Steering cable snapped?

[esc]

Despite the forecast, today turned out to be a perfect day for working outside. So I worked on my hot rod for a while while my wife took my 5 year old son to a lecture on relativity.
But, to my surprise, the 12' cable arrived this evening.

Lots of rain is predicted for the morning, but maybe tomorrow afternoon I will be able to take a few new pictures and install the new cable.

The new cable has no marking on the cable its self, but there is a tag on it that says...

Uflex
PN: M66x12
Production code: 00036132-410
Warning: blah...blah...blah

I'll check the original cable for markings tomorrow.

[ROAD Soldier]

So bottom line I will not be able to find a marking on my cable. So I must presume the salesman new what cable I needed and sent me a 12 or 14 foot one.

[esc]

So bottom line I will not be able to find a marking on my cable. So I must presume the salesman new what cable I needed and sent me a 12 or 14 foot one.

If the tag were still there, it would be in the binnacle about 1' down from the helm.

[esc]

This afternoon, after it stopped raining, I went out to work on getting the new cable in.
The 12' cable from UFlex is about 2" shorter than the factory Morse cable.

BTW, I looked at the original Morse cable in the boat and found a model number:
Morse 304411-144in
http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 11645b.jpg

In hind sight, it seems obvious that the 144in means 144 inches...12'.

I pushed the new cable in from the back it took all of 3 minutes from starting it in the back to pulling it out on top. I didn't use the string that I so carefully pulled through. There was no need.

I used the bracket that came with the new helm. By installing it on the outside, facing in, it wound up with the wheel in (as far as I can tell) the same location.

http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 111734.jpg

http://www.comstockcomputing.com/macgre ... 111744.jpg

I attached the bracket with the same bolts as the old bracket, in the same holes. I could have used the bolts that came with the new bracket...but I would have had to drill out the original holes to make them larger.

All I have to do now is hang the cable over the bunk.

[esc]

BTW, my first impression is that, as a result of the bearings being farther from the wheel, there is a lot more side to side "slop."
After I first put it together, I thought something must be loose and took it apart again, but it was just the play in the helm.
It isn't bad, but it is a measurable amount and a little more than the old helm had.

but I suspect it is because the design of the Rotech places the bearings that support the wheel closer together and farther from the wheel.

The instructions also said don't use a wheel over 15" in diameter. I didn't really like the plastic wheel that came with it so I reused the original wheel even though I think it is 16".

Still I'm happy to be able to steer my boat again. If I had known before hand what I know now I think I could complete the whole job in 1 hour.

Soon I'll have my write up ready so the next person will know beforehand what I found out the hard way.

One more thing. If you buy one directly from the place I got mine, from their own website, not ebay or amazon, it is $106 +$9.95 shipping and I am very happy with their service on returns.
I'll post a link soon.

[ROAD Soldier]

BTW, my first impression is that, as a result of the bearings being farther from the wheel, there is a lot more side to side "slop."
After I first put it together, I thought something must be loose and took it apart again, but it was just the play in the helm.
It isn't bad, but it is a measurable amount and a little more than the old helm had.

but I suspect it is because the design of the Rotech places the bearings that support the wheel closer together and farther from the wheel.

The instructions also said don't use a wheel over 15" in diameter. I didn't really like the plastic wheel that came with it so I reused the original wheel even though I think it is 16".

For the slop check where your cable goes into the gearcase. If my memory (which has been suspect lately) serves me correctly I think I had slop until I noticed a keeper that locks the cable into the gearcase that is easly missed. Now for what wheel size you use who cares there are guys on this site using 20" plus wheels and you now have a stronger gearbox now then 90% of the people on this site.

[esc]

For the slop check where your cable goes into the gearcase. If my memory (which has been suspect lately) serves me correctly I think I had slop until I noticed a keeper that locks the cable into the gearcase that is easly missed. Now for what wheel size you use who cares there are guys on this site using 20" plus wheels and you now have a stronger gearbox now then 90% of the people on this site.

The slop is not rotational slop but lateral slop. It's when you push the wheel from side to side, across the cockpit, without turning it.

There is some rotational slop, but it isn't bad and it is nothing compared to the slop in my rudder linkage.

As for the strength of the gear box, you make a good point. I mentioned it, no so much because it concerned me, but because it seems a relevant point, a material fact, which others should be aware of.

