Steering Jam-Up - '09 Beneteau 49

[Big Moe]

Hello Fellow Sailors:

While sailing in the Chesapeake yesterday I had a steering jam up which made both wheels extremely hard to turn. They felt like a truck without power steering. The wind was blowing at about 15 to 18 knots. I figured I had a steering cable malfunction so I rolled up both sails and motored in the last 6 miles. When I hit the dock the steering seemed fine. I checked all the cables and found them to be ok. Both wheels turned easily. I have a diver going down to check the rudder just to be safe.

Has anyone ever had a malfunction in the hydraulic cylinder that is actuated by the auto pilot? How tight should the cables be?

Thanks for the help.

Big Moe
aspen002@verizon.net

[Joli]

There are check valves on the hyd autopilot that can partially close and make the helm heavy. If it happens again turn on the auto and see if this resests the system. Or the valve that engages the auto may have been partially closed restricting fluid flow.