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I was just wondering what teleflex steering everyone is running in there squirt..........

Hi thumper,
I used the simple rotary teleflex system. At first I bought the 11' cable, and found out that it was too short, after trying to make the loop, under the bow. I then ordered a 14' cable, that made a nice, large loop under the bow and the boat steers like a dream. I had to position the output of the helm of the steering system towards the center of the boat, because you can't position it towards the right side, for the bend would be too severe.
Bob

I recommend a no feed back (NFB) system. I also recommend a 4.2 turn lock-to-lock system. I talked to a technical rep. at Teleflex. The 4.2 turn lock-to-lock systems (NFB rotary SS147XX and NFB rack SS151XX) have more of a mechanical advantage over the 3 turn lock-to-lock systems. This means that the wheel won't be as hard to turn. The rep. said that the SS147 system has the same mechanical advantage as the SS151 system. The difference is the SS151 requires more room on either side of the wheel but is only about two inches tall. If your wheel will be mounted on the starboard side then you need about 19 inches to the starboard side of the wheel to allow for the bend of the cable and you need about 9 inches on the port side of the wheel. The SS147 doesn't require much room on either side of the wheel but is about five inches tall. So if you want to put your wheel close to the side of your boat use the SS147 but you need a taller dash.

I am going to use an SS151 system on my TNT. I want the wheel to be as easy to turn as possible.

We used the Teleflex Safety QC system on our Zip (40-HP Merc Mk 55). It's got a little more slop around center than we would have liked, but overall it's worked well. It also occupies very little space behind the dash. Steering effort is very light and I don't think a NFB system is necessary on a boat this small. Just my opinion.

-Mark Shipley

_________________
A boat is just a wooden box with no right angles.

I agree with Mark,
There is a little slop at center, but I think it's due to the connections at the engine. All said and done, it works very well, and is very easy to steer.
Bob

I always used non-NFB systems on up to a 150 HP with no problems... esp on a small HP/boat.

The 150 was on a 14' boat with no problems.

Depending on what motor you use,you can usually adjust the trim tab/zinc to compensate for torque

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Boat building can best be defined as an endless series of
tragedies obscured by the occasional miracle, followed by a good bottle of beer.

Don't Dream Your Life, Live Your Dream

I agree that a NFB system is overkill for smaller boats but what is a few more dollars among friends

Thanks for the all the replys. My plans for my squirt should be here this week and i want to start gathering up all the parts and pieces so i dont have to look around when i start building.