Steering Pulley / Rudder Post

[betzhunter]

Pulled the cover off the steering / pulley assembly to run some wires up to the wheel and discovered this. (See Attached picture) Is this a common problem with this piece or a freak accident. I can see by the bump stop that we must have let the steering slam againt the L bracket that stops it. Didn't discover it until now. What should I do? I know Merriman Yachts is no longer around. Is there another company that sells these.
Thanks for your insight,

Bub

 

[Ed Schenck]

I think an Edson radial wheel would work. It looks like yours is split and will come off without removing the rudder. The Edsons are made the same way. The diameter is the key and then the collar will have to be similar in order to line up with your cables.

 

[kloudie1]

Bub, That thing is cast aluminum .. If you remove it and have the piece that cracked out, it can be repaired. I have not heard of one breaking before.. A good machine shop could probably make a bolt-on splint for it.. There is not a lot of force on that thing except for the whacking into the bump stop.. The vertical pin on mine has about 3/8" of soft rubber on it to soften the impact of contact..
I see a BIG black mark on the left of the picture on the stop.. may have been the fatal blow and probably happened when traveling backward. If the wheel is left free when going aft, the rudder can be slammed over with a lot of force..
Ed is right, I think if you'd rather replace it, the appropriate Edson parts will fit.

 

[Dan Johnson]

Bub...

I agree with Claude and Ed. A dockmate is putting a wheel steering assembly on his boat to replace the tiller. It was obtained on E-bay and is basically an Edson assembly. The radial wheel that clamps on the rudder post appears to be very similar to the Merriman one on our boats. A new one from Edson is very pricy so see if you can find one on E-bay or Craig's List. Should be an easy enough project to take on and replace the broken one.

 

[betzhunter]

Thanks for replying guys. What is the correct name for this piece? Is it safe to use like it is until I either replace it or repair it? We were scheduled to take a 3 night adventure in the lake next week and didn't want to risk it completely crumbling. I think your right Claude, the wheel did spin wildly in reverse on our first trip on the lake last sunday and thats when it probably happened. The steering seems fine the way it is and don't know if I would have time to fix it or replace it before the trip next week.
Were just excited that we took it out for our first sea trial since we bought the boat and pretty much had to restore everything on it. It was great sailing on it instead of working on it. Anyway, thanks for your input and I'll check around for the piece.
Ps: Here's a couple of pictures to show the progress we've made since we took on the project. Before and after on the water. We've been working on her since mid April.
Bub

 

[kloudie1]

The part from Edson is a "Radial Drive Wheel".. Some folks call them a Steering Sector, but technically a sector would be less than a full circle.. Measure very carefully.. Note that the measurement in Edson is the radius and not the diameter..
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/200b4126#/200b4126/63
web site is the catalogue page..
Boat looks mighty FINE ! Your anti skid treatment really looks good.
The raw edges working on the cable will fray and fatigue the cable pretty quickly ..
Good luck with it, Bub.. Where are you docked?

 

[betzhunter]

The part from Edson is a "Radial Drive Wheel".. Some folks call them a Steering Sector, but technically a sector would be less than a full circle.. Measure very carefully.. Note that the measurement in Edson is the radius and not the diameter..
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/200b4126#/200b4126/63
web site is the catalogue page..
Boat looks mighty FINE ! Your anti skid treatment really looks good.
The raw edges working on the cable will fray and fatigue the cable pretty quickly ..
Good luck with it, Bub.. Where are you docked?

thanks, we are docked at a friends house on bayou liberty.

 

[kloudie1]

Liberty is pretty .. a bit of a jaunt to get out to the lake but a pretty motor in a well protected bayou..
Meant to answer “use” question too.. I wouldn’t .. If you do, leave the cover off so you can quickly replace the cable onto the drive wheel should it come off the groove.. (use pliers and Make sure anyone involved knows not to put fingers on the cable or wheel while anyone is at the helm) Looks like turning the boat to starboard (rudder post counterclockwise from neutral) would loosen the cables a lot as the slack cable has no guide groove to keep it where it should be.. turning the boat to port should pose no problem.. going aft with the rudder almost anywhere would risk having the loose cable jump the groove . If that happens, you will lose steering and will have to resort to the emergency tiller.. Make sure you have it close by and know how to install it..
I don’t think I’d risk it..

 

[betzhunter]

I was afraid that you would say that. (not use it). Looks like the Edson one is $366.00 ouch! Try to have it fixed some how or look for used one. If not I'll bight the bullet and buy new just to have some peace of mind.

Thanks, Claude

 

[Ed Schenck]

Looking at your before and after photos it is clear why you are excited to get out there. A very major improvement! Claude mentioned the emergency tiller but you did not reply. Do you have one and could you sail with it? I have one and have fitted it to know that I can. But I have never sailed with it and wonder how much control I would have with a two foot lever on an 18000# displ boat.

