Cable is better than rack and pinion for steering feel IMHO. The hydraulic steering boats I have sailed had rudder angel indicators because otherwise you have no idea what is going on. The owners said they didn’t care about feel because they hardly ever steered by hand out of the harbor. Joe Coquina
From: CnC-List [mailto:cnc-list-boun...@cnc-list.com] On Behalf Of Frederick G Street via CnC-List Sent: Monday, July 09, 2018 10:18 AM To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: Frederick G Street <f...@postaudio.net> Subject: [EXTERNAL] Re: Stus-List Hydraulic auto-pilot > Rack and Pinion Steering Let me guess — Island Packet? I’ve heard that the rack-and-pinion has a pretty direct feel, similar to a cable-based steering system like most of us have. Fred Street -- Minneapolis S/V Oceanis (1979 C&C Landfall 38) -- Bayfield, WI On Jul 9, 2018, at 9:15 AM, Nauset Beach via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: A very timely thread… I am beginning to look at boats for a possible change and wondered about what effect either a linear or a hydraulic below deck AP would have on the feel of a boat. Having tiller steering now, any change to a wheel would be “different” – but had some concern having a below deck AP would make the boat feel sluggish. Good to hear people notice little if any change in the helm. What is the typical change over point in terms of displacement from a linear mechanical to hydraulic system? One boat which caught my eye has rack and pinion steering, I assume from Edson. Any sense of the pros / cons of that vs the chain and wire system? Would think the “direct drive” nature of it would provide near 100% feel of the helm vs the chain and wire, but maybe not. Is the maintenance simpler with rack and pinion? Clean and lube the gears [like a winch] and you are done vs. all the discussion on replacing / aligning idler pulleys / plates, meat hooks on the wire, etc. Thanks, Brian
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