Steering Effort

[ffdawg]

I bought my boat last Spring and the steering always seemed a little stiff to me but I don't really have anything to compare it to. Yesterday I greased the rudder housing although I could only get the top zirk to take any. The bottom one was taking way too much effort to force any grease in so I just left it. That didn't seem to lessen the amount of effort it takes to turn the wheel, though, so I disconnected the cable from the rudder arm. Even with the cable disconnected it still takes quite a bit of effort to turn the wheel. Definitely not a one-handed leisurely spin of the wheel. So I'm not sure if that means my cable is going bad or not. The boat is dry right now so it may loosen up a bit once it's in the water? It's only five years old now and has been very well kept so I'd be surprised if I needed to replace the cable already. How much effort should it take to turn the wheel?

[TalleyHo]

I've experienced steering cables go bad inside 2 years - on 2 different boats. If you got 5 years, you're bucking the trend. Even once the cables were pulled out, you had to have vice grips and two people to move the assembly. There's something about those cables that don't like water and get all nasty and bind up...

Just thinking out loud....but isn't there really only 1 manufacturer of steering cables.... hmmm.....

[Bobby Light]

I bought my boat last Spring and the steering always seemed a little stiff to me but I don't really have anything to compare it to. Yesterday I greased the rudder housing although I could only get the top zirk to take any. The bottom one was taking way too much effort to force any grease in so I just left it. That didn't seem to lessen the amount of effort it takes to turn the wheel, though, so I disconnected the cable from the rudder arm. Even with the cable disconnected it still takes quite a bit of effort to turn the wheel. Definitely not a one-handed leisurely spin of the wheel. So I'm not sure if that means my cable is going bad or not. The boat is dry right now so it may loosen up a bit once it's in the water? It's only five years old now and has been very well kept so I'd be surprised if I needed to replace the cable already. How much effort should it take to turn the wheel?

You should be able to turn the wheel with your pinky finger, okay maybe your index finger.

[NorCaliBu]

If you get water in your bilge deep enough to submerge one end of the cable most likely the cable will corrode during the off-season and you'll end up replacing it. That's what happened to mine, though I got 7 years out of the first cable.

[ffdawg]

I bought my boat last Spring and the steering always seemed a little stiff to me but I don't really have anything to compare it to. Yesterday I greased the rudder housing although I could only get the top zirk to take any. The bottom one was taking way too much effort to force any grease in so I just left it. That didn't seem to lessen the amount of effort it takes to turn the wheel, though, so I disconnected the cable from the rudder arm. Even with the cable disconnected it still takes quite a bit of effort to turn the wheel. Definitely not a one-handed leisurely spin of the wheel. So I'm not sure if that means my cable is going bad or not. The boat is dry right now so it may loosen up a bit once it's in the water? It's only five years old now and has been very well kept so I'd be surprised if I needed to replace the cable already. How much effort should it take to turn the wheel?

You should be able to turn the wheel with your pinky finger, okay maybe your index finger.

Then I DEFINITELY need a new cable. Seems like that should be a fairly easy do-it-yourself job?

[NorCaliBu]

Seems like that should be a fairly easy do-it-yourself job?

D-GOOSE gives a fairly detailed description in this post.

[ffdawg]

Seems like that should be a fairly easy do-it-yourself job?

D-GOOSE gives a fairly detailed description in this post.

Thanks for the link. I would imagine the setup is pretty much alike even though my boat is direct drive.

[NorCaliBu]

I would imagine the setup is pretty much alike even though my boat is direct drive.

The only real difference is how you gain access to the rudder end of the cable. Your's is under the rear center floor board, in a VD it's in the engine compartment. The rest is pretty similar.

[1FootDan]

I bought my boat last Spring and the steering always seemed a little stiff to me but I don't really have anything to compare it to. Yesterday I greased the rudder housing although I could only get the top zirk to take any. The bottom one was taking way too much effort to force any grease in so I just left it. That didn't seem to lessen the amount of effort it takes to turn the wheel, though, so I disconnected the cable from the rudder arm. Even with the cable disconnected it still takes quite a bit of effort to turn the wheel. Definitely not a one-handed leisurely spin of the wheel. So I'm not sure if that means my cable is going bad or not. The boat is dry right now so it may loosen up a bit once it's in the water? It's only five years old now and has been very well kept so I'd be surprised if I needed to replace the cable already. How much effort should it take to turn the wheel?

You should be able to turn the wheel with your pinky finger, okay maybe your index finger.

You should be able to rotate your steering wheel by moving your rudder with your hands.

[M3Fan]

With the heavy Isotta steering wheel in Martho's 2006 RLXi, I can spin the wheel lock to lock just by flinging it one way or another- the steering is so effortless that it spins like it's not even connected to anything and is just rolling on ball bearings. It's the same on my boat as well, but my wheel doesn't have the same weight/momentum as the Isotta.

[maumeeriverrat]

Seems like that should be a fairly easy do-it-yourself job?

D-GOOSE gives a fairly detailed description in this post.

Thanks for the link. I would imagine the setup is pretty much alike even though my boat is direct drive.

Just finished replacing mine on a 1999 Sunsetter LXi. World of difference in steering effort. Toughest part following the excellent directions was breaking the large chrome nut. You DO need long arms to reach the rudder attachment point.

Thanks for the excellent info here. I just saved a bunch of money

[NorCaliBu]

Just finished replacing mine on a 1999 Sunsetter LXi. World of difference in steering effort. Toughest part following the excellent directions was breaking the large chrome nut. You DO need long arms to reach the rudder attachment point.

Thanks for the excellent info here. I just saved a bunch of money

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