On Wed, 03 Dec 2003 01:42:28 GMT, Dan Krueger wrote:

I jumped in late here but if your goal is to let go of the wheel and have the
boat continue to go straight I would suggest going with a "no-feedback" steering
system. If you have Teleflex steering components already, it can be retrofitted
pretty cheap. I have it on my boat and it's great. It's a "poor man's"
hydraulic steering and ideal for lower HP ranges. I'm not too familiar with
jets but I would imagine that hydraulic steering would be an option anyway.

In the interest of safety, you wouldn't want to let go of the wheel at any high
speeds or in rough conditions. For me, it's great because I can make a quick
run to the cooler or the washdown while idling back on the way to the slip on
the ICW. The other bonus is that at high speeds the wheel doesn't pull to one
side and when you accelerate quickly you don't have that engine torque on the
wheel.

Dan

I don't know which steering components are installed and Bombardier (the
manufacturer) won't tell me. I believe they use a cable system of some
kind. I'm kind of fed up with them and will probably sell the boat this
summer and get a real boat. (sarcasm) . I did a quick Google for
Teleflex, though and got a bunch of information. Thanks for the tip.
--

Larry
email is rapp at lmr dot com