Albin 27 steering system

[Duvie]

My new to me Albin 27 has a teleflex cable steering system 3 turns lock to lock. I don't like it at all. It turns hard on higher power settings and has lots of play. This makes docking and running in following seas very difficult. Thinking of going to hydraulic steering and wondering what other owners of under 30 ft down east style boats are using and how they like their system. My albin has the 260 Hp Isuzu 6GB1T and can make 18 knots.

 

[Sailor of Fortune]

a change of the cables may help... I would consult someone knowledgeable before committing to Hydraulic changeover...

 

[skiprocks]

Hydraulic steering

Our '85 A27 had hydraulic steering when we first came aboard in 2014. There was an older early 90's era non-operational Robertson autopilot when we got her, but I never could bring it back to life. I Installed a Simrad autopilot last year and I couldn't be happier. I 'have to' be saving fuel solely because I really do go directly from Point A to Point B now instead of seemingly visiting every other letter of the alphabet on my journey. To say that these things have been known to meander is kind of an understatement.