Edson Steering Pedistal (Lessons Learned)

[Squid]

Under the category of practice everything once a year because eventually it will happen, I now have another practical factor signed off of my qualification card. During our last and what was to be final underway of the season the transmission cable gave up the ghost. I mention this on the board because if anyone has a similar occurrence, transmission or throttle cable, I believe I have cracked the code on how to remove and replace the cables on a chain/cable steering assembly.

The episode started after departing our slip, with about 8 knots of wind off our port quarter. We had just cleared our berth and I had about a 20 degree port rudder, at idle when I attempted to move into reverse and I heard a, "tink", as we are in a very tight fairway I asked John my sailing buddy to grab something, piling, another boats bow, himself, something. We made ourselves fast to a piling before we ventured into the exit channel and I went below and manually shifted the boat to neutral and shut her down. We maneuvered into a berth by hand, two or three spot down from our own spot and we then dead sticked it with the assistance of a long mooring line, stern too into our own berth. No bumps, no bruises, no fouls….

The removal of the either the throttle or cable assembly instruction are contained within the Edson e-site but may not explain some of the subtle things you should consider while removing the cables. Not a seamless endeavor, but very doable. I called Edson and their customer service is second to none. As it turned out the guy walking me through the procedure used to work for Cape Dory, Q/A guy, and is now the President of Edson. Dude was great, as was the next guy I talked with to order the parts. I will replace both cables as long as the system is somewhat disassembled.

If you ever have a similar issue with the Edson chain/cable steering assembly please read the instructions contained within the Edson site and give me a note if you need some clarification and maybe a bit of lessons learned. I have been told I am very wise because I always try all the wrong way twice before the correct procedure. This time I attempted "Not" to gain too much wisdom by did some research both on line and with a local mechanic and the Edson customer service folks, again great service.

Let me know if you need any help and will do my best to accommodate.

Glen