Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

How much better could I expect hydraulic steering (non power assist) to be over the cable type I have now, as far as steering effort and feedback ?

Thanks !

From my own experience, hydraulic steering has by definition some amount of "assist" and thus the wheel is a bit easier to turn. By the nature of propellers turning in a given direction against the water, there is a torque effect in play, so the motor under load is harder to turn one way than the other, and the hydraulic pump doesn't really hide that as it generates pressure equally in both directions through the valves and lines to the steering ram.

The hydraulics will hide from you the vibration and cavitation (mostly) of the motor, but you can still feel the resistance of the turning, especially in the direction against the torque of the prop.