# sea star hydraulic steering is hard to turn



## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

My new shallow sport 21 has this set up but at cruising speed it almost takes two hands to turn the wheel to the left. i have looked at the torque tab, it looks correct. it turns very easy at idle and slow plane but under way its tough. because i am new to HYD steering i don't know what it is suppose to feel like. if i trim it just right, its better but was under the impression that it would be easier than this. perhaps some SS owners could chime in here and tune me up. it turns better to the right, but still tough. JP on 2, trimmed out at about 4500 and its a bear to turn. now im not talking about no hard turns here, just steering back a touch. now when i back down to just on a good plane, it ain't bad. is it the boat? just how it is? there is a LOT!!!!! of water blasting the lower unit so at higher speeds i guess it might be tough. i just thought the HYD steering would be like a car..............how far off am i...................


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## Bustin Chops (Feb 3, 2008)

My sea star steering is the same smoothness through out both port and starboard turns at all speeds. But my boat is an El Pescador


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## EvansMarine (Jun 7, 2010)

Usually once you plane out and at desired rpm or speed, you will use tilt trim to adjust for the pressure of the boat against the engine leg to find the happy place. Trim up until the steering goes loose and easy then back down just a touch. If the bow is riding high and jumping around, you might need a Shallow Blaster or fixed trim tabs to help on the porpoising.


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## Tuna Kabob (Jun 18, 2007)

Yep, mine has the same hard turn issue until trimed to 3.5+. Something new to mine happend last weekend that concerns me. It has a "skip" for lack of a better term. It feels like a tooth missing on a gear, smooth turning, smooth turning, skip, smooth turning. System is full of fluid.

Any ideas?


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## whistlingdixie (Jul 28, 2008)

look at the back of the boat and see if it is bay star steering or sea star steering. quite a few our boats with sea star steering do not even come with a torque tab because you should not need it. The previous posters are correct about triming it up to easy the tension but it should never take two hands to turn. Sea Star is designed for 150 and up and if I am correct you just have a 150 so you shoul dhave no problems with it turning. If they put bay star on the boat then it is a little tuffer to turn. let us know which hydraulic steering it is


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## whistlingdixie (Jul 28, 2008)

Tuna Kabob said:


> Yep, mine has the same hard turn issue until trimed to 3.5+. Something new to mine happend last weekend that concerns me. It has a "skip" for lack of a better term. It feels like a tooth missing on a gear, smooth turning, smooth turning, skip, smooth turning. System is full of fluid.
> 
> Any ideas?


you have an air bubble and you just need to bleed the steering fluid.


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## sqwaby (Aug 4, 2005)

Sounds like either a bad(sticking) valve in the helm or there is a restriction in one of the hoses, possibly a crimped hose.


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

you do have a hyd ram at the motor with 2 black hoses coming out of it , correct ?

you must either have a pinched hose or a restriction in one line

if it is new take it back in

hyd. sytems don't have these kind of issues, just air in line or leaks


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## Tuna Kabob (Jun 18, 2007)

I would think a crimped line or air bubble would not be an intermittent problem that goes away with trim or at idle. I have had several people tell me that their Sea Star acts the same way as mine. I have also driven boats that are smooth both ways, it's weird.

I bet the air bubble is correct for my issue with the "skip". Since I have but ~100 hours on it with no problem I guess that indicates a leak that is allowing the air?


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## whistlingdixie (Jul 28, 2008)

A seal may be cracked allowing air in. It is very easy task to bleed the line and all you need is you and one other person. SOme can even do it alone. You are correct about it not going away with trim or at idle. If it has just recently started to do it then I would check your seal at the motor and under your steering wheel. Have someone turn the wheel while inspecting it.


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## shallowgal (Jun 11, 2004)

I wont completely rule out there being a mechanical issue here, but I tend to doubt it since its so new. Previous posters are right about finding "the happy place" by adjusting trim and tilt. It wont ever be as smooth as driving a car because of the physics of water pressure, but it definitely shouldn't take 2 hands to turn if it is properly trimmed out. 

