Went out for a cruise today, a beautiful Chesapeake Bay day. Went into a turn and felt something go "bump" in the steering. Next thing I know the steering is locked-up and I'm doing lazy circles in the water. Shut down, tossed out the anchor and called a neighbor who came out and towed me back to my dock where we played around with it a bit. Got it to "unlock" but it seems I busted some teeth off the gears in the steering control box. Since I don't know if it was a failure just in the control box or caused by something in the steering cable I ordered a whole steering control system. Looks like I'll be hauling the boat earlier than planned again this year.
Busted Steering Today
- Thread starter MikeeH
- Start date
That's certainly really good you apparently weren't in the middle of a critical traffic situation.
Did you consider disconnecting the steering aft and rigging a boat-hook tiller or similar for slow speed return? Forcing a steering wheel in an effort to unlock rarely has good results for the helm unit.
Did you consider disconnecting the steering aft and rigging a boat-hook tiller or similar for slow speed return? Forcing a steering wheel in an effort to unlock rarely has good results for the helm unit.
Sandy,
I was less than a mile from my dock and the water was empty save for the ducks and geese so getting an easy tow seemed most feasible. It would have taken longer to figure out how to rig something on a single alpha drive.
I was less than a mile from my dock and the water was empty save for the ducks and geese so getting an easy tow seemed most feasible. It would have taken longer to figure out how to rig something on a single alpha drive.
Push/Pull Cable steering? Was it sticky and balky before this happened? Using the helm to pop a stuck steering free can lead to a broken tooth in the helm. That happened to me on a single outboard with rotary (round helm) cable steering.
Our single Alpha uses Teleflex Rack and Pinion. The Rack is part of the helm end of the cable, and the pinion's a little sprocket on the helm shaft. If you have a setup like ours, easy to drop the rack, inspect its teeth, turn the wheel and inspect those teeth. Teleflex went from a system with series number including "124" (rack looked square from the end) to "134" (looks rectangular from the end) and I replaced our old 124 system with the newer 134 figuring it'd be easier to get new cables in the future.
Our single Alpha uses Teleflex Rack and Pinion. The Rack is part of the helm end of the cable, and the pinion's a little sprocket on the helm shaft. If you have a setup like ours, easy to drop the rack, inspect its teeth, turn the wheel and inspect those teeth. Teleflex went from a system with series number including "124" (rack looked square from the end) to "134" (looks rectangular from the end) and I replaced our old 124 system with the newer 134 figuring it'd be easier to get new cables in the future.
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2003
- RO Number
- 12212
- Messages
- 12,219
One of the best upgrade I ve done (15' tender) was to switch from cable steering to hydraulic. It s a little more $ ( around $500 for the Hynautic kit) but well worth it for the reliability and smoothness
Worth considering
Worth considering
j-d, yes, I did notice some "jerkyness" a day before it broke so its probably as you said. I ordered a new system (helm steering box and cable) since the boat is 24 years old and this is the original system.
Pascal, hydraulic would be nice but the boat budget limits some of those choices.
Pascal, hydraulic would be nice but the boat budget limits some of those choices.
Our MerC incorporates hydraulic (engine-mounted pump) power steering and that system incorporates a "No-Feedback" feature. I'm sure a hydraulic helm WOULD control it, but I don't know if it would improve steering feel, response, performance.
Teleflex has nofeedback systems under the model designation "NFB" and there's a foreign-named brand too that's supposed to be really good, but Teleflex warns not to use a NFB helm with a steering setup that's already NFB like MerC's power steering.
I put NFB on our last outboard boat and really liked it. What NFB turns out to mean on a boat is that the helm can steer the boat but the boat can't try to steer the helm. Normally you can swing the outboard back and forth on the trailer at the motor. The NFB has a brake in the helm which prevents that. Downside is that you feel that brake releasing in the your first movement of the wheel. Hydraulic would be better on that score.
Teleflex has nofeedback systems under the model designation "NFB" and there's a foreign-named brand too that's supposed to be really good, but Teleflex warns not to use a NFB helm with a steering setup that's already NFB like MerC's power steering.
I put NFB on our last outboard boat and really liked it. What NFB turns out to mean on a boat is that the helm can steer the boat but the boat can't try to steer the helm. Normally you can swing the outboard back and forth on the trailer at the motor. The NFB has a brake in the helm which prevents that. Downside is that you feel that brake releasing in the your first movement of the wheel. Hydraulic would be better on that score.