Cockpit Steering Station on TC255

[Tom Little]

Thanks for all the responses to my request for information and opinions. My dealer told me yesterday that the Evinrude E-Tec that he is installing are not compatible with two engine control stations. He is reluctant to abandon the factory wiring harnesses and engine controls for a Morse mechanical or electronic system. When he started talking of extra costs to me of $5000, I quickly made up my mind. We will remove the cockpit steering station and it's associated weight and space.

[Sea Wolf]

Tom-

Here's an outside chance idea for you if all you want is steering to troll, and don't need shift and throttle controls:

A few years back, we had a C-Brat (or whatever we were known as at the time), add a steering wheel to the back of the cabin bulkhead and connect it mechanically with a removable rod, a couple of u-joints, and a fork that fit over the main steering wheel. Sort of a mechanical extension. Worked fine!

Actually, you could do the same thing much easier with hydraulic steering, as two (or more) steering wheel pump units can be connected to the same servo unit steering the motor. Each one can add and subtract hydraulic fluid from either side of the servo cylinder, making steering possible from either station. Autopilots can also be tapped into the system as well, using the same principle.

So getting a second steering station is easy. The shift and throttle controls are what's difficult. I'm sure cable or hydraulic servo units could be installed between the cockpit and the controls in the cabin by someone with real mechanical and machine shop skills. Know any aircraft mechanics?

On Edit: Someone here had a BayStar steering station for sale for $150 and the wheel for $30 a few days ago. Add some"T" fittings and a few feet of hose, and viola ! LINK

Joe.

[Sea Wolf]

Tom-

My edit time of 30 minutes ran out with the above post, but I wanted to warn you to check with the BayStar/SeaStar people before trying what I suggested above for the following reason.

I remotely remember that there were some issues regarding using an autopilot on the Baystar units. SeaStar ones were OK. Don't remember whether the issue was the steering unit, the types of hoses and connections, or the steering servo unit, but I'd call the Technical Representatives at BayStar/SeaStar to check for compatability of components if considering what I suggested above.

LINK or phone 1-604-270-6899.

Joe.