he is, but i would give him my enthusiastic recommendation. :D
Steve

[transomstand]

Thanks

Pete

[ShoreThang]

It appears in the Seastar Pro owners manual that you cross the hoses between the helm and the cylinder. The helm is clearly marked port and starboard, and it would seem obvious that you would connect the port to the port side fitting on the cylinder and the starboard to the starboard side, but the installation manual shows the lines crossed. Shameful1 says this is the way to do it, and I don't doubt him, but I want to make sure it is right before I waste a quart of fluid. Help?!?!

[Reese]

shame is right...cross them.