21 ft cruiser add-ons. Need help

[Kurtis500]

Went to Canyon lake yesterday and did some skiing in my 21ft Howard. My wife finally said she was done trying to move the cav plate manually and trying to steer the big boat in u-turns back in the canyon. I'm looking at the hydraulic cav plate set-ups and the power steering assemblies now. She looks like a little kid trying to break a gorrillas neck when shes making a sharp u-turn with the steering wheel. So, I'm looking for pictures or advice on how to do it. I have plenty of room under the dash and in the engine compartment for the add-ons. I'm thinking McMaster-Carr will have most everything except for a few power steering components...??
Thanks

[LD Mandella]

I am not familiar with hydraulic cav plate rams, I suppose it can be done but seems like alot of extra effort, can you put a foot overide on? or use an electric ram ( what I have ) you can get a box from Rex that makes the actuator respond very quickly but unless you rig an indicator you wont know where the plate is. The steering issue has me a little confused as the steering should not be difficult at all, sounds like you are binding somewhere or your rudder is not the appropriate design. I would try and maintain the manual overide if at all possible, make an adjustable pedal if needed so you both can use it, less maintenance, and you get feedback from the pedal and handle that you wont get from any power operated system. Just my 2 cents and probably worth less.

[lucky]

Went to Canyon lake yesterday and did some skiing in my 21ft Howard. My wife finally said she was done trying to move the cav plate manually and trying to steer the big boat in u-turns back in the canyon. I'm looking at the hydraulic cav plate set-ups and the power steering assemblies now. She looks like a little kid trying to break a gorrillas neck when shes making a sharp u-turn with the steering wheel. So, I'm looking for pictures or advice on how to do it. I have plenty of room under the dash and in the engine compartment for the add-ons. I'm thinking McMaster-Carr will have most everything except for a few power steering components...??
Thanks
howard do not turn on a dime - no if ands or buts ( older howards v drives )
I was dreaming of outboard steering

[VD CRUISER]

Tell her the cav plate control and steering effort is a good way to stay in shape and loose weight. Seriously what kind of steering and cav plate control do you have. I have a foot overide on my 21 Howard, but I seldom have to change the plate setting while skiing . If you do any hot rodding , the manual gives a lot better control than the electric,(have not seen a hydraulic on a v-drive), and my steering does not require a lot of effort. Is yours working freely?

[79 Howard]

Kurtis, do you have single ram steering with 1 cable going to your tiller arm, if so then a upgrade would help alot as all upgrades do. My 21 was very hard to hold from pulling left but a little cav plate adjustment and dual ram steering is like having power steering almost.

[HM]

In my brother's 21 Howard, he had a foot override which worked well for corners. It turned on a dime when you put the plates down, but if you turned to hard without adjusting the plates, it would hop a bit.
I have an electric cav plate control on my 20.5 Campbell, and that works well too. It just takes some getting used to as there is no indicator so you have to go by boat feel to get it back to cruising mode.

[HM]

I have a double morris cable steering system that pushes and pulls from both sides. I can let go of the wheel at any time, even corning hard and it wont move, but it is easy to move. I just happen to have a picture of it:
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/...ng0005-med.jpg

[79 Howard]

is that a bronze tiller arm

[Rexone]

If you have jacketed cable steering like Morse or Teleflex and it's hard to turn it's most likely the cable(s). They should not be hard to turn especially at skiing speeds.

[HM]

is that a bronze tiller arm
Yes.