Merriman pedestal steering on a Mac 25

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Jun 22, 2004
18
Macgregor 25 Miami Florida
Need info to repair this steering system. The teleflex cable sticking out of the transom that attaches to the rudder is damaged and is missing a part. What I have is the flex thing hanging all loose if goes in and out when we turn the wheel but something is missing.

Does anyone have pictures of what this is supposed to look like or drawings of the whole system? Merriman went out of business back in the 80's sometime
 
T

tkanzler

You're in luck, actually

I had a Merriman/Yacht Specialties steering system on my Aquarius 7.0, and have some pics, though they're not very good. Assuming yours is the single push-pull cable with a chain drive to the cable inside the pedestal, it comes out the transome through an angled bulkhead fitting with a big nut on the outside. The cable itself is never visible on the outside of the boad, but a guide tube of sorts slides in and out of the sheath to push/pull the rudder.

I took mine out of the boat partly because the cable was too stiff and required a lot of effort to turn the wheel. I tried to lube it, and put a lot of time into it, but never got it to work as well as I thought it should. I could not find a replacement of that size (it's a larger diameter than just about every cable out there), and went directly to every cable manufacturer I could find in the industrial directories. I went back to the original tiller steering, and liked the increase in cockpit space.

After I sold the boat, and purely by accident, I was talking to the tech folks as Edson about my H340 steering (wheel was never properly aligned with the rudder) and mentioned that I had a Merriman system that I took of my small boat because of the cable. He told me that they stock them in two lengths, and he correctly cited the correct end fitting diameters and types! Not too expensive, either. They bought out Merriman and killed the product line long ago, but it would seem they still sell control cables for them.

I still have the wheel and pedestal, and the old cable, in storage. If you need to see a pic of what the end of the cable is supposed to look like, I can take one and post it, but the fitting for the boat is in the (fuzzy) pic I'm posting here.
 
Jun 22, 2004
18
Macgregor 25 Miami Florida
Re: You're in luck, actually

yes I want to see a picture, did you say that edson has parts
 
Jun 16, 2010
98
Lancer 25 Newbergh
Teleflex normally runs through the engine at the hinge point. (That is the point at which the motor hinges to raise or tip it up then comes out the other side and via a drag link attaches to the movable part of the motor head. Not shur about a pic.
 
Dec 25, 2009
269
American 26 & MFG Challenger 12 American 8.0, Challenger 12 Lake Pepin, Wisc.
TKanzler,

I still have the wheel and pedestal, and the old cable, in storage. If you need to see a pic of what the end of the cable is supposed to look like, I can take one and post it, but the fitting for the boat is in the (fuzzy) pic I'm posting here.

I would be interested in buying your system if you are interested in selling, it sounds just like the kind that came as an option on my boat, mine has a tiller and I would much prefer a pedestal and wheel.

Please let me know. PM or Email or call me please.

Tom Hoffman
319-231-7705
 
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Jun 22, 2004
18
Macgregor 25 Miami Florida
Re: You're in luck, actually

Yes I would like to see a picture of the cable and both ends, we have ours out of the boat and I am sure the cable we have is incorrect and some jury rig the prior owner stuck in that doesa not work. Is the cable servicable?
 
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