I have a crack

[Chotu]

I got a crack in my hydraulic steering bracket.

It happened it last night. Because some wonderful person put me out to anchor without my knowledge or consent. And the boat was not ready. (Also put out to anchor without seizing wire on the anchor so I’m lucky I didn’t lose the entire boat). Fn hack

There was a big storm that came up and it was slamming the steering system around.

I am trying not to buy a new ram. Because that will go on the bill. So what’s the best way to fix this crack? I do prefer to fix it on the boat rather than dismounting the entire thing and bringing it to a welder. Because that will also go on the bill.

Squeezing epoxy in there? Getting some help to do that?

I know that I could scuff up the top of it and do a layer of glass but that would look terrible and require help also. I could probably also drill it out and tap and put some screws in it. It’s just aluminum.

Any opinions on the best approach?

[SY Harmony]

Is it cast aluminum?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SY Harmony

Is it cast aluminum?

I don’t know the answer to that.

Unsure.

It doesn’t say in the documentation. It only says aluminum.

Starting to wonder if the ugly fiberglassing is probably better. And then paint it black so it’s less visible. Epoxy work though

It’s a SeaStar system.

So many damages to deal with right now

[SY Harmony]

Look in the crack, is it grainey or smooth? Looking at the general shape and all the contours, i’d lean to cast AL. In that case, I’d dremel out the crack a bit and pack is with JB weld. It’s a quick and dirty fix to get by while sourcing a replacement.

[wholybee]

Not what you want to hear, but I think a repair, welding, epoxy, or screws, would all be weaker than it was, and it obviously wasn't strong enough before it broke.

I would replace it, and would look into bronze or stainless options if they are available. Steering isn't something you want to risk failing while underway.

[wholybee]

Can we see pictures of the part at other angles?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by wholybee

Can we see pictures of the part at other angles?

This is the best picture into the crack that I could get.

It’s just a standard Seastar hydraulic steering ram. Brand new. I just bought it in the fall and installed the hydraulic steering system.

All the other lovely stuff you see in the background is from other people doing a bad job on things.

At least they did a job. This guy did nothing. Except damage my boat.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by wholybee

Not what you want to hear, but I think a repair, welding, epoxy, or screws, would all be weaker than it was, and it obviously wasn't strong enough before it broke.

I would replace it, and would look into bronze or stainless options if they are available. Steering isn't something you want to risk failing while underway.

Actually, it was plenty strong before it broke. What happened is the steering was not set up. The boat was just dragged out and thrown onto anchor without my consent or knowledge. So I wasn’t able to put the steering properly in place before the storm hit. Everything was loose and disconnected beca the harbor was too shallow to go in with rudders down. It got leveraged by the kick up trunk as things were not put together smashing around.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SY Harmony

Look in the crack, is it grainey or smooth? Looking at the general shape and all the contours, i’d lean to cast AL. In that case, I’d dremel out the crack a bit and pack is with JB weld. It’s a quick and dirty fix to get by while sourcing a replacement.

Looking inside the crack as you can see in the most recent picture, it’s grainy.

Probably cast.

[SY Harmony]

Can you retake the last pic with a larger field of view.

[Muaddib1116]

What's the replacement cost?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Muaddib1116

What's the replacement cost?

About $800, plus a couple hundred in new fluid and a long day of work.

[deblen]

You can't fix aluminum with epoxy or any other "glue".
Replace that part with new.
My opinion: from your pic,the ram is at too much angle to that mount. It basically split the mount by too much angle(pried it apart) when slammed.
I think it would have happened sometime soon anyway.
Re-do the ram install geometry.
Cheers/Len

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by SY Harmony

Can you retake the last pic with a larger field of view.

Assuming you just want to see what the ram looks like?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by deblen

You can't fix aluminum with epoxy or any other "glue".
Replace that part with new.
My opinion: from your pic,the ram is at too much angle to that mount. It basically split the mount by too much angle(pried it apart) when slammed.
I think it would have happened sometime soon anyway.
Re-do the ram install geometry.
Cheers/Len

Not correct. It went to the extreme angle because it was not put together and it was out in a storm. Typically when it’s in use, it pops out of a little holder. But it was not put together and ready to use. Everything was apart still.

It got leveraged into an area that it’s not supposed to go since it wasn’t put back together