BARRY HAS THE HYDRAULIC ANSWER

In response to the enquiry by John Lewis (last issue) I fitted hydraulic steering to Golden Sands writes, Moonraker historian, Barry Greenwood. The system was supplied by Wagner Engineering about 6 years ago and is model 700 twin station layout with tappings for autopilot connection, which 1 fitted at the same time. The complete cost was about £900 plus about £100 for additional piping and plumbing parts to connect the autopilot. The installation was relatively straightforward except feeding the 1Omm copper pipe through to the various places. Wagner recommended copper rather than plastic as it gives a more positive feel to the steering. 1 did however fit plastic as a balance pipe in the more awkward places. Removal of the old teleflex cable was by hacksaw in several places. The has worked perfectly ever since & it's quite a novelty not having the steering wheel whirling back and forth when the autopilot is steering (which is most of the time) but that's another story.