OMC steering opinions needed

[Redrig]

Hello all ,

My boat was born an electric shift stringer , I love the boat , she is not rotten , been stored indoors , the engine runs great , etc . its just that damn electric lower.

I have had some challenges with the electric shift lower and it literally has ruined 2 of my vacations by breaking a shift spring. So I have always been on the lookout for a good mechanical shift outdrive to swap in there , similar to what Boomyal did with his stringer (he went electric to hydro)

I have enjoyed many hours of trouble free boating with the electric , but when it goes there is just no warning, just dead in the water . I would like something a touch more modern and reliable and I like the idea of a full mechanical shift mechanism.

This summer I hit the jackpot in the stringer world and I found a mechanical shift 800 in fantastic condition, new ball gears and a bonus shift cable. a gent was parting out a boat that he aquired and he didnt even know what he had , took it all for $300.00 he just wanted the engine for a project.

I have went through it with new seal kits, checked gears etc its all in great shape and ready to go . I have the controller , ESA , etc . she is pretty much ready to swap in.

Here is my dilema - steering . It is pretty much the last thing holding me up from completing the conversion.

My boat has the thru transom push pull type of steering . My original plan was to convert my boat over to tru course , I was under the impression that all 800s had tru course and that was pretty much the only steering option. The thru transom like mine I have only ever seen on the older electric shifts .

I also read in my manual something about feedback vs. nonfeedback steering and obviously you want something that will not flip the boat if something breaks within the steering components while you are on plane , so I was under the impression that you HAD to use tru course .

So what my question here is , what is the desired steeing setup ? Should I just keep what I have ? Or swap to Tru Course? Or is there a newer modern steering system that I can add using the existing hole in transom ?

My current push pull system works fine and I can just simply attach it to the "new" 800 exhaust housing (I realize that I will have to remove the gear in the upper for steering , but that is no biggie) OR should I convert the boat over to Tru course ? I have researched that and it will involve a little more work , but it is certainly doable .

*on a side note , what spurred this thought is a discussion I saw on the steering forum located below . Kenny chimes in a states that Tru Course is a PITA.

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/boat...eering-systems

what would you do ? Thanks in advance

 

[kenny nunez]

Since you have a good working steering I would stay with it. On the system you have just keep an eye on the cable on the inside of the boat. That is where the cable starts to break up at the point where it is swedged on at the ball.
The only other option would be to mimic the one you have with a hydraulic kit. Not cheap, but would do the job. There is a printed part# on your cable and the last 2 digits are the length in feet. If you find it try to order a new one. It may be NLA but if you can still get one go ahead and order it.
Most times when a clutch spring breaks and you did not hit anything there is a electrical issue. A loose wire under the instrument panel, a bad ground between the intermediate housing to the lower gearcase. Also a break in the lower shift wire. There is supposed to be a stainless ground strap from one of the 4 bolts that hold the side water cover connected to one of the bolts that mount the steering bumpber on the top of the upper gearcase.

 

[Redrig]

So Kenny , you dont see any issues in sticking with the push / pull system with the 800 ?

Did you ever see setups like that ? All I ever see are trucourse on hydros and mechanicals

and yeah , on the electric shift I have been through all of that , the shifter switch is good , good grounds , etc . I wanna convert some something a little more modern .

Where I boat it is not uncommon for me to get 30-40 miles away from a marina so just looking for a little bit more reliability, but I understand sh*t can happen with all boats

 

[kenny nunez]

I can feel your pain with the old electric.shift. Any time I was in doubt I also would re-wire from the shift switch to the drive.
The 800 drive you purchased Does it have the worm and spur gear in the upper gear housing? If it has you just have to remove the spur gear, the 800 style upper and intermediate housing have a larger hole for the shift cable. Someone swapped a 800 lower on this site and they just drilled out the shift cable hole. How much feed back do you have with the electric drive. It has been a long time since I drove a boat with the push/pull steering but I do not remember having a problem with the feed back. If the drive has the internal tru course you will need the helm and cable to set it up. What engine was used with the 800? If it was over 190 hp then the upper ratio will be different and you will have to play with propeller pitch.
The only other problem you may have is the shift interrupter system. Hopefully you have all the parts and they still function.

 

[Redrig]

Yeah , the 800 I purchased did have tru course , but I did not take the whole steering setup as it had power steering, and it was a couple of feet longer than my boat. It had a 350, so I will have to play with propping a bit but thats OK.

I could just simply remove the gear in the upper housing and use my current steering set up on the 800. That will certainly be much easier than converting it over to Tru course.

I dont really have any feedback on my current electric shift , it steers just fine.

and yes , I will have to modify the hole in the intermediate for the larger shift cable but that is no biggie . I have the ESA and everything ready to go , just the steering is the last thing I need to figure out .

 

[kenny nunez]

Since the 800 had power steering the cable was not the OMC tru course style. So as you said about removing the spur gear is the best way. Looks like you will be in good shape the way you are going. Good luck