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Old 22-09-2009, 11:35   #1
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Boat: FP Belize 43
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Broken Steering 'Rope' in Rough Seas

Yesterday while sailing in the Gulf our steering line to the rudders broke! We have a 43' FP Belize and amazingly they used rope for the steering line! Anyway it snapped at the first pulley right under the helm while we were under sail in 13 knot winds and the "washing machine" waves of the Gulf. It was a challenge getting that sorted out!

My question is regarding the replacement of the "rope" with cable. After pulling and removing various obstructions for a view of the system, it appears to be very simple, just a bunch of pulleys, connectors, and the dreaded rope. Would it be feasible to just replace the rope with cable, using the same pulley system?

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Meck
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Old 22-09-2009, 12:06   #2
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The groove size and pully radius shoud be sized for the wire. If they're large diameter sheaves (6" or larger), it should work, groove size being a secondary consideration.
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Old 22-09-2009, 12:09   #3
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My kp 44 had a mis match of cables attached from the quadrant to the pedestal.
While looking at replacement options I noticed that the cable made a sharp turn on the quadrant The older edson had this I think it has been replaced with a disc that mounts to the post. A better arangement the wire was tortured and several strands had parted. I opted to replace the setup with amsteel which is 2 years old now with several thousand miles behind it. It appears to have handled the abrupt turn well. I noticed during an inspection that at the first pulley there was some slight chafe against the mounting pad. This I filed back I check it occasionally for wear. I carry spare amsteel an emergency tiller that I have tested and of course the auto pilot could take over.
Im happy with the amsteels performance.
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Old 22-09-2009, 12:11   #4
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^^ Bad layout if the wire was kinked over the quadrant- they should have supplied two turning sheaves so the wire laid tangential to the quadrant.
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