I lost my steering on the way to Baltimore for the 4th. The emergency tiller wouldn't budge. I had to get a tow (hurray for TowBoatUS). It required a dive into the water to free the rudder from its stuck position. As I have since discovered, the cable is intact but the chain jumped out of its sprockets. Why did this happen? The steering quadrant has stops in both directions. When the wheel was turned hard to the left it went past the stop by 20 degrees or more. (beginner helmsman, skipper below deck) Why was that possible? Apparently during manufacture there was a fiberglass repair to the structure of the stop mechanism that was not large enough to withstand the force of a hard turn to the left. In normal sailing where you don’t turn hard, it wouldn’t be a problem Where did this repair come from since the only repair ever to the steering was when the cable broke last year? The rigger hypothesizes that it was a manufacturing defect that was either repaired at the factory or by the dealer when the boat was originally commissioned.
To repair this they will have to remove the cable, reposition the chain onto its sprockets, and then cure the problem with the stop. The rigger proposes several ways to do this. One is to add fiberglass to the site of the original repair. The second is to build a metal fitting and screw it on over the fiberglass. The third, and the one that makes the most sense, is to increase the diameter of the stop itself by adding a rubber or metal tube over it.
All of this makes more sense by looking at the attached photos. I would love advice about how to fix this and information about whether anyone else has had the same defect. I also suggest that other owners with similar manufacture dates check to see if theirs is similarly problematic.
Elliott Milstein
Collaboration
#1469, 1995 MkII
Port Annapolis Marina
Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina
Elliott,
I cannot address the fiberglass issue...but
I ran into a cable break on my 1996, #1598, about 3 years ago. What I found on mine is that the chain is not long enough for a full turn from one side to the other.
Even though the chain was centered, the swage from chain to cable was rubbing on the sprocket and eventually severed the cable. My guess is that your chain may have come off line skipping off the sprocket once the swage met the sprocket.
The worn fiberglass probalby gave the cable additional room to ride over the sprocket.
The issue that I see from this design flaw is that since you cannot add chain (it would collect at the base of an attempted full turn), the only other option would be to increase the size of the rudder stop, narrowing the turning cappability of the boat. Raising the wheel a few inches to provide more chain seems out of the question to me.
I have not tried this, but given the additional space needed to stop the swage from meeting the sprocket, a hockey puck with a hole drilled through the center may add just enough (larger stop) to keep the cable from rubbing. Edson may have larger stops. It seems to me that the rudder stop is just not large enough.
The only other options I see are routine inspection and replacement or knowing that you cannot turn the boat hard over.
Jack
Solstice
Hull #1598
1996 MKII/TR/FK - M35AC - 3 Blade MaxProp
Lake Texoma
www.texomasailing.org
Elliot,
I would agree with adding a metal stop bracket or a larger diameter stop pin as being a simple fix. Thought I do have another concern.
In the pictures I see the stop hits the cockpit structure on the starboard side about two inches inboard of the corner. On the port side it misses the corner completly. This could be a simple irregularity in the cockpit lay up or installation of the rudder, neither are that big an issue.
My concern is there looks to be evidence that the port side stop has made contact inboard on the structure in the past as there is evedence of transfer of the orange color of the stop about an inch inboard. This could indicate a bent rudder shaft that is causing the stop to now miss the structure. You could probably check this by checking to see if the level of the quardrant changes when you run the steering from stop to stop. this could also explain why the rudder needed to be moved externaly to unbind it.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
Dear Jack and Steve
Thank you both for your ideas. I love the hockey puck solution. I hope that the rudder shaft isn't bent, of course. The boat hasn't been aground so I am hopeful that that fear is unfounded. I will have the rigger who is working on this check that.
I await an answer from Catalina. They requested the photos and said they will suggest a fix. I will let you know what they say.
I appreciate your insights.
Elliott
Elliott Milstein
Collaboration #1469
1995 C-36MkII
Port Annapolis Marina
Elliot:
Here is an idea. What I am thinking is that you might have some rudder slop in the tube where your rudder post sets into. Thus, when you came up against the fiberglass stop. As the post on the quadrant is rubber covered like mine and maybe many others. The rubber cover tore and gave you a bit more clearance as with the added clearance in the rudder post assembly also. This allowed the rudder post and quadrant assembly to move to the side just enough with the added force of the helmsman going over hard. Put the rudder stop up and over the fiberglass stop. As it shows in the pictures you provided.
Now with it on the wrong side of the stop, that is why it would not come back around as there was not the added pressure of the going over hard at the helm. I bet if you take your inspection plate off where the emergency tiller goes you may see quite a lot of side to side movement in the rudder post.
What I have on mine for stop on the fiberglass is a section of glassed in wood. Along with the rubber on the post on the quadrant.
Randy
Randy Sherwood
Mutualfun 1990 # 1057
T/R W/K M35a
Home. Charlotte, Mi.
Boat. St Augustine,Fl.
Elliot,
I too hope that your rudder shaft is not bent. As for you not ever run aground, I would be willing to bet more rudders are damaged by motoring in reverse at high speed and the wheel is let loose and the rudder is slammed to its stop.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas