SeaStar Check Valves?

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Lucky John

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Location
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Seems like my steering has been less and less responsive since last season. I have to make too many turns on wheel for engine to respond. I just had the mechanic purge the system as I also have auto pilot with a Garmin 1.2 liter pump.
When the engine is down in running position I can turn wheel either way with engine response. I can also turn it to a point where it gets stiffer but I can keep on turning the wheel. This occurs in both directions. (This is not normal)
There was only a tiny bubble of air that came out of one side. The fluid has not leaked and remained full. There is no leaks from ram, helm etc.
Has anyone else had this condition? From the reading I have done it is leaning towards a check valve in the helm, which would kind of suck since the boat is only in it's third season and new helm is about 5-6 hundred.
When running under normal conditions I really have to spin wheel to keep on course, once on plane the auto pilot does function properly unless there is some kind of adverse condition......tide, waves,wind etc.
 
Probably the valve in the helm. Will you engine stay put when trimmed out of the water? I.e. , does it fall off to one side or the other and not stay centered or in the position you trimmed it out in?
 
Probably not anything due the the cylinder then. Last year after mine sat up for 3 or 4 months in the winter, I was checking everything out before returning it to the coast and I turned my wheel to check steering and nothing was moving. I spun the wheel left and right several times and then suddenly it started working. The main issue was the check valve sticking in the helm. That's what my Tech told me anyway. I had had some issues at the end of the prior season also and when I did get my boat to the water, the first night at the docks I noticed my engine falling off to the side. That is more cylinder related. I ended up replacing the whole system, lines and all, with a Uflex Silverstar system. Very happy with it now. Obviously my boat being 11 years old at the time made replacing everything a lot more practicle. As new as yours is I would'nt want to/or expect do that. My Tech said that he rebuilds, so to speak, the helm units with new check valves sometimes so that may be doable? Good Luck John.
 
This is my third boat and it seems every one had some kind of issue at 2-3 years. First one the O-rings leaked and was replaced, second boat ram failed and had to be replaced, now this one seems to need a helm. The warranty is two years and I am now over that by 3 months. I am going to reach out today to SeaStar and see if anything could be done warranty wise but my main goal is to get it done ASAP so I don't lose much time at the height of the season now. Today is going to be a great weather window with tuna around and I cannot go because of this..... :evil:
 
Sorry you can't get out for those tuna. Good weather windows seem to be hard to come by this year. If you end up replacing your helm unit, consider going with the Uflex Silversteer kit. By the time you replace just the helm you might as well just do the whole thing with a better system? That's if you can't get it covered by Warranty? Good luck!
 

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I was able to get through to the tech from SeaStar this morning out in CA this morning. Turns out they give Parker and extra year on the helms and they were going to ship out a new one today from their Sarasota, Fl warehouse. I explained my symptoms to the tech and agreed with my mechanic that it was the helm. All I have to do is put old one back in the box and ship on my expense back to factory. Then hopefully back to trolling up some nice yellow fins or bluefins by next weather window.
 

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