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jcdogfish.
Opinions on cable steering on a new sabre with 150 e-tec and jackplate.
We are proponents for cable steering. Though the choice is yours and the upper packages come with hydraulic steering. BCB
Ive been listening to BCBs comments on this for a few years, and I have “slightly” modified my opinion as a result. 1. I think hydraulic steering is the way to go, but it is not like power steering in a car. If you run low on power steering fluid, which will cause the power steering pump bushings to fail, you _still_ can steer your car. That is a fail-safe. It will be tough to steer, but we run my sons mustang at the track without a serpentine belt just to get the P/S and alternator loads off the motor (we have an electric water pump installed so the motor wont run hot, naturally). So you have a safety factor. In a boat there is no mechanical rack and pinion to connect the helm to the motor. If you lose a hose, the boat is going to turn to port _right now_. And you are not going to run back to the ramp. You might idle back, with someone sitting on the back and manually steering the motor, but thats it. If you can become anal enough to check the steering regularly, look for loose fittings, bolts, screws, grease the slide plate at the tiller arm, check the hoses for wear (I even put foam on mine, bought it at an A/C supply store, got the foam sleeves made for A/C freon lines and slid it over the hoses so that they would not be in direct contact with the boat hull, batteries, etc and wear a hole in them. If you dont mind doing all of this regularly, I love my hydraulic steering. It steers much easier, there is absolutely no engine torque that feeds back and tries to turn the wheel, no vibration except for what comes thru the hull, etc. 2. If you are not willing to do preventative maintenance checks regularly (and regularly does _not_ mean once a year) then the cable system is much more forgiving. They still go bad. But you have two cables, so there is a fail-safe of a second cable. Steering can still go out, just not completely out. I have had the cable “rack” wear the teeth off over time, but usually both dont let go at the same time. Bottom line. If you buy a Ferrari, youd better be a good mechanic or else have a lot of money to pay a good mechanic to keep the thing running. Otherwise, buy the Chevy. Steering on a bass boat is critical. I failure at 80mph is _guaranteed_ to be quite exciting. However, not many call being ejected from their boat when it does an instant right turn “exciting”. It could well be “fatal”. Ive never had such a failure. I have found parts wear and fixed it before running the thing. I have had a part break (particularly the slotted nylon gadget that connects the ram to the tiller arm. But you get used to checking things and the more you check, the less things fail on the water. My “change of heart” has been that I can see BCBs point about safety. There are a _ton_ of boaters that just use their boats weekend after weekend, with nary an equipment check, until something breaks. They are _not_ good candidates for hydraulic steering. Because a “break” will likely be catastrophic in nature. A broken prop is an irritation. Getting tossed out at 80 is dangerous in the extreme. Ive been running SeaStar since they first released their second-generation high-performance version, and have never had any sort of failure one could call dangerous. But I do find the occasional loose part of whatever that needs to be adjusted before it does become a bigger problem.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
I had hydraulic steering in my last boat but have always had dual cable steering. I have cable steering on my Sabre with a Yamaha engine. I have never run into an issue with steering with the cable systems and had a couple of issues with the hydraulic. If you keep the cable steering clean and not too much oil etc in my opinion it is the way to go. I think most people have problems with cable steering because they want to run a little faster and try to turn the wrong prop or prop design and run the engine too high and that makes it hard to steer. Hydraulic steering can mask these issues and a lot of boat handling issues. For me when set up right and within realistic expectations on what a boat/engine combo is designed to do the cable steering is fine. I can raise my engine and do a prop change and get my boat to run 63-65. However, where it is set now it turns great with one hand and runs 61. I only get a little torque when WOT and trimmed out. If I bump it down, I run 58-59 and drive it with one finger and at 45-50 can take my hands off the wheel (not recommended). The HO from what I understand will be a few clicks faster than what I have. I would have no problem going with cable steering again and would prefer it over the hydraulic system. I am probably in the minority on this but I hear of too many things wearing or going out or leaking on the hydraulic side.
Guys I have the hydraulic steering on my Sabre FTD and would not have anything else. I have owned a boat for some 45 years and can tell you that once you leave the cables, you will never go back. I have had three boats with hydraulic and have never had a problem with either. Remember, any piece of equipment requires preventive maintenance for proper service and life expectancy.
