Steering issue on 2009 Hunter 34

[Jim A]

Can someone point me int the right direction, please. In the cool of the morning, steering wheel turns free and easy. As the day heats, the wheel becomes difficult to turn. Imagine the power steering in a car going out - like that. Have had 3 mechanics look at it, but no definitive solutions. I’m assuming the problem is in the hull, since the interior of the hull will heat up a lot more in the heat of the sun then the water temperature.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Do you hear any sound when it starts to get difficult ?
- On the 34, you can go in the stern cabin and remove the cover of the steering cables and quadrant (See pict). You could run the boat visually inspecting and checking before going out in the morning, then go see if anything has changed when the steering gets tough to turn. (Would help to have someone at the helm while you do that).
- The 2nd area I can think of would be inside the pedestal. With a good flashlight if you remove the compass you might be able to see if anything is wrong in there. You can also look upwards from the stern cabin through the holes where the cables run (of course with the cover removed).
- 3rd and lastly, is the steering difficult with the slightest movement to port or starboard, or does it seem to get pinched with a greater angle of turn, meaning you need to turn the wheel more. Measure the number of turns from dead center going left and going right. Then when it gets difficult, measure about where does it start ? Sometimes the top of the rudder might rub against the hull, creating friction.

 

[Jim A]

Hi there, Claude,

Thanks for the input.

No, no sound when it binds. I’ll check the steering column (your pic), but I don’t think the cover of the column comes off (I’ll check again). When I disconnect the 2 cable wires that connect to the rudder, the wheel turns freely. As soon as I reconnect the cables, I encounter the same steering problem (again, when the weather is hot).

Guys I had out checked the pedestal under the compass - all agreed no problem there.

As to your third question, no — the wheel doesn’t “bind” part way through a turn - when it’s hot, the problem is constant.

Any other ideas, please advise, and I’ll let you know if I can get that cover in your picture off to take a look under there.

Thanks again for your input - most appreciated

Jim

 

[markwbird]

They stopped making the 34 in 1987 so what bait do you have?

 

[Jim A]

Actually, it’s 33’ 6” - but everyone seems to call it a 34’. What exactly do you mean by “bait?”

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Jim, thanks for the update. Now FYI, I have a 34 Serial # HUN34724G484. If you look on the upper starboard side of the transom you should see your boat serial # and that will tell you exactly what boat you have. Hunter made the 34 from 83 to 87. It's LOA is 34' 5'' not 33' 6'' like yours. Hunter made a model 33.5 from 88 to 94, so you may have that model. Again FYI I have included a picture of the steering apparatus and also one of the cover I was talking about in the 34. I don't know if any other model has that. You say when you disconnect the steeting cables the wheel turns freely. On the 34 in order to disconnect the steering cables you have to remove the cover from the top of the stern cabin. Not that it helps your problem but it might help to get more folks offering suggestions if you are able to properly identify which boat you have. And I believe Markwbird made a typo and said bait instead of boat, so he was basically asking the same question I am. Good luck.

 

[Daveinet]

Grab yourself a bag of ice. Once it gets ornery, put ice in different places, to see what resolves it. At least then you can narrow down the location of the issue, instead of just guessing.

 

[Terry Cox]

When I disconnect the 2 cable wires that connect to the rudder, the wheel turns freely.

Did you try to turn the rudder quadrant for effect when the steering cables were removed? Pretty simple system. If the wheel turns freely with the cables disconnected from the quadrant, likely a bind in the rudder post assembly. Does the top of the rudder rub against the hull causing the bind at certain times? Any possibility that the rudder post is bent?

 

[markwbird]

Actually, it’s 33’ 6” - but everyone seems to call it a 34’. What exactly do you mean by “bait?”

Ummm. Boat

 

[senang]

On my 38 I have an emergency tiller. I suppose you have that as well. Can you try to install it when the steering gets tough and then steer the boat with and without the steering cables attached? This should give you some usefull information for further investigations.

 

[Jim A]

Thanks for all your suggestions, guys. I’ll take some pictures this week and post them up for you to take a look at how my boat is set up. I’ll try the manual tiller and the ice ideas. Will advise, and thanks again for all the ideas.