Reattach wire to steering quadrant

[mobydog]

I have recently dropped my rudder on a Catalina 30 1981 a few inches to repair the top with epoxy.
Raising it back up and reattaching the bolt where the emergency tiller attaches was not a problem.
The problem is that when I lowered the rudder the wire from the pedestal got loose from the quadrant and now I'm not able to put it bak on the quadrant.

Any ideas on how to reattach the wire?
There must be a way to adjust the tension with a turnbuckle or something similar but I can't find it. Is it inside the pedestal?

Adding photos of the quadrant with wire and the pedestal from top

 

[Richard19068]

This may or may not help but check regarding the take up eyes shown in illustration 11 on page 7 of the attached . That may help tell you what you need to do to loosen them to get the cable back on and then tighten them back up.

https://edsonmarine.com/content/EB381SteeringGuide.pdf

 

[dlochner]

Those 2 long bolts sticking out are the adjustment eyes. Back the nuts off until there is enough slack to slip the cable back on. Before doing this be sure the cable is in good shape with no kinks or fish hooks, if you have these, replace the cable. While the tension is off them, check the idler wheels, the axle on the pulley can develop a flat spot, wear, and eventually break. Lubricate the cable and idler pulleys per the Edson instructions.

The trickiest part of this whole job is getting even tension on the steering cables while keeping the wheel and rudder centered. Be patient, study the Edson instructions.

 

[Richard19068]

The trickiest part of this whole job is getting even tension on the steering cables while keeping the wheel and rudder centered. Be patient, study the Edson instructions.

Right. For me it's hard to see when the rudder is precisely amidships. After a few adjustments mine is still off about 10 degrees. I just live with it.

 

[capta]

Right. For me it's hard to see when the rudder is precisely amidships. After a few adjustments mine is still off about 10 degrees. I just live with it.

Sorry, that would drive me to drink. Oh, wait a minute, I already drink. Maybe I'd have had another drink and gone down and done it right?

 

[Ward H]

I agree with the others, even @capta
Getting the cables back on the quadrant is a PIA.
If you didn't take the chain off of the sprocket you probably know where the wheel was when your rudder was straight. Put the wheel in that position and lock it down or tie it off.
Then evenly loosen those long bolts until you can put the cable back on and evenly tighten them until you have tension on the cables. The instructions I have for my Edson pedestal says when standing on the quadrant your wheel should have little play in it. I found the instructions on the Edson web site.
Before backing off the nuts to loosen the bolts, I'd measure the length of the exposed threads and put the nuts back where they were.

 

[mobydog]

Thanks, everyone I managed to reattach and I did use a calipers depth probe to measure the length of the exposed threads before starting.
First I locked the wheel in the center and use 2 planks and a clamp to keep the rudder straight as I did this alone. With this, I easily could get one side on after loosening the threads. I always kept at least 1 bolt on each eye so they wouldn't accidentally go off the quadrant.
To get the second side on I had to turn the rudder so that side came more forward. Then back to center, after that I worked each side eye and bolts to the length I had previously measured. If it is off a few degrees is something I will find out after the boat launch this coming weekend.