Wheel Steering Breakdown

[Greg Sweitzer]

Last weekend I took some friends shore cruising on Lake Michigan. Wind was 25-30 knots, 3-5 ft waves. The wheel steering cable came off the pulleys and the cable bound between a pulley and its bracket. I had to remove the pulley and install the emergency tiller, then motor back to the slip. My friends got more adventure than I planned. I now need to repair the steering (replace pully, reset and tighten cable) before next sail. Unfortunately, the owner's manual has no information on this, and I received only a pitiful 2-page difficult to read xerox from the dealer who installed the steering. It is made by Edson. Any suggestions, information, advice on how to approach this project is appreciated. I assume the cable stretched before it came off the pulleys, as it did not appear to have broken and steering was noticably developing increasing play until this happened. I advise other owners to be sensitive to increasing play in the steering and immediately tighten it. (How is this done?) Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Stephen Dawes]

Loose Cables...

Soon after taking delivery of our boat, I noticed that the steering cables were a little loose. I tightened them by adjusting the threated rods that protrude underneath the cable bracket to the rudder post.Steering has worked perfectly ever since.I added Edson remote throttle controls to the pedestal, and noticed that all of the steering components are supplied by Edson.(FYI..The Edson Catalog is a great reference and a must have for your bathroom sailing reading!)Stephen Dawes1998 H260 Tender Morsel

 

[Greg Sweitzer]

found the problem

I worked on the boat today and was not able to fix it. The steering cable is wedged in two places between pullies and their brackets. Normally it would be a straightforward job (remove the pully, place the cable, replace the pulley) but the work has to be done on my knees upside down with head a foot below knees and arms reaching backwards deep inside an 8" slot. I talked to the marina a couple of doors down and they are going to look at it. Hope they don't have to remove the whole section of deck to get to it! The reason all this happened, I discovered, is that the cable is tensioned on two threaded rods that are secured by two pairs of nuts turned against each other to lock them. When the boat was delivered it appears the nuts weren't locked as they are now free-wheeling after a few months of sailing. Doubt that I'll be able to get Hunter or the selling dealer to cover the cost of the repair, tho. Live and learn. From now on I check steering tension before every outing.

 

[Dave Condon]

Wheel steering

Having installed appx. 12 steering systems on the 26 and one on the 260, the responses are correct to deep the wires tensioned by tightening the screwsbut I would strongly recommend the use of Lock Tite on the threads. I use a stick with a forked end to guide the wires onto the rollers. As for parts, only Edson will work on edson.CraZy Dave

 

[Dave Oberholtzer]

call Edison

I would call edison and ask for the person who designed the system. I installed the edison system on my h26 and got a lot of advise from them when I called. They are located in New Bedford Massachusetts. good luckDave Oberholtzer"Hydrotherapy"

 

[Greg Sweitzer]

Thanks

I wimped out and turned the problem over to the local marina, Torreson's of Muskegon, Michigan. They fixed the problem at a reasonable cost. I'd like to talk to the Houdini who freed the cable as he must be a contortionist. Live and learn; from now on my pre-sail checklist includes checking the steering cable tension and making sure the lock nuts are indeed locked.Thanks again, all.