[enufsed]

Well, the snow and cold weather is finally gone, and this past weekend I took a close look at the boat. There was nothing obviously wrong with the visible connections around the engine and rudders, and the cable sheathing all looked fine underneath the cockpit, so I'm going to have to disassemble the helm and start exploring what might be wrong. Grrrr. It sounds like it might be worth replacing the helm in any case since the Rotech gear system is more robust -- it didn't take much to wreck the old one...

I will first have to use some lumber to improvise a tidy structure to lift my mast up higher than the support device attached to the helm, because I need it up and out of the way when I remove the helm. (I can't simply raise the mast as I'm having some halyards replaced.) I'll report here what I find.

In the meantime I have three quick questions:

1) Re-reading this message thread, I'm still unsure what length of cable "esc" ordered from Rotech (if I have to go that route). Is it the 12 foot package? I want to order the right thing for sure, as I live in Canada and exchanging is more of a hassle.

2) I'm a bit concerned about the comment about there being more "slop" (side to side, not rotational) in the wheel after installation of the Rotech system. Anticipating this, can anything be done? (e.g., some kind of spacer)

3) At the stern end of things, where the cable connects to the steering rods, is there anything tricky about re-assembling that? I seem to recall reading somewhere that one has to apply some water-repelling goop.

[40Toes]

I will first have to use some lumber to improvise a tidy structure to lift my mast up higher than the support device attached to the helm, because I need it up and out of the way when I remove the helm. (I can't simply raise the mast as I'm having some halyards replaced.) I'll report here what I find.

What exactly are you doing? I may be missing something because of model years, but on the 2000, I could replace everything by simply removing the plexiglass side panels at the helm (no need to frig with the mast). Once those are off and the wheel is removed you will be able to pull the rack off to one side and open the mechanism (while leaving everything else in place) to see what exactly is going on. You will be able to quickly tell if your cable is intact as well. Replacing the system is not a big job or very difficult if you are at all mechanically inclined.

Rod

[enufsed]

...I could replace everything by simply removing the plexiglass side panels at the helm (no need to frig with the mast). Once those are off and the wheel is removed you will be able to pull the rack off to one side and open the mechanism (while leaving everything else in place) to see what exactly is going on. You will be able to quickly tell if your cable is intact as well. Replacing the system is not a big job or very difficult if you are at all mechanically inclined.

Rod

You are correct Rod. I hadn't been down to the boat yet since last fall when I wrote that, and I had it in my head that the horizontal mast would be in the way, which it's not, so no need to frig with that.

[Catigale]

Kids studying relativity?? Impressive...but mine are giving lectures on string cheese theory.....

[K9Kampers]

...and bacon science!

[Rick Westlake]

enufsed, I'm having just a bit of trouble visualizing why you would have to lift the mast out of the way. Are you planning to remove the entire helm pedestal? That wasn't necessary on Bossa Nova, my 1999 26X; the port side of the pedestal came off and that gave me plenty of room to work.

I'm also surprised at esc's 144-inch cable. When I pulled the original cable out of Bossa Nova, I laid it down alongside an 96-inch Teleflex cable and they were the same length. It was routed through the scupper-hole in the deck beneath the helm pedestal, out to starboard, over the starboard quarter-berth, and it exited through the transom alongside the pivot for the steering mechanism. I would suggest that you pull out the cable and measure it directly, then phone the supplier and talk over the cable-length with them directly.

Goop on the end of the cable is to seal up the hole in the transom, around the cable casing. I believe MacGregor used 5200 there; it's a good seal but it's flexible when it's cured.

The U-Flex Rotech helm is, IMHO, the best replacement you can get for the Morse helm. Its triple-planetary-gear setup is definitely stronger and smoother than the original Morse helm, or the Teleflex Safe-T Helm; and (as I'd noted elsewhere) it is a direct replacement fit, whereas I had to butcher the helm-pedestal to fit the Teleflex (covering up my butchery with a fitted piece of StarBoard).

[40Toes]

K9,
Are you bloody cracked??? You know the mere mention of the "B" word sets the board a buzz.... Gawd have mercy on us all

[Rick Westlake]

PS - I forgot to mention in my last post - I did replace the Teleflex helm mechanism with a RoTech, back in late February.

The Teleflex cable and casing fit the RoTech helm perfectly. I did have to adjust the cable so that the "king post" of the helm wheel lines straight-up when the rudder is centered; it was either that, or remove and re-do the fancy "marlinespike sailor" coxcomb line-work I'd put on the wheel.

The RoTech helm fits exactly in place, where MacGregor had installed the Morse helm. My autopilot drive fit perfectly in the hole I'd drilled for it originally. I wish WestMarine had had the RoTech helm because it would have saved me a lot of work.