Marinette Boat Forum

This is my first post.
I have a 1990 32' Sedan flybridge with twin 318's. This boat came with some problems and my main issue is I can't steer from the the bridge. My local marine store doesn't have any answers. I'm in Ontario across from Detroit just off Lake Erie.
I've been out of boating for several years and I'm not very versed on diagnosing things like this. Friends at the marina I'm at think it could be as simple as low hydraulic fluid not reaching the bridge.
Any information or advice would be welcomed and appreciated.
Thank You for your time,
Tom R. from Canada

This is a semi-informed response - I'm not a power steering expert but can tell you that there is not switch that turns steering from the upper to lower station or vice versa. You can operate from either location with no change in any setting. There are others here who understand this stuff but my first call would be to the geniuses at Hynautic - Sea Star for whom this is easy pickin's. The info may also be avail on their web site.

Do you have cable or hydraulic steering ?

Look in the hold and determine whether you have cable or hydraulic. If you have cable trash it and convert to hydraulic, if you have hydraulic try filling and bleeding the system, a real b**ch. Converted mine a few months ago not all that hard just a lot of grunt work. Still getting the air out, after yesterday that should do it. A word of caution don't sit there spinning the wheel, what little fluid is there will just be aerated.

I'm assuming you have hydraulic steering since you mentioned that in your original post. You will need a bleed kit as seen here on Amazon,
https://www.amazon.com/Marine-Tech-Tool ... B07SB1KCMS
This is useful for topping off fluid and purging small amounts of air from the system.

If you really have lots of air in the system or need full fluid replacement you want to find a dealer in your area for SeaStar hydraulic steering and ask if they have a PowerPurge unit for rent or service call. The PowerPurge is the only way to get the job done quickly and correctly. Unfortunately its an expansive item but it works wonders.
https://www.seatechmarineproducts.com/s ... ering.html

If you have cable steering check the selector handle on the lower helm (to the right of the wheel). Pull and turn to upper helm, then turn the wheel back and forth until you hear a clunk from the port rudder post. The clunk is a rectangular chunk of metal that pivots up or down to lock either the upper or lower rudder control in place. You will see a single red cable connecting to that chunk of metal. I have had mine get stuck right in the middle once. Pretty much lost steering on the bridge since I was effectively trying to turn 2 steering wheels/cables at once. A little (lot) of WD-40 on all rudder pivot points helps.

-Karl

Thanks for the advice from all of you. Very much appreciated.
I contacted Hynautic and they sent me info on "Air Purge Instructions". They were very helpful.
I think I'll go with the bleed kit in hopes for a small amount of air in the system.
Thank you again and I'll let you know how it turns out.
Tom

Tom,
Looks like you have the Hynautic steering like I do. I replaced the leaking seal on the lower helm recently, which involves disconnecting and taking the helm apart. The system needed to be purged after re-installation. I followed the instructions in the owner’s manual, also shown in this utube video:
https://nam01.safelinks.protection.outl ... reserved=0

I used Marvel Mystery oil as the fluid, which is available at any auto parts store.

Sent from my iPhone

I recently had to repressurize and re-bleed my system. My upper helm was leaking pretty bad. If you need the helm rebuilt I would recommend Seatech in SanDiego. They rebuild the old Hynautic helms and have a new replacement kit if it's not rebuildable for some reason. Time consuming to pressurize and bleed but pretty easy.