Hydraulic Steering

Has anyone had any experience with use or fitting Hydraulic steering?, I own Can-Can IV (40/29) and have been thinking about fitting a Hydrive (http://www.hydrive.com.au/) hydraulic system which includes switchable feedback and has apparently been fitted to some notable sailing boats. I have also read some old forum notes which seamed to suggest that some people had already fitted Hydraulic steering to their swans and I would like hear from anybody who has experience of it what they think.

The issue we have is that my wife and I now tend to cruise the boat on our own but we are becoming more ambitious which has led us to be caught out a few times in rough weather which leads to fatigue. Our autopilot is good but not powerful or quick enough to control the boat in a big sea or force 5 and upwards, even if we reef well down. Plus my wife is also unable to steer the boat in any big sea due to an old injury which then means I have to do most of it and essentially sail single handed. We have therefore thought about fitting Hydraulic steering as a way reducing the effort on the both of us plus we could also incorporate an autopilot pump at the same time. If we don’t find an answer soon I fear that we will become restricted in our sailing and may even end up selling a wonderful boat to get something more manageable.

My main concerns are

1.       Is the feedback that good from a Hydrive system? The manufactures say that it is specifically designed for sailing boats and give you feel. I have heard of stories of old hydraulic steering giving a dead feel which would ruin the boat but they say this is different.

2.       If I fit it in place of the cable steering is the cockpit sole, bunk sides / structure around the fuel tank strong enough to take the pumps / rams etc. I was thinking of fitting the pump under the binnacle with a chain up to the wheel and the ram to the side of one of the quarter berth bunks, driving a new tiller arm.

3.       Does anybody know of other manufactures of similar Hydraulic steering with feedback?

Many thanks

Jason

Hi Jason,

I cannot offer assistance with regard to hydraulic steering, however, I did live aboard a Shannon 50 and my self steering could handle big seas and heavy air.  Before you turn to steering replacement, have you though about changing your autopilot?  Mine was an old model, original to the boat in 1986, Robertson which is now owned by Simrad.  It used a hydraulic ram and was exceptional.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

Chris

Dear Jason
The Swan 40 original steering system has 1.1 turns from hard over to hard over assuming 35 degrees maximum rudder angle, and a 41" wheel.
If you experience that the steering is too heavy the recommendation would be to increase the power of the present system, i.e. increasing the number of turns. This can be done in a several ways. Reducing the size of the chain sprocket on the steering wheel shaft, increasing the size of the quadrant or steering wheel, or even arranging a 2 to 1 reduction for the steering cable are possible solutions.
A more powerful autopilot could also be installed.
The advice is to stay away from hydraulic steering for sailing yachts. The wheel pump is not completely tight but tends to leak a little, and when there is weather helm the wheel has to be turned slowly all the time.
It works for power yachts, and for them the feedback is blocked by one-way valves as this reduces the steering effort. Some systems have the possibility to bypass the valves and get feedback to the helm.
Kind regards
Lars

Hi Chris,

Many thanks for your information we are exploring the possibility of fitting a hydraulic ram with a local specialist as when we looked into it before we couldn’t find a way of easily fitting this type of drive due to the confines of the hull.


Hi Lars,

Thanks again for you in-depth knowledge, the thought of continually having to turn the wheel to compensate for weather helm has put me off the adoption of hydraulics. However I think I will explore your ideas of changing the gearing of the existing system plus a general overhaul of the entire steering system. With this in mind and thinking that some of the load may be caused by friction could you tell me what sort of bearings exist in the system especially the shoe at the bottom of the rudderstock and the top gland if any? and if they are replaceable. Also would have any diagrams or details of the binnacle that I could use to strip it down and recondition it.

Many thanks

Jason

Jason
For the rudder stock there are plain bearing of plastic, and if they are worn you should be able to detect play in them by pulling/pushing firmly on the rudder or stock. Replacing the bearings is a fairly big job as it involves dropping the rudder.
The friction in the bearings can be checked by disconnecting the steering cables from the quadrant, and turning the rudder. If the gland is too tight this makes the rudder stiff. There are also sheaves for the cables, they need to turn easily.
Removal of the compass including binnacle will disclose the internals of the pedestal head. Removal of the wheel shaft requires that the round cover at its front end is removed.
Rod Stephens recommendation for a free steering system is that 1 lbsft should turn the wheel.
Kind regards
Lars

Hi Lars,

Many thanks for your help I will carry out a full inspection when the boat comes out of the water for the winter and then finalise a way forward.

Best Wishes

Jason