Whether your boat has outboard or inboard engines, we stock hydraulic steering cylinders for both, including side-mount and front-mount options. You can also browse our hydraulic steering kits and hose kits, as well as helm pumps, tie bars & hydraulic oil. Our preferred supplier is Ultraflex, who are based in Italy & distributed worldwide, with over 70 years’ experience in manufacturing.
On boats, hydraulic steering is usually used with mid-to-high horsepower outboard motors. Hydraulic steering systems use a lightweight hydraulic hose to control the steering. This offers large or high-powered vessels a smooth, lightweight feel when turning the steering wheel.
With fewer metal parts than a mechanical system, hydraulic steering has the benefit of being more resistant to corrosion. Hydraulic systems can deal with all torque conditions and may only require fingertip effort. There are two main parts to hydraulic boat systems – the helm and the cylinder.
Helm - made of a hydraulic pump and valves. When the steering wheel is turned the pump is activated, and a swash plate presses on small piston pumps. The helm is responsible for converting the rotating motion of the steering wheel into a push-pull action on the cable. This cable directs the rudder to move left or right to steer the boat in the skipper’s desired direction. Most helms are rotary and use gears to move the rudder.
Cylinder – moves when fluid is pumped from the helm after the wheel is turned. The cylinder acts between two points on the outboard and doesn’t exert any force on the hull or deck. The cylinder is made up of a ram, bored cylinder and hardware. Hydraulic hose carries fluid from the helm to the cylinder and back.
The decision on which steering system you choose will depend mainly on the requirements of your boat including its size, the engine trim and propeller.
A hydraulic steering system is recommended for larger boats 10m+ in length and those likely to travel at high speeds. The torque (or force) of a large outboard motor means it can be difficult to bring it out of a turn or veer sharply from heading straight with mechanical steering.
A mechanical steering system is suitable for boats under 10m in length. Mechanical steering shouldn’t be used on boats that have engines fitted that exceed the boat’s recommended maximum horsepower.
Mechanical systems are cheaper, but recently hydraulic systems suitable for smaller boats have become less expensive. This means more people are now keen to upgrade their boat with a hydraulic steering system. This trend is expected to continue, and it will be more common for boats with outboard motors of 50hp or less to use hydraulic steering in the future.
All steering systems need inspection and maintenance, but there is less maintenance required for a hydraulic steering system than for a mechanical one. Despite being more reliable, your hydraulic system still needs regular maintenance however.
Steering is one of the few parts on your boat that has a single point of failure. Total loss of steering is possible if you don’t properly follow installation instructions or inspect and maintain your steering system regularly. An increasing number of boat owners convert their mechanical steering to hydraulic every year. If you carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions in your kit, it is possible to install the new hydraulic steering system yourself. But if you're not confident, it may be safer and less hassle to hire a professional to do it for you.
Whether your boat has outboard or inboard engines, we stock hydraulic steering cylinders for both, including side-mount and front-mount options.
Thank you
Terms & Conditions
Welcome to our website. If you continue to browse and use this website, you are agreeing to comply with and be bound by the following terms and conditions of use, which together with our privacy policy govern Boat Accessories Australia’s relationship with you in relation to this website. If you disagree with any part of these terms and conditions, please do not use our website.
The term ‘Boat Accessories Australia’ or ‘us’ or ‘we’ refers to the owner of the website whose registered office is . Our ABN is 70 144 721 586. The term ‘you’ refers to the user or viewer of our website.
The use of this website is subject to the following terms of use:
Privacy Policy
Boat Accessories Australia is dedicated to keeping your details private. Any information we collect in relation to you is kept strictly secured. We do not pass on or sell any of your personal details. We only use this information to identify and process your orders, provide you with our email newsletter (if subscribed) and to personalise your shopping experience with us.
This Privacy Policy sets out:
What personal information do we collect and store?
So that we can provide services to you, we may ask for personal details such as your name, address, telephone number or e-mail address. Some examples of where we may need these details are product orders, competitions and when you opt-in to receiving email newsletters from us.
Privacy law requires us to collect personal information about you only from you if it is reasonable and practical to do so.
Boat Accessories Australia takes measures to ensure your personal information is protected from unauthorised access, loss, misuse, disclosure or alteration.
Generally, you have no obligation to provide any information requested by us. If you choose to withhold requested information however, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services that depend on the collection of that information, particularly if the collection of that information is required by law.
How is personal information used?
The personal information that we ask for is generally used to provide goods or services to you. For example, for a debit/credit card transaction we need your card number, and for a competition we need your contact details so we can contact you if you win.
We may also use your personal information in other ways to provide you with superior service. This may include using your personal information to advise you of new products and services. You have the right to tell us that you do not want us to send information to you other than for the main purpose for which we have collected your personal details.
Newsletter
We offer a regular email newsletter which contains new and on-sale products as well as the latest boating news & advice. You may cancel your email subscription by following the simple instructions at the bottom of each newsletter.
Cookies
Boat Accessories Australia uses cookies to allow you to login to your account, maintain a shopping cart and to purchase items in your shopping cart. Some cookies sent to your computer from Boat Accessories Australia only last while you’re browsing our website, but several are persistent (they remain in your web browser unless you clear them). Cookies also allow us to give you a more personalised shopping experience by displaying products that interest you throughout our product pages, thus providing you with a more friendly, interesting and enjoyable shopping experience.
Your IP address
Whenever you use our web site, or any other web site, the computer on which the web pages are stored (the Web server) needs to know the network address of your computer so that it can send the requested web pages to your Internet browser. The unique network address of your computer is called its "IP address," and is sent automatically each time you access any Internet site. From a computer's IP address, it is possible to determine the general geographic location of that computer, but otherwise it is anonymous.
We do keep a record of the IP addresses from which customers access our site in some cases, such as where you have specifically provided us with information about yourself, in which case we also record your IP address for security purposes. Another example of where we record your IP address would be when proceeding to a checkout to finalise an order. After placing the order, your IP address will be stored along with a transaction number that allows us to track your order.
More information
More information about Australian privacy laws and the National Privacy Principles is available from the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner at http://www.oaic.gov.au