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Mr B · 29-11-2011, 19:37

All fixed hopefully.
there was an set of cables on board in the front locker. Half under water and corroded and seized, but I wire brushed the and poured diesel down them qnd greased them up, installed and ready to go. fingers bloody crossed they dont pack it in.
Will buy new ones and one set as a spare.
Thanks for your help.
Brian.

Waterway Guide · 30-11-2011, 04:07

Glad it worked out for you...what's the chances there would be a set of spare cables on board? You must have bought the boat from someone who was loaded for bear (and smart, by the way). Keep them lubed and inspect every 3 or 4 years and you should be fine. (I'm hull 912 s/v Cat Lady, just in case you keep track of other "geminites.")

Blue Stocking · 30-11-2011, 04:45

Mike,

I certainly have no intention of critisizing your Geminis, having never been aboard one, but that steering problem peaks my curiosity.
What do you think causes those problems, to burst the sheath at the drum ( excessive pressure on the "pushed" cable?), and inadequate ability to float at the pivot ball at the rudder?
What manufacturer. Have installed and serviced lots of cable systems, never seen one do that.

Waterway Guide · 30-11-2011, 05:33

Don't you dare criticize my Gem! Just kidding. Like probably all boats, Geminis have their "achilles heels," but each can be mitigated by 1) knowing what they are, and 2) taking preventative measures so the problems don't occur. The cables will probably fail within 5 or 6 years if not cleaned up or replaced. Somehow, gunk accumulates causing the cable to seize, then I think it blows up due to excessive pressure on the cable. The drive leg release cable will probably fail even before that. I hope Performance Cruising has upgraded these in their new model. Thank goodness we have the Yahoo Gemini Gems forum so we don't need to have these issues ruin our cruising experience (I have a 2005, so it's time to pull my cables and clean up or replace).

sdowney717 · 30-11-2011, 06:09

I have an 1970 egg harbor sedan still with the original mechanical steering which uses a gear rack and pull push a single very large beefy red cable about an inch diameter, not rotary. In fact I picked up another off an even older boat for a spare. Still in 40+ years no failure on either one.

For an old runabout glastron I had to get a new steering cable, went to rotary and got 5 years out of it before rust jammed the cable.
So not too impressed with cables today. maybe really old ones were better. The original one for the glastron, the inner cable was ok, the outer sheath split due to rust.

Mr B · 30-11-2011, 21:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Stocking

Mike,

I certainly have no intention of critisizing your Geminis, having never been aboard one, but that steering problem peaks my curiosity.
What do you think causes those problems, to burst the sheath at the drum ( excessive pressure on the "pushed" cable?), and inadequate ability to float at the pivot ball at the rudder?
What manufacturer. Have installed and serviced lots of cable systems, never seen one do that.

Its a uflex cable with an inner and outer cable, The inner one pushes and pulls,
There is no way to grease the steering box or cables up near the top as they are buried inside the hull, plus there is no provision for greasing the cables unless you full them out and pull them apart,

What it needs is a system of two cables, One for pushing and one for pulling at the same time.
And a separate set for each hull,

Therapy · 02-12-2011, 12:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr B

Its a uflex cable with an inner and outer cable, The inner one pushes and pulls,
There is no way to grease the steering box or cables up near the top as they are buried inside the hull, plus there is no provision for greasing the cables unless you full them out and pull them apart,

What it needs is a system of two cables, One for pushing and one for pulling at the same time.
And a separate set for each hull,

People replace with the high end Teleflex and seem to have solved the problem.