The Orion steering system on my 1979 Morgan 32 is "binding" and difficult to turn. I thought the problem was caused by the ST 4000 autopilot, but after disconnecting it from the wheel, there is still way too much effort needed to turn the wheel. I removed the compass from the binnacle and lubed the chain, etc. Also, nothing seems to be interfering with the cable tubes below deck. The Orion system is a push/pull type. Anyone familiar with the system and its idiosyncrasies?
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grease fitting
I once had that problem with my cal 27, there should be a grease fitting where the the rudder post goes throw the boat.Pack it with as much grease (marine grade) as you can. If there is no greas fitting buy one and install. it should take care of your problem.
I once had that problem with my cal 27, there should be a grease fitting where the the rudder post goes throw the boat.Pack it with as much grease (marine grade) as you can. If there is no greas fitting buy one and install. it should take care of your problem.
Push/Pull Steering Systems
My Catalina 250 had a push/pull steering system with similar excessive drag in the system. In part, the helm effort problem is drag of the very stiff cable which only gets worse with time as the lubrication layer of the cable wears. Like you, I have the ST4000 auto pilot, which struggled with the helm at times, limiting its use to fair weather sailing. In my opinion, the greater issue is that the push/pull design uses an idler sprocket and chain with a take off link, which unfortunately because of travel distances, restricts the wheel/rudder ratio to one that is poor. The primary reason for wheel steering is to reduce effort by gaining purchase and the flexible sheethed cable systems by design don't offer reasonable ratios to do that. My system for example had only a half turn of the wheel from rudder center to rudder lock. The maker of my system upgraded to a pull/pull design which used two lighter less stiff cables. Unfortunately the upgrade design didn't solve the primary problem of the poor ratio, nor the play and drag issues. In fact, the new design requires play in the system. Seeking a cure, I designed a conversion to open wire cables with more than double the steering ratio having no play and little drag. The helm difference was beyond expectations, solving all the issues and taming the helm. See the link to see if something similar can work on your boat.
My Catalina 250 had a push/pull steering system with similar excessive drag in the system. In part, the helm effort problem is drag of the very stiff cable which only gets worse with time as the lubrication layer of the cable wears. Like you, I have the ST4000 auto pilot, which struggled with the helm at times, limiting its use to fair weather sailing. In my opinion, the greater issue is that the push/pull design uses an idler sprocket and chain with a take off link, which unfortunately because of travel distances, restricts the wheel/rudder ratio to one that is poor. The primary reason for wheel steering is to reduce effort by gaining purchase and the flexible sheethed cable systems by design don't offer reasonable ratios to do that. My system for example had only a half turn of the wheel from rudder center to rudder lock. The maker of my system upgraded to a pull/pull design which used two lighter less stiff cables. Unfortunately the upgrade design didn't solve the primary problem of the poor ratio, nor the play and drag issues. In fact, the new design requires play in the system. Seeking a cure, I designed a conversion to open wire cables with more than double the steering ratio having no play and little drag. The helm difference was beyond expectations, solving all the issues and taming the helm. See the link to see if something similar can work on your boat.
I just took my system apart
Tom, I had a similar problem this year on my 19 year old (1 year to me) O'Day 272. Interestingly, I thought my boat was a 272LE but was educated by a member of this forum that it is a 272, partly by learning that the 272LE was built with an Edson steering gear, but my boat had a Yacht Specialties gear, which was apparently installed some time after delivery. I had very hard steering, and binding up when I commissioned this season. It felt like it was in the cable, and after some research thought I'd have to bite the bullet and buy a replacement cable from Edson (who sell a compatible part for out-of-business Yacht Specialties). I took the entire system apart last week and found that in fact the chain was loose in the pedestal, and links were bunching up on each other on the slack side, and binding inside the column. When I lubed well and reassembled witht the chain having no slack, I seem to have cured my problem. There is not much room to even see what is going on in there under the compass, but by removing the pedestal and lowering the steering gear out of the column, you have easy access to the mechanism. With luck, this may be your problem too, instead of having to replace the cable. Good luck!
Tom, I had a similar problem this year on my 19 year old (1 year to me) O'Day 272. Interestingly, I thought my boat was a 272LE but was educated by a member of this forum that it is a 272, partly by learning that the 272LE was built with an Edson steering gear, but my boat had a Yacht Specialties gear, which was apparently installed some time after delivery. I had very hard steering, and binding up when I commissioned this season. It felt like it was in the cable, and after some research thought I'd have to bite the bullet and buy a replacement cable from Edson (who sell a compatible part for out-of-business Yacht Specialties). I took the entire system apart last week and found that in fact the chain was loose in the pedestal, and links were bunching up on each other on the slack side, and binding inside the column. When I lubed well and reassembled witht the chain having no slack, I seem to have cured my problem. There is not much room to even see what is going on in there under the compass, but by removing the pedestal and lowering the steering gear out of the column, you have easy access to the mechanism. With luck, this may be your problem too, instead of having to replace the cable. Good luck!
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