Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyfisher
This boat has around 100 hours on it. A mechanic checked the lower end and its fine. I was wondering if I put a hydraulic steering system in would that take care of the play.
The problem is low speeds and docking.
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If you put the wheel in the straight ahead position at idle, in forward gear, and don't touch the wheel, does the boat wander back and forth? If it does, it's likely not slop that's causing your issues.
I have hydraulic steering and it will help a little with slop, but probably not with docking. It's quite expensive and adds multiple points of failure. One little air bubble can render it useless. The cable is crude, but it is very simple and not likely to fail. They are also not expensive.
My favorite docking tool for a single engine boat is an Edson Power Knob. If you have never used one, you are in for a treat. My advice would be try one and get some practice with it before you spend money on major changes like hydraulic steering. Even if you do switch to hydraulic, you can still use knob,