The Complete Handbook of Watercraft Steering Parts

It's a solid reference, no doubt, and I've gotten a lot of use out of the troubleshooting chapter. I'm giving it three stars because I found the installation chapter a bit dry and some of the line drawings in the historical section were hard to follow. But the info on cable stroke and helm effort was spot on, and I did avoid buying the wrong replacement cable for my Bayliner, so it paid for itself. I just wish it had a bit more on older Force outboard systems.

Finally, a reference that treats marine steering like an engineering subject instead of a mystery. I run a small mechanic shop and I have this book on the bench right next to the torque wrench. The chapter on hydraulic system bleeding alone saved me two hours on a SeaStar install last week. It's not flashy, but it's exactly what the title says: a complete handbook. Highly recommend it to any professional.

I bought this to help restore a 1974 vintage runabout I'm re-powering with a modern outboard. The sections on cable routing and measuring for outboard tilt tubes were incredibly clear, with actual specs and diagrams that let me order the right parts the first time. The chapter on understanding the forces involved in steering helped me understand why I should upgrade to a hydraulic system instead of just re-using the old cable setup. Excellent value for a serious hobbiest.

Very thorough book, and I appreciate that it doesn't try to sell you on a particular brand. The comparison of mechanical versus hydraulic is balanced, and the troubleshooting section on a stiff steering wheel was exactly what I needed. I dropped a star because the glossary felt a little brief for a 'complete' handbook, and I would have liked a few more photos of the parts installed in the boat. Otherwise, it is a great desk reference for my fleet maintenance work.

As someone who works on a fleet of charter boats, this book is a lifesaver. The maintenance schedule and the checklists for cable lubrication and hydraulic fluid inspection are now part of our standard operating procedures. I even marked the pages about marine sealers and torque specs for the tie bars. It's straight to the point, no fluff, and written by people who clearly know how boats actually behave on the water. The business chapter also gave me some good ideas about expanding our service offerings.

I was hoping for more step-by-step color photos in the installation guide. The text is solid and very accurate, but as a visual learner, I struggled with some of the routing descriptions for the hydraulic hoses without having a full-bleed diagram next to it. That said, the data on helm ratios and cylinder sizes is gold, and it helped me spec a system for my center console. It's a good book, just a bit dry for my tastes.

Good purchase. It is not the kind of book you read cover to cover at the coffee shop, but when I needed to replace the helm unit on my cruiser, the specs in Chapter Two instantly told me which unit matched my existing bolt pattern and output shaft. The troubleshooting section on the noisy power steering pump was also very helpful. I took off one star because it occasionally references tools or fitting sizes specific to the US market without giving the metric equivalents, which I had to google.

This is the handbook that should come with your boat. I just finished converting my outboard from a rotary mechanical system to an inboard-style hydraulic setup using the guidelines in Chapter Three, and the process was far less stressful than I expected. The chapter on installation and bleeding was meticulous—I had no air in the system on the first launch, which I consider a small miracle. I've recommended it to two other people at my yacht club already.