Edson radial drive unit

[Clint]

I have a 1996 Hunter 29.5. The Edson Radial drive wheel needs to bereplaced. This drive wheel is what controls the steering and is found onmost Hunters aft of the helm under the large removable floor board ofthe cockpit. The cables go around this drive wheel and cross under thehelm to a chainThe drive wheel itself is bolted together and is split in two halves.When the halves are bolted together they fit around the rudder post.My first question is has anyone out there replaced one of these on theirown? It does not look too complicated. My next question : Does this drive wheel hold the rudder post and therudder itself in the boat ? In other words do I need to support therudder when I disassemble the drive wheel?Any advise or information will be greatlyappreciated---Thanks-------Clint

 

[Cobra]

Rudder Nut

Clint,Yes Sir the radial drive wheel Holds the rudder in the boat. If you remove the large bolt in the middle and the (pulley) bolts it will fall out. The rudder on my 33.5 is about 130 pounds of dead weight. My boat is on the hard right now I had rudder damage that needed to be repaired and I need a new radial drive pulley. I haven't got a price on the replacement. Need to call'em Tuesday.Good luckMike

 

[Phillip Coker]

Removed the Bolt

With my boat in the water, I removed the large bolt and bored a 3-inch hole about 4 four inches down into the top of the rudder post. I then pushed a 6 inch long 3-inch diameter stainless steel tube into the top of the rudder post. This left two inches of the tube sticking up above the rudder post to hold an autopilot tiller arm. The tube was pre-drilled to allow the large bolt to be reinserted. I did not loosen the two halves of the radial drive wheel. Throughout all of this there was no sign that the rudder had slipped or moved down even the slightest bit. If I were going to replace the radial drive wheel I think I would pull the large bolt half-way out, replace half of the radial drive wheel with a second large bolt pushed half-way through the rudder post, replace the other half of the radial drive wheel with the original bolt pushed half-way through, assemble the new halves so that they are clamped securely on the rudder post, remove the second bolt and then drive the original bolt completely through.