Budget hydraulic steering?

What's the cheapest you can upgrade to hydraulic steering but still get a quality product?

What size outboard? For 150hp or less Wal-Mart has SeaStar and Uflex both for under $580

I added a bay-star system to my last boat for $490...shipped.

Was not hard to install at all. Just make sure you have the correct hole saw for the helm and an extra person to help bleed the system.

A cut off wheel helps to remove the old cables.

WARNING, Please pay attention.
Do NOT EVER install Bay Star on a V6, ANY V6. It might say "150" but it can't hold a V6 150 in a turn. Very dangerous.

I have a Johnson fast strike 150 v6

being cheap on steering is like having a 60k boat an running recap tires 70 mph does not end well most of the time

I get that but I have found all the ways to balance quality and budget with just about everything I purchase....ever. that's what I'm looking for. Being a teacher/coach, I'm not rolling in the cash so I always, with research, find a way to settle wherever I can with quality stuff, but at the most budgeted cost. That's all I'm looking for.

If everyone chimes in and says you have to get the most expensive and best...nothing else will work. Then hydraulic upgrade, I won't be able to do right now.

Alot of people never have to consider cost and can just get the most marketed, proven stuff...I don't fall in that category so I try to find the best balance.

Coach, this is not a cost,money saving deal here. Its a SAFETY deal. Yours & EVERYBODY elses. Trust advice from Pat Goff. Yes there are a huge number of us that are/have been in the same boat money wise as you. If you want to spend less on boat please,please,please, don't try to save it on THIS setup. Its NOT a good thing on any motor, but 150 & above it is CRITICAL. Just my honest opinion on hydraulic ateering. Yes i have upgraded to hydraulic from cable on several boats. If I don't have the money to do it I will stay with dual cable steering BEFORE I go with a bare minimum hydraulic setup. Good luck & I'll keep my eyes open for a set also. Waiting & saving the extra $4-500 can be a life saving situation. The BEST doesnt ALWAYS mean the most expensive. We understand that too.

With that being said, I HAD a complete Quality SeaStar hydraulic setup for up to 300hp motor for sale a month ago. Then, Bought a 92 Champion 201 that has cable steering & will now put that system on it. Had a $1100 Seastar Tilt helm/hoses/cylinder for $900 but nobody wanted to pay more than $600 so now I'm glad I kept it.

Awesome...so what would be a good set that I need to look toward?

That way I can put on the list, which never ends, but the priority of the list changes around as we go!

http://www.lowcostboatingstore.com/

So what you guys are saying is that for mine, I need to stay away from the ones that are "up to 150hp"?

Whats a reputable brand and model for a Johnson Fast Strike 150hp motor?

More the better.
We installed bay star on a nice 17 foot boat with a 150 merc, it was done correctly, no corners cut. I was just told it was hydraulic, didn't specify what it was. Customer knew I was decent at teaching driving and asked to show him some things. Slow day no problem.

We went to the lake and just getting a feel for the boat, put it in a left turn at 50 mph, no big deal, when it started to keep going left, I turned right and it still went left, until it went full left and corkscrewed itself into the water. Threw me out, threw the passenger under the console. I HATE getting thrown out of boats, there's just nothing fun about it at all.

We took it back, tested everything, it was operating exactly as designed, just didn't have enough meat to hold the motor.

This is not just for you, it's for the three hundred who'll read it.

Sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

Listen to Curtbass and Pat Goff. Both seasoned guys with rigging boats. You need to look for a seastar system. If you can find a good deal on the Seastar Pro system (1500 psi), go with that. Your 150 will be fine with the regular seastar system though (1000 psi). Do NOT put bay star on it for exactly the reasons Pat mentioned above.
If you're looking in the used market, you will need 3 things: the helm, the hoses, and the cylinder/ram for the motor. If you hunt, you can sometimes find deals. I bought my seastar pro system, complete, for 800 dollars, brand new off BBC (Thanks Curtbass for finding it).
Also... Don't mix and match seastar pro parts and regular seastar parts. For example, a seastar pro helm (1500psi) with regular 1000 psi hoses, the hoses will start to bulge. So for example, if you find a good deal on a used seastar pro helm, your hoses and ram will also need to be seastar pro, and vice versa.