How to go about building a steering system?

[La007]

Well, the boat is a '67 MFG Edinboro Special. It has a '67 Evinrude 80HP Selectric shift. Currently the boat has pulleys and cables, that simply I don't trust. Even if they were new I'm not sure I could, I just don't like the fact of those cables and plastic pulley's with the responsibility of holding that power. I'll be having my friends in the boat, and being responsible for their safety, I would like a good cable steer system that will mount up to this motor. Where can I get a good deal on a rotary system, and where can I get the correct hardware to mount the cable to my boat, then adapt the cable end to this older motor. I have an older teleflex rotary steering mechanism, but I'm positive the cable isn't long enough, and I hope I may use it, but please refer me to kits nonetheless. Thanks for the help folks!

 

[foodfisher]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

Methinks that if the manufacturer installed the cable and pulley system, it will do it's job. Go thru it to see there aren't any worn out stuffs ie:wobbly pulleys, frayed cables. I tried to refab a system on an old whaler and ended up with a paddle tied to the motor, tiller style, just to make it home.

 

[southkogs]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

If the pulley system is functioning properly, I wouldn't worry about running it. They weren't the best, but they did the trick. It was designed to handle that OB originally.

If the system has started to fail, then update it to something new. Jbcurt gave you some good direction above.

 

[ezmobee]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

I would buy this: http://www.iboats.com/Uflex-ROTECH-...15201591--session_id.850333366--view_id.49379

And this: http://www.iboats.com/Corrosion-Res...5764940--session_id.611379388--view_id.192758

 

[kfa4303]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

AS you can see there are lots of varying opinions on whether or not to keep the old cable and pulley system. On the one hand, its purely mechanical and any problems can be easily diagnosed and fixed with relatively little effort and expense. However, there are multiple components involved all of which can potentially fail. I'm kind of a low speed, low tech, DIY, cheap boater, so anything I can do for myself I try to do. Here are some links that can show the various methods for hooking up the cable and pulley system as well as a vid of a homegrown stick steering system that also uses cables and pulley. There's also a link to a site with all the hardware you may need for cheap. Good luck. Keep us posted.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=281025&highlight=Drum+Steering

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/steering/01/index.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGPHabipJlY

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

Wire rope steering steering failures are pretty well at the bottom of the list as far as causes of boating accidents. Retrofitting the steering system to a type that neither the boat nor the motor were designed for may actually increase the likelihood of a failure. If it makes you feel more comfortable then go ahead, because the wire rope and pulley system obviously bothers you. Just don't think that putting a possibly jury-rigged system on the boat is somehow eliminating a major risk item.....

 

[ezmobee]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

A clamp block is hardly jury rigged and the rest is pretty much out of the box. This is a common conversion.

 

[tx1961whaler]

Re: How to go about building a steering system?

A clamp block is hardly jury rigged and the rest is pretty much out of the box. This is a common conversion.

Hard to tell without really looking at the boat and doing some measuring. Some boats end up with funky angles and spacing due to the transom construction that make the (new) steering much less effective, and I have seen clamp blocks mounted on a single thin layer of fiberglass on old trihulls that have ripped out. This wasn't necessarily due to the lack of skill on the guy that installed it; it was just where the thing had to be mounted in order for everything to line up halfway correctly. Many conversions are perfect, so it depends on the design of the particular boat. Plus try to tilt the motor up like the picture shows with a retrofit on both the motor and boat. I can almost hear the cracking sound from here.
He's more likely to fall out of the boat and drown than have a decently maintained wire rope system fail.