Hydraulic Steering question

[rtgogo]

My steering felt real soft so I asked the tech at my marina to check it out and bleed the unit if needed. He told me the rotations were perfect, with no air in the lines, but shed some light on why the steering is soo soft. I have a teleflex-seastar helm unit which i was obviously aware of, but he added that I also have a hydraulic steering unit built into the mercruiser outdrive? Whatcha think? wasn't aware of the second merc piece and not sure I fully understand the impact of dual units...except that it feels soft and really easy to turn.....just wondering if you guys could enlighten me on the pros-cons of the setup. It feels light a Mercedes steering hooked up to a Porsche...if that makes sense... just bought the boat earlier this season and still learnin....thanks!~

[gcarter]

The Seastar helm replaces the cable. The cylinder that's attached to the Seastar lines is mounted on a Merc power steering system very similar to the one that uses a cable. In either case, the mounting of the cable or the Seastar cylinder senses the movement of your input and moves the tiller hydraulically with its own Merc power steering cylinder.
The reason it feels "soft" is that there is absolutely no feedback in this system. The steering is very light because of the Merc cylinder boost. Just lose a P/S belt though and you'll find what a job the P/S does.
On the otherhand, outside forces don't effect the steering like going slowly in a bad chop. The waves won't take the wheel out of your hands.