French hydraulic steering

[Gav]

anyone know of this system

 

[sinkunit0]

ah oui but no

 

[Tony Davis]

Yeh, it used to be stocked by Aquamarine, but they dropped it and the agent is now in Hampshire, It's budget priced, and you get "what you pay for"!

 

[FrenchPhil]

Yes, the've been catering to the "Pro" market for years - work boats and sail. They've only been out to the outboard market for a few years but are good value for money - cheaper than Seastar in France.

 

["Old beardy"]

anyone know of this system

We used it on our P20 in OCR but it was almost impossible to get all the air out, hence we constantly had play. Nick Barsch managed to side mount his and successfully got the air out. Certainly would not recommend it for racing or for engines above 150HP. It is like Tony said, you get what you pay for.
I personally dont like any steering system that relies on the single bolt at the pivot point of the engine after having one shear whilst flat out!

 

[FrenchPhil]

They have a range of side & center steering & go up to 300hp for outboards. I don't think Seastar does has that offer. But I wouldn't use it for race though.

 

[Tony Davis]

How about Ultraflex, it's stocked in the UK by Aquafax.

http://www.uflexusa.com/start.html

 

[Captain Chaos]

Re: Re: French hydraulic steering

I personally dont like any steering system that relies on the single bolt at the pivot point of the engine after having one shear whilst flat out!

i'll sleep easy tonight

 

[BluFin]

ER...... Side rams connect via a single bolt as well.
You could even classify the tilt tube mount as a single bolt also.
At some point there has to be a single bolt or it wont pivot

 

[Matt]

What about a single weeny (chaos) sized bolt compared to a big manly one?

 

[Matt]

Or multiple single bolts?
Speaking of which

 

[Captain Chaos]

It shouldnt break @ 49mph anyway

 

[JamesM]

As long as you keep an eye on the bolt and change it regularly it should be fine. They generally shear because they come loose and are then subjected to shock loading. As I said before, just keep checking it and replace once a year. If it worries you that much then get a uprated one from ARP or such like.

 

[Captain Chaos]

who are ARP?

 

[JamesM]

They make very strong bolts as do SPS. The hi-performance mercury engines have SPS rod bolts. ARP have a good range of stainless uprated bolts.

 

[Dean21]

good bit of info JBD