replacing Edson shift cable in pedastle

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greigwill
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Posts: 174
replacing Edson shift cable in pedastle

Guys,the For/Rev Morse or Edson cable on my 1990 C36 is toast..easy to swap out on the motor end but when i removed the compass and looked in the Edson pedastal....the hold down for the cable is UNDER the steering brake and chain cog assembly!!..Dont tell me i need to remove this assembly to r&r the cable...please help,Greig from [url]www.gibsonssailing.org[/url]

"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
 Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca

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LCBrandt
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Posts: 1282

Greig, welcome aboard.

I don't know the answer to your question, but some one here will. It may not be an answer you'll like, particularly in this case. :)

I see you have joined as a new Member (capital M). We appreciate that, and we will look forward to any help you can contribute to our owners. Maybe one of the ways you can help us out is by photographing along the way, and writing about, the cable replacement experience you're about to have. I just looked in our Maintenance library and we don't have an article there about this. Cable replacement does come up occasionally in this Forum, and there may even be a prior thread on it...if you haven't already, a search on "Edson" or "cable" might turn up something. [Ed note: I did the search and couldn't find a post on this, so we are ploughing new ground on this.]

By the way, you have a very nice website.

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

greigwill
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Posts: 174

Thanks Larry,i found the info on sailboatowners.com when i googled Edson pedastal control cable replacement.Yes the assembly must be removed but its easily done by slacking the steering cables and driving out the pin that holds the sprocket on the wheel shaft...I will do it next week when i pick up a new cable,Greig

"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
 Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca

greigwill
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Posts: 174

The original Edson pdf on this is in the Maintenance section of this C36 website.Titled "Edson engine control installation instructions"..Best to ignore my previous post re "removing the pin from wheel shaft" as Edson has very different instructions,and simpler too.Greig

"Sailing Still" 1990 C36 M25 wing
 Sail Canada/Transport Canada training
Gibsons Harbour BC
www.landsendbc.ca

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LCBrandt
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Yes, it's there. As I look at it now, it is apparent that the PDF would have benefited from higher resolution photos.

Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
 

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Chachere
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This is a somewhat nasty job, which I'm right in the middle of.   A bit of backstory:

    This summer, as I was reversing off a fuel dock in a very tight little harbor (Menemsha, Martha's Vinyard) and about to deftly execute a 3 point turn in front of (thankfully) many onlookers, I went to shift into forward and at that precise moment the screw holding the shift lever to the shaft at the pedestal sheared off.   There was absolutely no time to run below and grab a vice grip so I could flip the boat back into forward gear (or yank the engine cover off and flip the gear lever on the transmission); all I could do was kill the engine and grab the boat hooks so we could fend off the dock we were being blown into (usually full of expensive boats, but for once it was empty!).   Thankfully no damage to our boat or anyone else (thanks to all those onlookers who rushed over to the dock to help!)... but it did, um, get the pulse rate up.
 

    Last month, while at the Annapolis show, I chatted with the friendly people at the Edson booth, and mentioned this rather scary incident.  The president of Edson told me that sheared screws in the shift lever are a symptom of worn-out, binding engine control cables, and that Edson recommends they be replaced every 5 years of so (of course they would!).   I never thought the shifter was that resistant, but I'm taking his word on it and decided to do the replacement.  He showed me on a sample pedestal how to push the two cables to one side of the steering shaft once the cable retainer bolt is removed.  
 Edson has instructions here:
http://www.edsonmarine.com/support/PDFs/installation/EB396EngineControlI...

   As I said, this is a rather nasty job.  I released the cables from the engine and transmission, taped messenger lines to them,  There is (in the Mk I) an access panel under the after berth all the way aft that one needs to open to help guide the cables while they are withdrawn (otherwise they bind when negotiating the turn into the area under the floor of the lazarette).  The steering cables need to be slacked off so that the chain can be lifted off the sprocket in the pedestal and moved forward; its the only way to slide the cable retainer up and out of the pedestal.  

