Posted by lance_ryley (lance_ryley@…>)
I’m finishing up the installation of new hoses for the steering on
Bright Star. The installation also includes a new steering reservoir,
because the sintered bronze filter had come loose inside the old one,
basically providing no protection at all.
For anyone who has the hynautic system, the original instructions
pointed at using soft copper refrigeration tubing from the helm to the
relief valve. I now understand why - there’s not much clearance in the
Edson pedestal for hoses. Hynautic does say you can use 1/2" 1000 psi
hose for the P/S lines and 3/8" hose for the return line, which is
what I opted to do. The company that made my hoses actually used 3000
psi working load hose. The hoses are fantastic with one small problem -
the fitting sleeves are so long, the hoses jammed up against a very
sharp edge inside the pedestal. I didn’t realize this the first time I
tried to assemble the steering and the result was too much lateral
pressure on the port brass fitting, resulting in a spectacular
explosion of hydraulic fluid and a brass fitting sheared off flush in
the helm unit (H-41 replacement helms are about $1200 new, $700 used.).
After getting the broken piece removed, Brian from american hydraulics
and I came up with a solution. We replaced the straight fittings on
the Port and Starboard hoses with 45 degree angle swivel fittings. The
swivel part is critical should anyone undertake this job. We kept the
return line a straight fitting, since it doesn’t provide any
interference in the helm.
My first attempt was to have both hoses angled toward the front (non-
shaft end)of the helm unit. The unit slides into the brace diagonally,
and with both hoses facing forward, the holes didn’t align and I could
feel resistance in trying to seat the helm. The trick turned out to be
to angle the starboard hose forward so it travels alongside the return
line, and to angle the port hose to the right across the face. Then
everything fits right in, snugly.
Tonight I’m going to reconnect the hoses in the engine room and purge
the system. Having the flexible hoses definitely makes a difference in
the overall feel of the system. It looks and feels ‘right.’ If anyone
else tackles this issue, I hope knowing about the 45 degree fittings
makes a difference. If I had known I would need them, this job would
have been completed two weekends ago.
I suspect there are those out there who think hydraulic steering is a
waste of time or unreliable. The guy behind me on a Hans Christian 46
had his mechanical steering fail about 30 seconds after he tied up to
the dock (he’s actually in the process of converting to hydraulics,
which is now standard on Hans Christians), so I imagine the true
lesson is to inspect and maintain critical systems regularly.
Lance