Uflex Hydraulic Steering Hose Kit, 18 ft Bulkhead Pair

Hydraulic steering is only as reliable as the plumbing that runs between your helm and your cylinder, and that's exactly what this Uflex hose kit takes care of. You get two 18 foot high-pressure hoses, pre-crimped at the factory, ready to connect a Uflex outboard hydraulic helm to the steering cylinder on the back of your boat. No crimping tools, no guessing at fitting sizes, no trip to a hydraulics shop. The ends are done for you.

Here's the part that matters most before you buy: these hoses are built for Uflex standard helms with a 1500 PSI relief valve. That relief rating isn't a suggestion. Match it. Running these lines on a helm with a lower relief pressure is how people blow seals the first time they throw the wheel hard over. If your helm is a 1500 PSI unit, you're in the right place. If you're not sure what your helm is rated for, check the pump body or the paperwork before you order.

Each hose ends in a bulkhead fitting with a bend restrictor on one end. The bulkhead fitting gives you a clean, water-resistant pass-through where the line crosses a transom or a bulkhead, so you're not chafing a bare hose against a fiberglass edge every time the boat flexes. The bend restrictor is the quiet hero here. It keeps the hose from kinking right at the tightest part of the run, usually where the line turns down into a transom tube. We've seen plenty of hoses fail in a single season because someone skipped that support and let the hose crimp itself flat at a hard bend. This kit builds it in.

Two hoses come in the set because hydraulic steering runs two lines, port and starboard, between the helm and the cylinder. That's the whole system's fill and return path. Buying them as a matched pair means both lines share the same crimp spec and the same length, which keeps your install clean and predictable. It's the right move on a 22 to 26 foot center console or walkaround where you're routing both lines through the same rigging chase.

A word on install. Pick the length that's closest to your actual run. These are 18 foot hoses and they don't cut to length, so a run that's a lot shorter leaves you coiling slack somewhere, and loose slack chafes. Route them with gentle sweeps, secure them every so often, and give the bulkhead nuts room to turn. You'll want about a 1-1/4 inch wrench and clear access to snug them down. And here's the one that bites first-timers: keep your port and starboard lines straight from helm to cylinder. Cross them and your wheel steers backward on the first test. Always turn the wheel dockside and confirm the outboard swings the right way before you leave the slip.

The jacket is black, which hides UV better than the old orange hose, though no marine hose lives forever in hard tropical sun. Plan on inspecting your steering lines like you inspect anything else that keeps you pointed where you want to go. The kit carries CE and UKCA marks, so it clears European and UK inspections if you cruise over there, and it meets the same build standard everywhere else.

Think of this as a rigging and maintenance staple. If you're repowering, replacing a tired hose that's started weeping at a fitting, or plumbing a fresh hydraulic setup, a matched pair with the ends already crimped saves you the fussiest part of the job. Order the length that fits, keep the runs clean, and you've got steering plumbing that'll hold pressure for years.