Larger Wheel on 260

[rs1sensen]

Are all Edson wheels interchangeable or do they come in different thread sizes?

I've been thinking about picking up a used wheel that is bigger than the stock one on the 260. The idea of the bigger wheel is to make it easier to sit in the aft corner cockpit seats as right now it is a bit uncomfortable to navigate from there.

From what I can tell online it looks like this is the stock wheel at 22", so it seems like 28" or 30" would be reasonable and still allow some room to walk around.

I need to do some measurements but also curious if anyone has done this and how big they went.

 

[Stu Jackson]

The key is the size of the hub on your existing wheel.

 

[Joe]

You might consider an autopilot with a remote.... or.... I have seen "tiller extensions" with adapters for mounting on a wheel that might work well. Converting to a larger wheel may pose other fitment issues besides the hub size.

 

[SFS]

If you decide to make a change, there are plenty for sale on eBay.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Take a photo of the current wheel and post

Any 260 owners that monitor me, can you take a measurement of your wheel and if bigger than 22 inch, take a picture please for comparison. Thanks

 

[rs1sensen]

I'm away from the boat for a few days but checked in my photos for a couple that somewhat show the wheel. Boat has the original stock wheel - looks like it could be 22" just eyeballing it. I do have autopilot but no remote for it. As @SFS mentioned, I've seen tons of used wheels for sale pretty reasonably, so as long as it is just the hub size to take into account seems like a pretty easy mod as long as I don't go "too big."

 

[Calif. Ted]

Most Edson wheels have a 1" straight shaft, but a tapered shaft is also made.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

I believe the standard wheel came with the one inch shaft as I recall taking an Edson nut like hub to secure the wheel. I cannot remember the exact wheel size but the next size wheel takes up more room maneuvering around a small cockpit. As to steerage it was fine but when you heel more than 12-14 degrees and/or sail in very strong winds, expect the degree of turning to be harder

 

[twistedskipper]

OP, if you’re talking about the stern rail seats, I’m having a hard time picturing a wheel big enough to comfortably reach from there while still being practical otherwise. I vote for the extension someone pictured in an earlier post.

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

You have to be very careful with a wheel extension in heavy seas and/or high wind based on experience

 

[twistedskipper]

You have to be very careful with a wheel extension in heavy seas and/or high wind based on experience

You probably shouldn’t be steering from the stern rail seat in those conditions, anyway.