Yacht Specialties / Merriman Pedestal swap out

[vanisledutchman]

Hello everyone, I have a '85 Hunter 40 with the Yacht Specialties / Merriman Pedestal, and although it steers just fine, I am planning some upgrades for the boat this fall, and would like to replace it. I have been looking at the Lewmar and Edson pedestals, and am wondering if any of you have undertaken the swap and have any advice as to which models might work better than others for the change out, and perhaps some useful tips or watch out for warnings. I have spend a fair bit of time searching through dozens and dozens of threads, but could not find anything specific to this task, but I do apologize if this topic has already been beaten to death and I just missed it.
Thanks!

 

[heritage]

I replaced my pedestal with an Edson a few years ago. The Yacht/Merriman aluminum base had begun to seccumb to corrosion. I found that the two pedestals were very similar and I had little trouble with the install. I'm not familiar with the Lewmar pedestals.

I bought the Edson pedestal at a marine resale store.

 

[vanisledutchman]

Heritage thanks for the reply, by any chance do you happen to know the model of the Edson pedestal you put in? Also is it equipped with either a single or dual lever engine control?
Thanks again!

 

[heritage]

Mine has a transmission lever on the left and throttle on the right.. I don't know the model, but I would guess it was built in the 80's or 90's.
Suggest you call Edson to see if their newer models are comparable with the Merriman pedestals.

 

[vanisledutchman]

Thanks for the info, appreciate it! Yes I fired off an email too Edson a week ago, just waiting for a reply. Wanted to see if any local Hunter owners on here had any expert tips.