I was going to get a new steering setup for my old crappie boat.
Wondering if anyone wqas using ezy sticxk III / 870 for faster response? good or bad?
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I was going to get a new steering setup for my old crappie boat.
Wondering if anyone wqas using ezy sticxk III / 870 for faster response? good or bad?
I have installed some stick steering kits in the past, not sure about the 870 series, only thing you have to watch is the horsepower of your motor, anything above 40 could get pretty hairy if not down right dangerous
May i ask why?
i was running a 50hp but the cable is in bad shape and not trustworthy.
I putting on a newer 40hp and want the steering 100% trustworthy.
Give Ezy Glide a call and they can explain the difference between there unit's.Nice people to deal with.
Most of the stick steering systems have horsepower recomendations, and off the top of my head I thought it was around 40 hp , mostly for a safety stand point, and an older 50 may have been hp rated at the crank and all newer motors are hp rated at the prop which can be a bit more than the old way. just an opinion
Thanks for the replies guys.
My old stick steering setup was not an ezy glide and i have no idea what it was rated for but the outer jacketing and metal reinforcement was gone to where i only had tie wraps holding the whole cable together at the bend. And im sure my inner cable was badly rusted. My old steering was getting so i could not steer the motor at all under full throttle and was afraid someone would horse it at full throttle and snap the cable. I also know my trim tab was not adjusted right. And im not disputing ezy glides rating or how they work. The new systems are rated at 70hp where as like you guys said the older units were rated for 40hp which is weird. Im just wondering if anyone has used the 870 which is fast ratio and if they likes it or if it changes to quickly as stick is manipulated? My uncle is half paralyzed and cant cast so at time we troll alot for bass.
Also archerguy1 in wondering what characteristics you saw made some hairy or dangerous?
Well it's not something I have seen, just from a manufactors stand point or from me a service tech, I can see the draw backs of stick steering on a larger motor, when running a standard fishing type boat you have a steering wheel and there for 2 handed operation is avalible, where as stick steering is one handed and a larger motor with more prop torque could cause a boat to snap hook to the right with one handed operation if you where running say 40-50 mph and started to turn the direction the motor is trying to turn....to the right and the possiblity of the stick being pulled from your hand and possibly throwing the opperator out of the boat. Thats about the biggest reason I see why larger motors are not recomended with stick steering, but at the same time I have seen 90 hp tiller motors but the motor usually has a friction lock built in to help with the torque from the prop.
A kill switch is essential with any stick boat. waves and turns in rough weather can make a bad situation in a blink, no time to cut the throttle before things go bad. Consider that when you're thrown from the boat the stick goes to one side and circles while still under power, coming back around again and again. Having owned a small motor stick boat I can say that there were a couple of times when I wasn't paying attention and got lucky, and thought that with a bigger motor things would have happened that much faster. Not wanting to say all bad stuff, just go into it with all the info and safety on your side. Good luck with the project.
A lot of the HP ratings for stick steer came from back in late 60's early 70's. Back when bass boats and tournaments started getting popular people were taking the old bathtub type boats of the day with stick steering an rated fo 25 to 30 HP motors and hanging 75 HP merc's on them. Like Archerguy said boat way over powered cable breaks boat goes hard right, fisherman goes in water, boat comes back still running wide open kills fisherman. And I have experience with this because that fisherman was one of my high school friends. And if I'm not mistaken there was a pretty good gap in production of stick steer boats by major manufactures from about mid 70's to mid 80's. Then Morses control came up with some much better cables. My boat is a 17.9 WarEagle stick with 50 4stroke and rated for 60. Has regular control, I had thought about the faster control but decided it might just be a little dangerous, slight movement and things start happening in a hurry sitting in the front seat.
The 840 is rated for 70 outboard hp. The 870 is rated for that or higher, I believe. I'm about to install an 840 on mine. I agree that one needs to be especially careful with stick steering, but I enjoy having it a lot. It cuts down on the trips up and down the boat, and most importantly, removes the console and seat that goes with it. A lot more room for other stuff.
JBJ
I run a 60 hp yammy on my 17' sea ark and love it. My controls are rated for up to a 70. I have no complaints at all. Best set up I have owned to date.
Oh and mine is the Ez glyde III