Has anyone ever had to replace the transmission linkage on a Hunter 33 (78 model) with a 2QM20? Ours just snapped off; the rod broke about four inches below the lever, inside the binnacle. I can't see down there very well and haven't pulled the whole thing apart yet, but I assume there is more rod down there, which at some point hooks onto the cable itself. When I look at the bottom of the binnacle, there is just the cable coming out, so I know it doesn't go that far down. Of course it broke at the most dramatic possible moment--as we're passing beneath a bascule bridge that had just opened for us, setting us adrift and preventing it from closing again so traffic could flow. That doesn't make you any friends in the increasingly crowded Seattle metropolitan area, let me tell you. I frantically got on the horn to the bridge operator to keep her from closing on us while trying to shift the linkage manually, but I couldn't reach it. Got a quick tow out of the way from a passing powerboat and managed to get it into forward to get back to the dock at least. Now I'm wondering what my options are for fixing the thing. Run a new rod all the way down out the bottom of the binnacle so I can get at it to hook the cable up? Or just drop a new cable down all the way from the lever? Is it easy to get replacement parts or are all these pretty unique to the boat? Looking for opinions and options, especially if anyone has done this before (either voluntarily or in the event of breakage). Thanks, Scott
Broken transmission linkage
- Thread starter ish
- Start date
- Status
Missing link
Scott, I have been refurbishing my HC33 1976 for the past year. When I first bought the boat, i had to have the steering idler wheel plate under the binnacle replaced due to deadly corrosion. I had the new one made from stainless steel and used the old bronze idler pulleys. In the process, I went ahead and removed the bennacle. It isn't that hard since there is enough room to get to the bolts going through the cockpit sole. Someone has to stay up top to hold the bolt heads with a flat screw driver. The reason I say this is because, you are going to need to remove the bennacle to ensure you complete your repairs and inspect the throttle linkage as well as the transmission linkage. This is an excellent opportunity to know a part of your boat you probably have never seen before, and to inspect the area around the base of the bennacle. When I tightened up the bennacle bolts after doing all the work, I was surprise to see the amount of H2O that came out of the laminated cockpit sole. I have been dry docked for a year and have since reinstalled the binnacle so everyting has had ample time to dry out. Take a good look at the steering mechanism, idler wheels, cables and connectors,rudder shaft, and quadrant while you are at it. It takes time to do all this but it is worth it and gives you a lot of peace of mind for the future. Good luck, Okiman
Scott, I have been refurbishing my HC33 1976 for the past year. When I first bought the boat, i had to have the steering idler wheel plate under the binnacle replaced due to deadly corrosion. I had the new one made from stainless steel and used the old bronze idler pulleys. In the process, I went ahead and removed the bennacle. It isn't that hard since there is enough room to get to the bolts going through the cockpit sole. Someone has to stay up top to hold the bolt heads with a flat screw driver. The reason I say this is because, you are going to need to remove the bennacle to ensure you complete your repairs and inspect the throttle linkage as well as the transmission linkage. This is an excellent opportunity to know a part of your boat you probably have never seen before, and to inspect the area around the base of the bennacle. When I tightened up the bennacle bolts after doing all the work, I was surprise to see the amount of H2O that came out of the laminated cockpit sole. I have been dry docked for a year and have since reinstalled the binnacle so everyting has had ample time to dry out. Take a good look at the steering mechanism, idler wheels, cables and connectors,rudder shaft, and quadrant while you are at it. It takes time to do all this but it is worth it and gives you a lot of peace of mind for the future. Good luck, Okiman
Replaced mine
We had an Edson pedastle and had to replace our cable last year, ours is a 92 35.5. It was a big job and you had to take the compass and binacle apart and fish the connections up, Edson had something on thier website as far as directions. It was a 4 hour job and required a 2nd pair of hands at a few points. While I had it apart I replaced both the throttle and shift cables assuming the other might go eventually.
We had an Edson pedastle and had to replace our cable last year, ours is a 92 35.5. It was a big job and you had to take the compass and binacle apart and fish the connections up, Edson had something on thier website as far as directions. It was a 4 hour job and required a 2nd pair of hands at a few points. While I had it apart I replaced both the throttle and shift cables assuming the other might go eventually.
Thanks for the information
It does look like the pedestal is going to have to come off--there is something besides the brackets at the top and bottom that is holding the old cable in place and preventing me from either removing it or fishing the new one through. It looks like there is another mount point about halfway down the pedestal that it's clamped into, but there's no way to reach it without dissassembling the steering mechanism as well. And we will definitely replace the throttle linkage too, as long as we have the thing all torn up... the design is terrible, it's easy to see why the transmission linkage snapped--both levers are engineered so that the solid rod part of the linkage is forced up against the wheel cylinder, creating wear on both whenever either is moved. We're going to try to replace them with entirely new lever and linkage assemblies to avoid that strain in the future. But it does look like it is going to be quite a project. Thanks to everyone for the input!
It does look like the pedestal is going to have to come off--there is something besides the brackets at the top and bottom that is holding the old cable in place and preventing me from either removing it or fishing the new one through. It looks like there is another mount point about halfway down the pedestal that it's clamped into, but there's no way to reach it without dissassembling the steering mechanism as well. And we will definitely replace the throttle linkage too, as long as we have the thing all torn up... the design is terrible, it's easy to see why the transmission linkage snapped--both levers are engineered so that the solid rod part of the linkage is forced up against the wheel cylinder, creating wear on both whenever either is moved. We're going to try to replace them with entirely new lever and linkage assemblies to avoid that strain in the future. But it does look like it is going to be quite a project. Thanks to everyone for the input!
- Status