Beneteau 331 Steering System Blocks

[henryD]

Has anyone performed maintenance on the blocks on the cockpit floor (under the pedestal) that turn the steering cable from the wheel to the quadrant? One of mine is not turning and the cable is just sliding on it. How difficult is it to remove and lube them? What has to come out or can it be done in place? Thanks.

 

[henryD]

So I will save you the suspense and let you know how I made out. You are able to get the sheave/block assembly out by removing the four bolts underneath the pedestal. The nuts are accessed via the ceiling panel in the aft berth.

 

[henryD]

So I will save you the suspense and let you know how I made out. You are able to get the sheave/block assembly out by removing the four bolts underneath the pedestal. The nuts are accessed via the ceiling panel in the aft berth. You have to disconnect the steering cable and run it through the sheave to remove it. After about 30 squirts of Sail Kote I was able to get it moving reasonably well again. It does have a removable pin and I was able to get it to slide with a few hammer blows but decided against removal due to lack of access to really good tools and a workbench along with the fact that it is mid season and didn't want an issue with pin replacement or the like to sideline me. Overall not a difficult project. It should take an hour or less to remove and reassemble but it took longer as I did not have that "extra set of hands" to hold things in place. A fairly short adjustable wrench or two is helpful as the room in pedestal is tight. I put Loctite on the cable connections as a prior disconnection of the cables (not fun) is what got me looking at this in the first place. Hope this helps.

 

[arf145]

Appreciate you reporting on your venture into the steering system Henry!