Doug

Thanks for the great reponses everyone. I continue to go back and forth. I was thinking hydraulic for two reasons. One, little or no maintenance. Mechanical seems to just get gradually worse and worse until it needs to be replaced. Two, It looks like the motor will need to be removed to put in new mechanical cables. I had to cut one of the old ones out because of the angle from the access. I figured for the price of paying to have the new cables installed I could just upgrade. Also, there sure seems to be a lot of people raving about hydraulic.

I have a 1987 Bass Cat Pantera bass boat that needs the steering replaced. I am considering switching from mechanical to hydraulic. When I contacted Bass Cat I received this comment. "Due to the 1987 model boats still having wood in them I would be concerned about Hydraulic steering because of the pressure this will put on the transom". I have been unable to find any similar comments anywhere. Does this make any sense to anyone? The only thing I can think of is that I that I use the feedback to properly trim the motor, so I guess without the feedback an operator might run around without trimming. But I never thought that was really a problem. Has anyone had an issues with hydraulic steering on older boats?

We are coming down to Gaston's for our second year on Jan 26th. We prefer to wade and fly fish. Last year they were running so much water that we rented a boat and mostly used spinning gear. We are trying to figure out the best approach for this year's low water conditions and are weighing 3 options. 1) rent a boat again to move aroung the river. 2) just wade, fish around the access areas and drive to get a changes in scenery. 3) bring down a couple of canoes, shuttle cars to float from Gaston's downriver. I would appreciate any opinions or advice. Thanks, Doug