Cable steering sheave removal

1987 42CL
Can someone tell me how to remove the retaining pin on the axle of the sheave? It’s not a regular cotter pin and I didn’t look too carefully last time I was at the boat.

Well, I figured this one out on my own . On the one side the pin retaining the axle also keeps the axle from rotating while on the other side there is a regular cotter pin which when removed allows the axle to be removed.

I'm curious. Are you changing to hydraulic?...or maybe servicing the sheave?

Just replacing cable and lubricating sheaves.

Following. My 2000 GB 42C uses cable steering and have wondered about need to check sheaves for wear and lubrication. Cable looks good, but doubt there's been much preventive maintenance done on the steering system. I'm the 3rd owner (2016) and pretty sure previous owners didn't do too much.

Are you replacing with galvanized wire, heavily greased?

Mako said:

Are you replacing with galvanized wire, heavily greased?

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My rigger said to never use grease on the cable because it attracts grit and shortens cable life. The original steering cable was made by Edson and they make the replacements that I will use. SS cable. They provide the cable lubricant in the kit. Very good info on their website.
To the previous poster, we have some corrosion that extends out about a foot in each of the cables that attach to the quadrant. It was pointed out in our survey. I believe that is where the problem frequently is because of the dampness. The rest of the system is pristine. The 2 riggers I have talked to say they never just splice in new cable. I’ve heard that losing the steering in a twin engine boat isn’t the end of the world but I’m not anxious to find out

" I’ve heard that losing the steering in a twin engine boat isn’t the end of the world but I’m not anxious to find out"


It will always fail at the most critical time.

Thanks to the OP for posting. I've been wondering if parts were available.

https://edsonmarine.com/steering-hardware/

We started the steering cables replacement process this morning. ( -2 degrees here in Maine) Working with my rigger it took us 1.5 hours start to finish to remove both the upper and lower station cables. These will be measured and replacements ordered from Edson. During this time, if it warms up a bit, I will remove the sheaves and axles, check them for wear and lubricate them. We are expecting about 4 hours to install the new cables. I learned a few tricks from the rigger but so far it is pretty straight forward. We have about 2.5 months until launch so no rush.

Today my brother and I tackled the sheave removal. Took us about 2 hours to remove the 3 pairs in the engine room. The two most forward sheaves, which are the turning blocks for the cables to go from horizontal to vertical and up to the wheel were by far the hardest. The cotter pins were on the forward side of the mounting bracket so there was only about 2 inches between them and the forward bulkhead. And there was some wiring in that 2 inches also . I mostly used a medium right angle pick to straighten out the legs of the cotter pin, largely by feel. This probably took 45 minutes laying on top of the battery boxes. The second set on the starboard side of the hull wasn’t too bad. The third wasn’t too bad either except that a bolt that mounted the bracket got in the way of pulling the axle and had to be shortened with a hack saw by about 1/4 inch. I have not had a chance to examine any of them for wear yet and I will tackle the 2 sheaves in the lazarette tomorrow. Fingers crossed. The replacement Edson cables have been ordered.

The sheaves have been cleaned, lubricate, and reinstalled. It took longer than I expected. The tolerances are close and with some burr’s on the axles it was fussy. My first attempt at bending the bronze retainer pins didn’t work because the angle was not acute enough so the axle would not go all the way in to accept the cotter pin on the other end. The burrs needed to be cleaned up on my table to lathe. Anyway, they are in and work well. The steering cable is here so when the rigger is available we’ll install that. Time was about 4 hours

Thank you for taking the time and effort to post during this project. I have placed it in the reference files for the day that will most certainly come.
Where did you find signs of wear, and were any of the parts critically worn? As part of my annual re-commissioning, I apply Cable and Chain Dressing to the sections of cable traveling along the shives and give each shaft a squirt of penetrating oil. I wonder if that is enough preventive maintenance?

I encountered little, if any, signs of wear on any of the components. I’m quite sure the previous owner of 5 years did not do any maintenance on this system. The owner before him reports that he did have to replace a sheave and axle due to wear, so presumably about 8 years ago.
I like your maintenance plan and it is what I will plan to do. The only change is that I will use an oil on the axle as penetrating oil is typically not a long lasting lubricant.

Dspcole said:

I l The only change is that I will use an oil on the axle as penetrating oil is typically not a long lasting lubricant.

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My thought on using PO instead of light oil, ie 3in1, was to prevent excess build-up with gunk collected around the axles. Maybe I'm wrong. I am always open to other's thoughts.

Excellent point!! And I don’t know if either is right…

Well, our rigger left our yard so we are on our own. Last week I rewound the cable running between the upper and lower helms. There is an excellent explanation of this on the Facebook GB owners files section. Took my wife and I about an hour. Today we enlisted my brother to help rethread the main steering cable. We had looped the cable down into the aft cabin and then my wife fed the 2 ends down behind the steering console while my brother pulled up the slack on the messenger strings, I was in the engine compartment helping the cable through the sheaves. Took 30 minutes. Later this week we will attach the chain to the cable and the tensioning bolts to the other end and then to the quadrant. The folks at Edson were VERY helpful. Will K. owns a 42C so he knows of what he speaks. When I turn the wheel to the right, the boat is supposed to go to the right, correct? ?