Running Verado without power steering

[native2]

I have a question for you guys. I have a buddy putting a 350 Verado on a flats boat. The boat had a 300xs with Sea Star steering. He does not want to run the power steering pump that Mercury recommends with the Verado package. It would have to be mounted in the bilge, it is heavy, it draws a lot of power, it frequently fails.... Can you run the Verado internal steering ram with just the Sea Star helm? I was told you could.... I am told it would just run like a boat with regular old Sea Star steering... A little bit of steering torque through the wheel, but manageable. I totally understand running the power steering on a twin or triple set up. But is it necessary to run it on a single application? Many high performance bass boats run regular hydraulic steering with out the power assist... Who has run a sea star helm with the Verado? What can you tell me about this set up? What hoses/fitting/ adapters are needed to run the sea star helm with the Verado ram? Thanks in advance for your input.

[RSWORDS]

You may 8f you get crafty... but

Its not that heavy... and it doesn't frequently fail... and it draws WAY less power then the motor producers.

The reasons he doesn't want to run it... are invalid

[native2]

You may 8f you get crafty... but

Its not that heavy... and it doesn't frequently fail... and it draws WAY less power then the motor producers.

The reasons he doesn't want to run it... are invalid

I have had 9 Verados and put over 1500 hrs on each. Yes the pumps overheat and fail temporarily. Yes, they can draw up to 60 amps. This is a one battery boat... Again this is a small flats boat with limited space and weight savings are critical. Thanks for your input... Have you run the Verado without power steering and with a sea star helm?

[RSWORDS]

I have had 9 Verados and put over 1500 hrs on each. Yes the pumps overheat and fail temporarily. Yes, they can draw up to 60 amps. This is a one battery boat... Again this is a small flats boat with limited space and weight savings are critical. Thanks for your input... Have you run the Verado without power steering and with a sea star helm?

If your pump is over heating you have a install issue. Usually to short of a return.

I haven't set one you with a seastar because the 6 boats I maintain with verados all over 1200 hours don't have issues.

If I was going to try and. The 1st thing I would do is compare cylinder size of the verado to the seastat to see what kind of mechanical advantage you will have with the helm and if its acceptable

[DonG]

Hi Cawley

Hope all is well. Been a long time since river ranch!

I have done this on 2 boats and so have a few other people in the cape coral area. On a small boat you will be ok. On the 25 talon cc I built with a single verado we had no issues. The twin engine application had issues of the steering locking so we switched that one over to power steering. Just bring the fittings to your local hydraulics store and they will set you up.

Hope this helps
Don

[native2]

Hi Cawley

Hope all is well. Been a long time since river ranch!

I have done this on 2 boats and so have a few other people in the cape coral area. On a small boat you will be ok. On the 25 talon cc I built with a single verado we had no issues. The twin engine application had issues of the steering locking so we switched that one over to power steering. Just bring the fittings to your local hydraulics store and they will set you up.

Hope this helps
Don

Hey Don, yes all is well. I hope the same for you. This is exactly the info I was looking for. Thank you for the response. If you guys ever head up to St Pete, give us a shout, we would love to catch up with you guys.

[native2]

If your pump is over heating you have a install issue. Usually to short of a return.

I haven't set one you with a seastar because the 6 boats I maintain with verados all over 1200 hours don't have issues.

If I was going to try and. The 1st thing I would do is compare cylinder size of the verado to the seastat to see what kind of mechanical advantage you will have with the helm and if its acceptable

The Verado platform is by far my favorite engine at the moment. However, the steering system does have some issues. Just read the thousands of negative posts on the internet. I am aware of the install issues and the band aid fixes that can be done to help with overheating. Again, this will be on a small flats boat with short runs from helm to engine and pump. The external coolers and longer hoses are just a band aid, and they look crappy stuffed into the tiny compartments of this flats boat. The idea is to keep things simple.... Single engine, small boat.... We are looking for a clean rig without the issues that come along with the power steering. The other part that sucks about the merc set up is when the system fails, the steering becomes dangerously stiff.... If you get a hydraulic leak, you will pump out all your fluid in seconds... Usually into the water.... The system can draw almost 60 amps. That is a lot on a rig with one battery.... The only place it could be mounted in this boat is the bilge. Terrible spot for the pump....

[offshorewake]

whats up man. I'm in st Pete too, looking at a similar setup. how did your buddy do with that setup?

[Z06man]

You can go with out pump on a single the fittings need to be changed on the merc ram and that is it. We have done a lot boats.with the newer pump have had zero problems but i add a cooler to every system .We have also run a single side ram 300R with the power steer and it worked great even being an unbalance system and no more money than a capilano system and no power issue with battery draw on a single with single battery.

[JPEROG]

As Paul stated above, a cylinder is a cylinder, correct the fittings and go. On a side note, I have run a 450 (single application) with a high X dimension and 5 blade propellers. The torque steer brought be back to "cable days" where you couldn't let go of the wheel without making a 180--this being said, you might want to consider the light weight, less draw, sea star power assist (they are compact and work great). Also for those who are seeing Verado pumps over heat experiencing steering loss, consider running an automotive transmission cooler in the return line. It increases total fluid volume, cooler temps, and the problem goes away. Single applications with big wheels are the hardest on a steering system. Twins counter each other and cancel out the torque.


Joe