Edson traditional rack and pinion steering setup

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David Michaels

After a month of sailing with the tiller basically sweeping anyone in the (very small) cockpit out of the way while tacking/jibing/recovering from a nasty bit of weatherhelm, I'm considering setting up a rack and pinion quadrant and some sort of wheel, similar to many catboats. Has anyone out there done this on an H27? My traveller is mounted at the stern, I don't think this will be a major problem, as I don't think I'd be building any kind of seating arrangement over the quadrant. I find that to get good visability I have to sit on the rail or stand anyway so I'll have to devise some sort of risers port and stbd. to sit on while steering. Also, this '79 has a lazerette/icebox (depending on who's drawing you're looking at) and I'd hate to lose that much locker space. I figure I will build the cover so that I can still get partial access to this area, but this is a concern. Advice is welcome. If you have done this, how difficult was it to relocate the aux. controls? With the steering in place, the controls will be too far out of the way for close to the dock work (steering, throttle control, fwd/rev while docking, etc.). Have you noticed any difference in the boat's response, good or bad? I'm shoal draft as it is and sailing to windward is already a challenge, will it get worse with the quadrant? Is there any alternative to the Edson rack and pinion quadrant? It's a hair under $1000.00 w/o a wheel. It's probably about $1500.00 plus my labor (including building a cover) if I go with them. This is pretty pricey for me, but it would be nice not to have guests in the cockpit having to do gymnastics to avoid the sweeping tiller. Pedestal steering is about the same money from Edson, but I have not heard a lot of good things about pedestals on the older 27s. And I'd still have to move the controls. Is this a Bad Idea? And if so, what's the work-around for the "big tiller, small cockpit" challenge?
 
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red coles

DIY

I'm a confirmd DIYr. and have a 78 h27. Have thought about this also. If I were to do it (add wheel) I'd consider using a steering box from a junk car, fastened with a framework attached to the rear vertical wall of cockpit and covered with a box, (maybe to sit on) with the pitman arm connected to the tiller with a drag link. Would take a little engineering and fitting but could be cheap alternative to store bought. Just a thought. Good luck red
 
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Howard

Undecieded in Greenlawn

I have a 78 H-27 and have thought of replacing the tiller with a wheel. In fact I bought a wheel and pedistal from a wrecked H-27 from a gentleman on this web site so I have most of the parts on hand. It's a Merriman System which looks to almost identical to the Edison systems. In order to install the system I'll have to strenghten the floor of the cockpit, cut the rudder tube, install the rudder shaft bearing,reglass the tube, install the quadrent, cut a hole in the cockpit floor,mount the pedistal, string the steering cable, move engine the controls to the pedistal or relocatre the wall mounted controls aft, build up the storage box lid for a seat and move the traveler up onto the cabin top. This is a lot of work and as a DYIer I can do it but I don't know if it's worth it. It's hard to compare the feel of a wheel with a tiller. At anchor I lift the tiller up and out of the way. I can even remove it quickly by taking out one screw if I need to. The pedistal will always be there in the middle, even if I remove the wheel. I've never swept anyone off the seat while underway as of yet, but I do agree it's a little more secure to hold onto the wheel when you hit a wave. I also have questions on how to mount the traveler on the cabin top. Do I need install access plates in the cabin? It may pay to add a new and better traveler (Gauer?) looks like a good on at a fair price. (Frir for boating that it...) A lot of questions to answer and there are no real clear answers So where does this leave us, it depends. HN
 
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Doug T.

Another traveler option

There's a 77 h27 on my pier that has the traveler at the base of the companionway. If you put it on the cabin top you will certainly need to make access holes. There are heavy loads on a traveler, so they'll need to be big enough to install backing plates -- you won't get by with 1" diameter holes suitable for fender washers.
 
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David Michaels

Howard, you might consider rack and pinion...

...which is what I am considering. The quadrant mounts to the rudder post like a tiller head. The pinion comes forward from the rack and the wheel mounts to the end of the pinion. No pedestal to fool with in the cockpit and the feedback is exactly like a tiller. No tubes to cut, no stuffing, no bearings. You might be able to sell your pedestal setup to someone on the list and go with this alternative. The biggest chore seems to be building a rack cover/pilot's seat and relocating the aux. controls so they are within reach. David
 
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