 

[betzhunter]

I did forget to mention that I do have the emergency tiller. If you think the before and after pictures of the outside look good. Wait till I post pictures of the inside.

Bub

 

[kloudie1]

Some random thoughts, Bub:
I think the wheel will come off without too much drama.. The guy at Lake Catherine Marine, just past (mile and a quarter) the Highway 90 bridge (heading southwest) knows his stuff and would be one of the places I'd put on the list to look at for repair.. I was studying the picture and it looks like the broken part could be epoxied back into place then a strap doubler of aluminum about 1/8" thick could be added top and bottom with small thru bolts; all epoxied to the wheel. I would also move the stop and the stop bar 90 degrees onto the mostly undamaged starboard half of the wheel. (position of the stop angle is critical) I wouldn't do anything that would stop you from separating the wheel for service in the future. I have attached a picture of what mine looks like.. I am surprised that yours looks to be rotated 90 degrees which puts the bump stop on the wheel split line.. Mine has space on the post under it before the rubber collar.. ya might want to tie a line around the pin on the top where the emerg tiller goes to make sure that the rudder can't fall out when you remove the wheel.. It should be held in place by the bearing in the floor of the lazarette, but ya never know..

Looking forward to seeing the pix of the interior! Share story of how you found her and why she was so neglected?

 

[betzhunter]

Claude, my son had the same thoughts. Epoxy it back and add 1/8 aluminum brackets to support top and bottom. He works for a mechanic shop that has a machine shop inside and was going to see what they could do first. If they can't handle it I'll take it to Lake Catherine. I have so many pictures of before and after shots of the boat it would take a full page to display it. I'll gather what I have and set something up on the forum in another thread and give insight on the last 10 years of the boats life...
Thanks for your thoughts and appreciate your help. We'll have to get together one afternoon and share some thoughts.

Bub

 

[Vinny]

Claude, my son had the same thoughts. Epoxy it back and add 1/8 aluminum brackets to support top and bottom. He works for a mechanic shop that has a machine shop inside and was going to see what they could do first. If they can't handle it I'll take it to Lake Catherine. I have so many pictures of before and after shots of the boat it would take a full page to display it. I'll gather what I have and set something up on the forum in another thread and give insight on the last 10 years of the boats life...
Thanks for your thoughts and appreciate your help. We'll have to get together one afternoon and share some thoughts.

Bub

For what it is worth and that would be nothing, I think you are taking a big chance on trying to fix that quadrant with any kind of shade tree repair.

The proper thing to do is replace it, pure and simple. $400 or $4,000 it makes no difference. Two thing to consider. 1st is it will not break again until you are pinched up off a lee shore and the wind is blowing 35+ and you are trying to point up hard enough to clear the breakers in front of you. That is a given. 2nd When you go to sell the boat any surveyor worth a damn is going to write that up and you will be paying for it then and trying to explain why the rudder doesn't need to be replaced as well.

The steering is not something to trifle with. JMO.

 

[betzhunter]

For what it is worth and that would be nothing, I think you are taking a big chance on trying to fix that quadrant with any kind of shade tree repair.

The proper thing to do is replace it, pure and simple. $400 or $4,000 it makes no difference. Two thing to consider. 1st is it will not break again until you are pinched up off a lee shore and the wind is blowing 35+ and you are trying to point up hard enough to clear the breakers in front of you. That is a given. 2nd When you go to sell the boat any surveyor worth a damn is going to write that up and you will be paying for it then and trying to explain why the rudder doesn't need to be replaced as well.

The steering is not something to trifle with. JMO.

After having my son's machine shop look at it and seeing the over all condition they agree with you best thing to do is replace it. I agree now the money isn't the issue we wanted to take a 2-3 night trip in it starting Sunday.
I'll see how fast I can get a new one.

Thanks, Bub

 

[kloudie1]

Probably the best thing, Bub.. Try these guys http://www.mauriprosailing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
in addition to the usual guys like Defender and Pyacht.. and Jamestown..
A new one may have to be bored to your rudder post size Good luck!
I agree, we should sit and discuss the boats with a cool beverage!

 

[Vinny]

Probably the best thing, Bub.. Try these guys http://www.mauriprosailing.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?
in addition to the usual guys like Defender and Pyacht.. and Jamestown..
A new one may have to be bored to your rudder post size Good luck!
I agree, we should sit and discuss the boats with a cool beverage!

Won't an Edson quadrant fit? They all do the same thing

Or call around to see if a boat yard doesn't have a derelict boat that can be salvaged. After all of the hurricane damage in the last couple of years surly there is one sitting someplace.

 

[kloudie1]

Correct, Vinny; but the wheels are mostly supplied new with an undersized hole to be bored to the rudder post it will be mated to. All the different manufacturers had different ideas about what is a good sized rudder post.. . I think Edson is the only US supplier now..