Upgrade to a SeaStar Outboard Hydraulic Steering System

If you are looking for a project to make operating your boat easier and more fun, upgrading a mechanical steering system to a SeaStar Outboard Hydraulic Steering is one of the best upgrades you can make. This project is quite manageable and PartsVu is here to help. This Upgrade Guide contains a basic understanding of the project, an overview of how hydraulic steering systems work, selecting the proper hydraulic steering system, selecting the correct SeaStar Outboard Hydraulic Steering system components, and an overview of the basic installation. We strongly recommend SeaStar Solutions products as they are unquestionably the leader in the market and we believe they are of superior quality and performance.

Why Upgrade to a Hydraulic Steering System?

The advantages of hydraulic steering over mechanical cable steering are quite profound. With hydraulic steering, you have much more control, particularly if you have a higher horsepower engine or have a boat with a high steering load like a bass or pontoon boat. Your steering will be much smoother and require much less effort. Also, with fewer moving mechanical parts, a hydraulic system is much easier to maintain only requiring: periodic checks and the topping off fluid levels and annual (or every 200 hours of use) cleaning and re-greasing a few cylinder and helm components. If you find yourself wrestling to steer your boat or have been frustrated maintaining your mechanical steering system, a hydraulic steering system will make all of the difference in the world.

How Long Will This Project Take?

Assuming you have solid mechanical ability, this is a day job…including time for a couple of breaks and beers if you so choose. If you are mechanically challenged (absolutely no judgment), we recommend seeking the help of a professional marine mechanic.

Is This a One-Person Job?

Most of this project is a one-person job. However, there are a couple of points in the project where you will need an assistant.

How a Hydraulic Steering System Works - The Basics

The basic components of a hydraulic steering system include:

Helm
Cylinder
Tube/Hose
Steering fluid

Seastar Solutions systems are two-line systems. For the sake of illustration, let’s assume we are turning the steering wheel to starboard, or clockwise.

The steering wheel is attached to the helm and the helm is comprised of a hydraulic pump and valves. We turn the steering wheel starboard.
Steering fluid is pumped from the rear of the helm into the starboard line and then into the cylinder.
This causes the cylinder rod, which is attached to the vessel's rutter or drive unit, to move causing the vessel to alter course.
Fluid displaced from the port end of the cylinder flows into the port line back to the helm pump and is not ready for additional steering maneuvers.

If we want to steer in the opposite direction, we would simply turn the steering wheel to port - the steering fluid is pumped from the rear of the helm into the port line, then into the cylinder causing the rutter or drive unit to move in the opposite direction. One of the great things about Seastar Solutions systems is that when no course correction is required, their No-Feed-Back design holds the rudder or drive unit stationary.

How to Select the Right SeaStar Outboard Hydraulic Steering System for Your Boat

You will need to select a steering system based on four basic factors:

Hull type (planing or displacement)
The number of engines
The total horsepower of the engines

Once the system and cylinder have been selected, the size of the helm pump must be determined. SeaStar Systems also allow the following options to be specified:

The number of steering stations
Helm configuration (standard or tilt helm)
Additional features such as autopilots and power assist

There are four SeaStar hydraulic systems to choose from BayStar, SeaStar, SeaStar Pro, SeaStar Power Assist/Tournament Series. Horsepower is a basic factor in selecting the proper system, but we recommend boats such as pontoons and bass boats use the SeaStar or SeaStar Pro system to lessen steering effort. The chart below will help to assist with selecting the proper system for your needs. While the chart shows both optimum performance and maximum rating, we recommend using optimum performance recommendations as your guide. We have created a series of posts to help you to select the correct SeaStar hydraulic system components for your application.

5 comments

What’s best for a 17 foot hydrostream with a 200 mercury on it.

Hi Robert, I checked in with our mechanics. Here is their feedback.

“Yes, you can make the change to Seastar. Be aware, you will need to purchase all new Seastar equipment. Including the steering helm and cylinders. Let us know if we can help further. You can reach our customer service team at 888-625-5460 or support@partsvu.com.”

Hi, good question. I am going to share this question with our mechanics tomorrow – standby!

I have a boat with SeaPartner. Can I change to Seastar?

I have a 96 nitro with a 115 Mariner what do I need and price