I feel like maybe your salesman didn't take enough time and care to get you properly introduced to running a tunnel hull with a jackplate. I'd like to try to have my husband meet up with you next time he is up in your area to take you out on the water and check out some of your concerns. Let's try to get together on that.


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## pmgoffjr (Jul 30, 2009)

Right hand torque (hard to steer left) is common and normal for a prop that is surfacing, and some blade designs are much easier to drive than others. A cleaver blade will throw a lot more wheel torque than a rounded ear, that should always be a consideration.

A cheap fix is a $25 torque tab that installs on the skeg, simple little device will eliminate a good amount of the steering torque, if all your mechanical diagnosis don't fix your problem.


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## ReelWork (May 21, 2004)

Understand you stated "sea star" in the post and excuse the somewhat ignorant question, but are you sure this is a Hydraulic setup? Hydraulic setups should provide virtually zero feedback at the helm.

Some people confuse the term NFB (No Feedback) for hydraulic. NFB setups are very common on 150 HP motors and lower and when the motor is not trimmed optimally, typically when the motor is tucked in, the wheel is hard to turn.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

shallowgal said:


> I wont completely rule out there being a mechanical issue here, but I tend to doubt it since its so new. Previous posters are right about finding "the happy place" by adjusting trim and tilt. It wont ever be as smooth as driving a car because of the physics of water pressure, but it definitely shouldn't take 2 hands to turn if it is properly trimmed out.
> 
> I feel like maybe your salesman didn't take enough time and care to get you properly introduced to running a tunnel hull with a jackplate. I'd like to try to have my husband meet up with you next time he is up in your area to take you out on the water and check out some of your concerns. Let's try to get together on that.


absolutely!! we should be back in texas in 4 weeks or so. i will contact you and perhaps we could really do that. no time pressure on the boat. the dealer tech tried but they were calling him on the radio to come back. no big deal, just still learning.

Thank you!!! i love the boat!!


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

ReelWork said:


> Understand you stated "sea star" in the post and excuse the somewhat ignorant question, but are you sure this is a Hydraulic setup? Hydraulic setups should provide virtually zero feedback at the helm.
> 
> Some people confuse the term NFB (No Feedback) for hydraulic. NFB setups are very common on 150 HP motors and lower and when the motor is not trimmed optimally, typically when the motor is tucked in, the wheel is hard to turn.


here ya go. not an ignorant question at all. coming out of flatbottoms into this rig is like coming out of a piper cub into a boeing 737. i'll learn the boat, get any bugs worked out and so on. all i need is some time and help like from you guys and a meeting with the factory reps on the water. everybody had to go through this at some point in time, first time for everything. 
there is no torque feedback in the steering, its just hard to turn at certain situations which may very well be my fault.


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## ReelWork (May 21, 2004)

Thanks for humoring me, you definitely have a Sea Star Hydraulic setup... 

Have you tried adjusting the torque tab a little? Don't think it will help much - thinking this is probably a hydraulic line/hose issue. No kinks anywhere? 

Also, when you trim up a good amount (like almost to blowing out) that's where it should be the easiest - try that just to see. If it's still difficult, there's definitely something up with the hydraulics (restriction, bubble, sea sticking). 

Keep us posted!

BTW - is that fish guts on the top of that Shallow Sport plate?:dance:


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## CoastalOutfitters (Aug 20, 2004)

ok,

get a helper

trim the motor on the trailer and slowly rack the steering full turns ea way and trim some more,and retry
watch especially where the hyd. hose fittings meets the cyl. for it getting in a bind against another part of the system and the hose trying to kink in full turn

there is some remote poss, that they screwed the hyd. elbow on the cyl in so far that it is causing binding.


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## pipeliner345 (Mar 15, 2010)

ReelWork said:


> Thanks for humoring me, you definitely have a Sea Star Hydraulic setup...
> 
> Have you tried adjusting the torque tab a little? Don't think it will help much - thinking this is probably a hydraulic line/hose issue. No kinks anywhere?
> 
> ...


LOL!!!!!!!!!!! yes that would be channel cat guts. funny, i missed that one. it ain't there no mo!!


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