jcdogfish wrote: I had hydraulic steering in my last boat but have always had dual cable steering. I have cable steering on my Sabre with a Yamaha engine. I have never run into an issue with steering with the cable systems and had a couple of issues with the hydraulic. If you keep the cable steering clean and not too much oil etc in my opinion it is the way to go. I think most people have problems with cable steering because they want to run a little faster and try to turn the wrong prop or prop design and run the engine too high and that makes it hard to steer. Hydraulic steering can mask these issues and a lot of boat handling issues. For me when set up right and within realistic expectations on what a boat/engine combo is designed to do the cable steering is fine. I can raise my engine and do a prop change and get my boat to run 63-65. However, where it is set now it turns great with one hand and runs 61. I only get a little torque when WOT and trimmed out. If I bump it down, I run 58-59 and drive it with one finger and at 45-50 can take my hands off the wheel (not recommended). The HO from what I understand will be a few clicks faster than what I have. I would have no problem going with cable steering again and would prefer it over the hydraulic system. I am probably in the minority on this but I hear of too many things wearing or going out or leaking on the hydraulic side. Thats what I like about hydraulic steering. I run a chopper, propshaft even with the pad, and at 80+ I can drive with one hand without any issues or anxiety of any kind. I had a dual-cable (merc ride-guide) on this thing when I bought it new, and I wore out two sets of cables because of the height I run the motor and the torque load that puts on the racks attached to the helm end of the cable. Two time the teeth on the rack, and the teeth inside the helm wore down enough that the cable could “jump” and make it impossible to turn left against the motor torque. To turn left, I simply had to back off until I got back to the ramp and went home for repairs. Hydraulic steering cured that and I have not had a single failure that ruined a fishing trip or caused anything even close to an accident. But I do watch everything like a hawk, including looking at the prop with a magnifying glass to catch the stress cracks before they turn into thrown blades.2008 Pantera Classic2014 Mercury Pro XS 200
My first Cat was a Sabre w/150 and cables. Then moved to a PII w/200 and hydraulic steering. Also have in the family two Cougar FTD w/250 XS and hydraulic. My Eyra has a 175 and cables. Been running the Cats for 20+ yrs and have come to this conclusion. The Sabre/150 setup runs great and is very driver friendly with cables. It does not need hydraulic steering IMO. When you start maxing out the hp on these rigs, the hydraulic makes it less tiresome to drive overall, but no steering is absolutely safe on these two strokes. The Verado is a totally different animal, so we leave that one out. Eventually, we upgraded my 89 Sabre with a new 95 Mariner 175 Magnum EFI. That was a serious driving boat as we even went to a trophy prop and hydraulic steering on that bad boy. That setup was running a solid 74.6 by gps and it was work…but exciting! The Cougar FTD/250 XS that we have in the family here, well, both boats were/ are definitely high performance and very capable of speeds in excess of 84mph by gps. The 06 model gets 82+ with two people and gear/gas. Thats not wintertime runs either. The Eyra has a 175 Magnum EFI on it as well, but having now driven both, the cable steering works for me on the Eyra. Upgraded a lot of other things rather than go hydraulic. Most of my runs are 20 miles or less as well. I think more likely, on the smaller end of the lineup(Sabre) people get the hydraulic because they feel it increases resale or makes it easier to sell. I just dont think it is a “needed” item on a 150 setup. You can upgrade your electronics, add a stereo, boarding ladder, or grab pole/step to the trailer. OT 57 is right, routine preventive maintenance on either steering system is a must. I will be the first to admit to him that I am guilty of just “yearly” checks…and that is my fault. Just my two cents….96 Eyra/12 Mercury 175 Pro XS with 2015 single axle trailer2017 Victory Gunner
Thanks guys, my local dealer has the new sabre Im speaking of for a good price, so I think thats the route Im gonna go. On the other hand,if I place an order for one optioned the way I want it ill probably go for the H.O.. With that said, is hydraulic the better choice with the extra umph?
The choice is up to you…unfortunately I am not getting a new boat. You do need to take into account how much drive time you will be doing in the boat. The types of lakes/rivers you will fish. Do you make frequent long runs? Are the lakes you fish large(say 30,000 to 100,000 acres), medium(10-30.000) or small(under 15,000)? How long you plan to keep the boat? etc. Me? I would be okay without the hydraulic. But my driving habits are different than most everyone elses. Anyone that tells you that you need hydraulic or need cable steering is merely giving an opinion. BCB has been a proponent of cables for reasons only known to them. Your Sabre will be an inch or two longer than the one I had, with different handling characteristics. The etec HO probably goes close to 170 on the hp. Just be happy with your choices…youll be making the payments. Good luck and keep us posted!Last edited by jignpig on August 23rd, 2009, 2:21 am, edited 1 time in total.96 Eyra/12 Mercury 175 Pro XS with 2015 single axle trailer2017 Victory Gunner
we are basically saying the same thing. If you run on the edge or want max mph etc hydraulic is probably what you need. But hydraulic steering did not solve your torque and steering problem, it just covered it up, the torque is still there. If you NEED hydraulic steering on a 150 or 175 to drive it then all you are doing is covering up a bad setup in my opinion. In the early 80s we had 200s on 17 foot boats and had cable steering….go figure. Dont get me wrong, I loved the hydraulic steering on my other boat but I also dont think you should have to rebuild a steering system after a few years like a few guys I know have or have to fight with leaks on a pretty new system. Maybe the reliability will improve but as you said some never have problems. I guess as I get older I will have to go back to hydraulic as no doubt it is much better to drive.
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