Looking for help with pontoon console replacement

[jrwebster]

Hi all, to start out I consider myself reasonably handy, but without much experience with boats. I've started restoring an '81 Aloha 24' pontoon that's been in the family since new and began with the completely rotted out console. Figured out how to disconnect all of the controls, steering, horns, light, etc and tossed the old console. After some research I bought a new rotocast console, received it and began the installation. Everything was going well until I ran into a problem mounting the rotary steering helm. The angle between the shaft and the hub of the helm is 90 degrees, and since the area on the console designated for mounting the steering is angled away from the driver it effectively makes the angle such that I can't attach the cable to the helm once the helm is mounted. There just is not enough room to bend the cable away from the console to make the connection to the helm. Hopefully the attached photos will help clarify my explanation of the problem. I have called the manufacturer and they made an attempt to help but ultimately suggested that I come to this forum for help. I have also explained this to several local marine techs and they made a few suggestions. These included just having a new console built or rotating the helm 120 degrees on the bezel so the cable and tube extend upwards and to the side instead of straight down. I'm still considering the first idea, but the second wouldn't work without drilling additional holes in the bezel mounting area and potentially weakening it. Another suggestion was to cut grooves out of the drivers (aft) side of the console to accommodate the cable, but I'd really like to avoid that. I don't think returning the console for a refund at this point is possible, as I have already cut several holes in it. Do y'all have any ideas that might make this work? Thanks! Joel

 

[1983 ercoa 21']

Can you remove helm install cable and then put helm into console? just a quick thought

 

[1983 ercoa 21']

Also if you're worried about weakening it if you rotate the helm y not add a piece of aluminum or plywood to the inside of the console to give added strength.

 

[MH Hawker]

About all you can do is turn it off at angle till it fits. Or get a steering set up the helm manufacture recommends.

 

[ahicks]

Looking at your second picture, what would happen if you turned the head 45 degrees (or so) clockwise, so the cable was directed at the far corner of the helm? Would that give you enough room to make the bend?

 

[jrwebster]

Great suggestions all, will give them a try and follow up with results, probably early next week. Thanks! Joel

 

[jrwebster]

Sorry for the late follow up on this, got caught up in other projects following this one. Anyway, I tried rotating the helm to different angles and found that I was limited by cable length, and didn't want to buy longer cables and end up still not having enough room for the bend radius to work. After hours of trying different options in uncomfortable positions on the floor and in the water under the boat, and really pushing my wife's patience, I ended up cutting holes through the aft part of the console to allow the cable through. Not an optimal solution, but it works. I tried getting manufacturers recommendations for helm hardware but my emails went unanswered. Thanks for your help, and this project is done!