Uflex KITOBBHBR-16 Hydraulic Steering Hose Kit, 16 ft

If you're plumbing an outboard hydraulic steering system, the hose is the part that ties the whole thing together. The Uflex KITOBBHBR-16 gives you two matched 16-foot high-pressure hoses, ready to run from the helm back to the cylinder. Both ends come pre-crimped with brass fittings, and one end carries the bulkhead fitting and bend restrictor. So you get a water-resistant pass through the transom or splashwell and chafe protection right where the hose flexes hardest.

The 16-foot length is a sweet spot. It fits most single-outboard center consoles in the 25 to 30 foot range, where the run from a dash-mounted helm down to the engine isn't long but still needs some slack for a clean route. You don't want the hose bar-tight and you don't want it coiling up either. Too much extra hose bunched up at the low point of the run just traps air and makes bleeding the system a chore later. If your run is longer or shorter, Uflex offers this same kit in other lengths, so measure the routed path first and pick the size that lands closest without a big excess loop.

These are set up for Uflex helms with a 1500 PSI relief valve. That matters. Match the hose kit and cylinder to the pressure rating your helm is built for and the system runs smooth and firm. Run the wrong pressure rating and you'll feel it as relief valve chatter and stiff, notchy steering. If you're building a fresh system or replacing an aging one, confirm your helm's relief valve rating first and spec everything around it.

The bulkhead fittings are the part boaters appreciate on install day. Instead of drilling an oversized hole and stuffing loose hose through with a grommet, you get a proper threaded bulkhead pass that seals against water intrusion and gives the hose a solid anchor point. The bend restrictor on that same end keeps the hose from kinking as it turns into the bulkhead, and it's exactly where outboard splashwell installs tend to chafe through after a couple of seasons if there's nothing protecting the hose. Clean the threads, tape them properly, and snug the bulkhead fittings down. That's where the occasional weep shows up if the prep is rushed.

Install is honest DIY work if you're comfortable with hydraulics. Because the ends are pre-crimped, there's no cutting hose to length or crimping your own fittings in the bilge. You route, connect, fill, and bleed. Just watch the routing so the hose doesn't twist as it lands at the bulkhead, and give it gentle sweeping bends rather than tight corners. When you bleed the system, open the helm relief valve first so trapped air can work its way out, otherwise you'll chase a soft spot in the wheel that never quite clears.

The hose itself is black and UV stable, so it holds up to sun and salt in an open splashwell. It's still worth a look each season at any spot where the hose passes a stringer or a sharp edge, since abrasion is the thing that gets steering hose long before the hose material itself wears out. The kit is CE Certified and UKCA Compliant, which for a US boat mainly tells you the metric fittings are to the standard Uflex builds its helms and cylinders around.

One more thing worth saying plainly: this is a set of two for a reason. A hydraulic steering system needs a matched pair so pressure balances port and starboard. Run a single hose or mix mismatched lengths and the wheel pulls to one side. Buy the pair, route them together, and you'll have tight, predictable steering that holds a heading and doesn't wander. Do the job once, do it right, and this is the kind of steering plumbing you don't think about again for a long time.