Dometic SeaStar Baystar Hydraulic Steering Kit, HK4200A-3

This kit had everything I needed and the instructions it came with plus looking at some youtube videos from people made easy to install. It's definitely a two person job to bleed the air out.The neck of the steering wheel is probably good 4 inches so it was sticking out a lot for my helm so I bought a bracket adapter that enables you to mount the neck coming out from inside the helm instead of going on top of the helm and that made it shorter like by an inch and a half (that's the square thing at the bottom of the neck in my picture), still sticks out some but not as much and it only bothers me when I'm standing steering the boat.I definitely noticed the change from going from cable steering and I don't get any feedback and it doesn't get as hard to steer when going fast as the cable one used to do, I have a 17ft Key West 1720 boat with a 90HP engine, I had to cut the old cable steering cable out of the engine since in this boat model you have to unmount the engine to get it out since the motor end of the cable steering is solid metal that doesn't bend at all and there is no room to pull it out straight.Overall very happy with it, one recommendation I have is download the PDF of the install and print the mounting holes diagram to check in your boat's helm, my friend found out he had too many holes from the old steering and there was no good fiberglass spots left and he had to fix the whole area first before mounting the new hydraulic steering.

Finally upgraded from cable steering and well worth the price difference. No more greasing cable to keep it moving. I will note to double check hose connections as I installed it backwards. Easy fix but just had addition work and bleeding. Another thing to consider is that if you have an Edson steering wheel the center nut may not be same size and you will need to buy correct size (5/8) which isn't cheap. Overall the install isn't difficult and there's a lot of videos to help where the provided instructions fall short or I feel aren't complete. Steering is very smooth and consistent pressure without the grease getting everywhere that I had with cable. So far it's great and will update any changes over time.

This took me about 2 hours to install. It was the first time I ever tackled a project like this. My old steering cable was locked up from dried grease. I called boating places and the cost to replace the cable because they had to take the motor off to do it was over the $500.00 So I decided I should upgrade to hydraulic steering and do it myself for around the same price of replacing the cable. After I ordered this I download the instruction manual and read it twice. By time it arrived I was ready to install. I dropped the old helm down from the console and cut the cable with a cut off wheel then taped a rope to it so When I pulled it out I had something to pull the new lines back through. Then I went to the back of the boat and cut the cable next to the engine. The old cable pulled out very easy, I then rigged up the hydraulics on the motor and put all bolts finger tight for now. I taped my new hoses on the rope and pulled it back through with one shot. Connected all the fittings for the helm and then bolted it down. Went to the back connected the fittings and tightened all bolts. Filled with fluid and bled the lines. It works absolutely perfect. I can not be happier with the outcome. Note I did have to cut off the dog ears on the motor so it would tilt all the way up. I missed that during the install but was able to take it off and cut them out in about 5 minutes or so. Now it tilts all the way up like it is suppose to.

I am installing this on my boat but it’s every thing you would expect from bay star. Update had it on all season no problems at all love that my boat has no torque steer anymore.

Instructions are all over the place. They say DO NOT CUT TUBING then say to CUT OFF EXCESS TUBING. Well, I already installed the tube nuts on the helm and now I have to spend $30 on a bundle of six tube nuts and wait for the mail for a week to finish the install because I have about six feet of excess tubing which is just going to make it hard to bleed the system. Ugh. I will update on the functionality of the hydraulic steering when I get finished.Update: the hydraulic steering is so nice! What a difference it makes for my 17’ boat with the 90hp 4 stroke Suzuki. Like butter!

Easy install, just was cramped behind the dash on my boat. Stripped the bronze nut to attach hose to steering wheel back and was easy to replace nut from hardware store. The stainless fitting on their equipment was undamaged.

*UPDATE* It’s been some time now and this set up is running strong, we don’t appreciate the value and quality of this product nearly enough!There’s a few tricks to installing this bad boy that aren’t really mentioned in the instructions, YouTube has it covered though if you’re concerned. This puppy replaced a very old steering cable kit that took two hands and all my might to turn while idling. With an extra set of hands this went in pretty easy once we figured out how to fill in the blanks, and it’s very straight forward. Mounted on an Evinrude 90Hp outboard for my 18.5 flats boat; turns smoother then butter, single finger operation on idle spreads and a little more muscle on plane but nowhere near what a cable would give you. This is the go to option for getting a high quality steering experience for your smaller boats. Highly recommend this if you’re on edge about making the investment. Removing the previous steering system is the hardest part of the upgrade!