Any of you sailing today with the modern rack an pinion stearing systems may not know that they need attention also. My '05' Hunter 38 has a wonderful Edson CDi system that has performed flawlessly until this past weekend. I never got an owners manaul on the pedestal system and took it for granted that all was well.
On the bottom of all is a part called the output lever. That lever has three screws that hold it on and on the end of the lever is a ball joint that connects to the rudder linkage. On Saturday, club racing on Galveston Bay, my output lever fell off and I lost rudder control doing 7.0 knots in close quarters.
The good news is that it didn't come completely off. The fiberglass pan below it only allowed it to slip off for a minute. I depowered the boat and it slipped back on. What kept it from falling completly off was the ball joint itself.
The three screws are: two for the bracket and a single set screw that pins the output lever to a single key way. Those were loose. I slid the bracket back up into position and tightened all three adding the blue locktite substance to the set screw (blue you can brake loose with normal tools).
Interestinglly enough when you go to the Edson web site and get the maintainence manuals they will tell you this needs to be checked "monthly". Most will find this a bit difficult as the deck ususally has to be removed to see the rudder linkages. I believe this item applies to all brands of boats in these forums. Check the linkage and stearing system out according to the pedestal manufactor. It can save you some tense moments to say the least.
Those of you coming out of "hibernation" soon add this to your Spring check list. My system performed flawlessly without attention for 5 years. Don't take this lightly. It could cause you major trouble
On the bottom of all is a part called the output lever. That lever has three screws that hold it on and on the end of the lever is a ball joint that connects to the rudder linkage. On Saturday, club racing on Galveston Bay, my output lever fell off and I lost rudder control doing 7.0 knots in close quarters.
The good news is that it didn't come completely off. The fiberglass pan below it only allowed it to slip off for a minute. I depowered the boat and it slipped back on. What kept it from falling completly off was the ball joint itself.
The three screws are: two for the bracket and a single set screw that pins the output lever to a single key way. Those were loose. I slid the bracket back up into position and tightened all three adding the blue locktite substance to the set screw (blue you can brake loose with normal tools).
Interestinglly enough when you go to the Edson web site and get the maintainence manuals they will tell you this needs to be checked "monthly". Most will find this a bit difficult as the deck ususally has to be removed to see the rudder linkages. I believe this item applies to all brands of boats in these forums. Check the linkage and stearing system out according to the pedestal manufactor. It can save you some tense moments to say the least.
Those of you coming out of "hibernation" soon add this to your Spring check list. My system performed flawlessly without attention for 5 years. Don't take this lightly. It could cause you major trouble
