Edson wheel steering

[Steve]

The wheel on my CD30K has gotten guite stiff. This has happened before and I greased the one grese fitting I can find which helped. But this time it does not make adifference. I seem to remember the previous owner saying that there were two grease fittings, but I can only find the fitting which is at the top of the rudder shaft when I open the cover over the steering linkage. Can anybody tell me where the second fitting is supposed to be?

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.



s.lutcha@worldnet.att.net

[Larry DeMers]

You need to contact Edson with the model number of your binnacle, and get a copy of their maintenance directions. It appears your steering has been neglected too long.
I am not aware of any grease fittings (like zerk fittings??) that Edson installed. The grease points are all of the sheaves in the system, and the cable itself.

Within the Edson binnacle itself, there are grease fittings for the two shaft bearings. The specific grease required is spelled out by Edson. Do not use anything but the recommended grease.

You may find that a complete rebuild of the binnacle and sheaves is needed or adviseable, due to the age or past mistreatment. Edson has all the parts for you, and the rebuild kits with needle bearings and grease, brake pads etc. You will benefit from the rebuilding by gaining knowledge of a vital system on your boat..and how to care for it.

Cheers,

Larry DeMers
demers@sgi.com

The wheel on my CD30K has gotten guite stiff. This has happened before and I greased the one grese fitting I can find which helped. But this time it does not make adifference. I seem to remember the previous owner saying that there were two grease fittings, but I can only find the fitting which is at the top of the rudder shaft when I open the cover over the steering linkage. Can anybody tell me where the second fitting is supposed to be?

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

demers@sgi.com

[Catherine Monaghan]

Steve,

Does you CD30K have worm gear steering or does she have a pedestal?


Cathy

The wheel on my CD30K has gotten guite stiff. This has happened before and I greased the one grese fitting I can find which helped. But this time it does not make adifference. I seem to remember the previous owner saying that there were two grease fittings, but I can only find the fitting which is at the top of the rudder shaft when I open the cover over the steering linkage. Can anybody tell me where the second fitting is supposed to be?

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

catherine_monaghan@merck.com

[Huw]

The wheel on my CD30K has gotten guite stiff. This has happened before and I greased the one grese fitting I can find which helped. But this time it does not make adifference. I seem to remember the previous owner saying that there were two grease fittings, but I can only find the fitting which is at the top of the rudder shaft when I open the cover over the steering linkage. Can anybody tell me where the second fitting is supposed to be?

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

Since you have the ketch, I'm assuming you have the worm gear drive. I e-mailed Edson a while back for maintainance info:

"The wormgear steerers need only to be kept free of grit and kept well
lubricated with grease. We recommend the teflon based greases. A drop or two of light oil on the pins will help keep them moving freely."

is what they said.

Clean the gear, then slop the grease on, and turn the wheel from one end all the way to the other, so the grease gets evenly distributed up and down the corkscrew. Hope this helps.

H. Meyrick



hmeyrick@ameritech.net

[Leo MacDonald]

Hi Steve,

I understand your dismay. Off Newport, RI when returning home from the CD Rendezvous at Onset MA in July 1999, I had a similar problem. The wheel of Heather Ann (1977 CD30K #57) refused to me moved by "Auto" (Autohelm 3000) and was only moved with great difficulty in 'manual ops'.

We hove-to for two hours moving everything slightly until we traced the problem to the fixed 'pillow block' at the aft wheel shaft (almost out of sight & aft of the yoke assembly.) We also noticed a slight salt deposit around the block (do not know the Edson term). This pillow block is not lubricated by the one grease fitting on the top of the yoke / rudder shaft assembly.

We sprayed a liberal amount of 'Wonder Mist' (a 'WD-40' type water dispersant / lubricant) around the block and the wheel shaft where it enters the block. Everything freed up nicely!!

After getting underway we reviewed the problem. We suspect that during the storm and knockdown of the day before salt spray got under the helmsman's seat with enough force to displace any residual lubricant in the 'block'. (I had never 'lubricated' this area before.)

About a year and a half later Edson called me as a follow up on a catalog request. What an opportunity!! I mentioned the 'frozen' steering problem and inquired as to an Edson modification to cure / lubricate this area. The nice man said he would check with 'Engineering'. That was Oct. 2000. I'll post the results when he calls back.

I did not find two grease fittings.

Feel free to call / e-mail if you would like further elaboration

Fair Winds,
Leo MacDonald
860-859-9600, macdore@aol.com



macdore@aol.com

[Steve]

The wheel on my CD30K has gotten guite stiff. This has happened before and I greased the one grese fitting I can find which helped. But this time it does not make adifference. I seem to remember the previous owner saying that there were two grease fittings, but I can only find the fitting which is at the top of the rudder shaft when I open the cover over the steering linkage. Can anybody tell me where the second fitting is supposed to be?

Any help with this matter would be greatly appreciated.

My Thanks to everybody who responded. I have the worm gear system and therefore there are no cables. I will lubricate the block at the aft end of the worm gear shaft, and the pins, with a WD40 type oil and see how that works. I have already cleaned the shaft of old grease and grit and re-greased the shaft and grease fitting.



S.Lutcha@worldnet.att.net

[Dale W.]

Sounds like you are on the right track. I, too,experienced a real lack of smooth turning at one time. My problem came after reassembling all the parts because I had removed the wormgear shaft and the assembly on the rudder shaft to repair/replace the bracket between the rudder shaft and the aft wall of the cockpit.

Positioning (up and down) of the assembly on top of the rudder shaft affects alignment of the steering shaft. When reassembling, I had pounded it down real good. . . (why use force when you have a bigger hammer)and found that the shaft would not turn. Once I discovered this alignment relationship, I tapped it up and down and until it was better than I had ever before (for 6 years)experienced it.

So, if lubrication alone doesn't work, check the alignment.



majortest@earthlink.net