    Catalina Direct has replacement cables in the correct lengths (Edson has cables as well -- but in 2 foot increments, which didn't work for me).   The trickiest part is fishing the retainer back down into the pedestal and then fishing the retaining bolt out the hole about 1/3 of the way down the pedestal.    A couple of pictures of the retaining clip are attached.

     But in any event, just a heads up to maybe think about checking -- and replacing -- the set screws on the control levers every once in a while.  Apparently, I'm not the only one who has run into this problem: See the 3d comment in this post: www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/226170-what-wo...

... and this post: https://www.catalina36.org/forum/general-discussion/new-member-0

Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY

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pierview
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Joined: 9/27/09
Posts: 592

Greig
If
your changing the shift cable change the throttle cable too... otherwise you'll just have to do the job again at a later date. Be aware the two cables are of 2 different lengths. I did this a couple of years ago and it made a tremendous difference in the resistance to shifting... you wont believe it.... ut make sure you get the right cable lengths.
 

Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ

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ludo
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Posts: 92

What size should I pick for the throttle and gear control cable?

Did you buy them to catalina direct or anywhere else?

I see these 2 cables, but not sure what I should order. 

Need to figure out this week-end if I see any indication on the cables themselves.

Ludovic François
​Hotel Catalina - Catalina 36 Hull #883
Marina Del Rey, CA

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Chachere
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Posts: 826

[quote=ludo]What size should I pick for the throttle and gear control cable?

Did you buy them to catalina direct or anywhere else?

I see these 2 cables, but not sure what I should order. 

Need to figure out this week-end if I see any indication on the cables themselves.[/quote]

I purchased one 14' (part # Z2476) and one 15' cable (#A8271) from CD about a year ago when I replaced them in our Mk1, those were the correct lengths (I had removed the old ones and measured); the longer one is for the engine control, the shorter for the transmission.  
   Do make sure that when you remove the old ones you leave messenger lines in their place -- it will make pulling in the replacements easier.
 

Matthew Chachère
s/v ¡Que Chévere!
(Formerly 1985 C36 MKI #466 tall rig fin keel M25)
2006 Catalina Morgan 440 #30.
Homeported in eastern Long Island, NY

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ludo
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Posts: 92

Thanks Matthew! My plan is to use a coupling nut to get the cable through the edson pedestal. Main reason why I wanted to avoid to remove the cables to measure them.

Ludovic François
​Hotel Catalina - Catalina 36 Hull #883
Marina Del Rey, CA

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ludo
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Posts: 92

OK replying to myself after reading through the description on the catalinadirect website:

  • 14' cable: transmission
  • 15' cable: throttle

Ordered!

Ludovic François
​Hotel Catalina - Catalina 36 Hull #883
Marina Del Rey, CA

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Sailor1P
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Posts: 22

I just changed both cables and it was not that big of a deal. The fit getting the cables out of the pedestal and then back in is tight but doable.  Just make sure you stuff some rags or something down the pedestal when you put in the cotter pins as it is easy to drop one.  Mine is done and might try it out this weekend.

Peder Sahlin

Pompano Beach, FL
1983 - C36 Standard Rig / Wing Keel
Hull #103

pierview
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Posts: 592

I hate it when you Florida and Calif guys tell the rest of us your going sailing in Feb or March..... !

Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ

William Miller
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Posts: 294

Up here in western Washington we sail all year long

Bill Miller
S/V Lorraine
Pacific Northwest,Sound Sound
Grapeview,Wa
1990 Mk1

pierview
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Posts: 592

Thanks Bill... rub it in. We've been having May wx and now, with Spring starting tomorrow, they're predicting up to 3" of snow!

Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ

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LeslieTroyer
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Posts: 533

Chuck - we had 3" of snow last night in Western Washington - don't feel too bad

Les & Trish Troyer
Mahalo 
Everett, WA
1983 C-36 Hull #0094
C-36 MK 1 Technical Editor. 

Commodore

 

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