Steering Cables

[spiritcat]

Has anyone replaced their stainless steel steering wire/cables with synthetic rope? I have broken a couple of SS wire cables over the last couple of years and am keen to try an alternative.

Peter

[model 10]

Did your ss wire rope fail in the eye? I have seen steering cables with no thimbal.

[spiritcat]

Guy,

My steering system has chain and wire to a traveller and then a push/ pull rod to the tillers, its a cat. The wire broke at a block on the traveller, the block is not a dedicated wire sheave type block, but a standard rope block bolted to the traveller base.

Peter

[Mystic38]

Most cable steering systems can last the life of the boat.. I recently dropped the rudder on my 20yo Sabre and the cables look like they were installed yesterday.

So, given there has to be a specific engineering reason why your cables failed, if the sheave is wider that that required then I suspect that the surface area of contact at that black may be the issue. If not, check for rough edges, free rotation etc and be sure not to overtighten..just enough to take out almost all of the free play.

Originally Posted by spiritcat

My steering system has chain and wire to a traveller and then a push/ pull rod to the tillers, its a cat. The wire broke at a block on the traveller, the block is not a dedicated wire sheave type block, but a standard rope block bolted to the traveller base.

Peter

[perchance]

The wire rope sheave should match the diameter of the wire rope. Too large and the wire rope tends to flatten out under strain causing premature failure of the individual wires.

[sabray]

The older yacht specialties quadrant puts a horrific bend in the cable. That's where mine was showing signs of damage. It looked like the original owner had replaced some of the cables too. I went dyneema and it has been fine. It takes a few sessions to get the stretch out. Had this set up for 5 plus years.

[spiritcat]

The problem I seem to have is the wire cable turning 180 degrees around a 50mm (2 inch) sheeve with movement from lock to lock of around 200mm or 8 inches. This puts a lot of load on a small length of wire which is then failing, it has happened twice. This weeken I have replaced the wire with a spectra line and will see how it stands up to the useage.

Peter

[Roy M]

I have Amsteel Blue 1/4" line instead of stainless. I use the big sheaves from Edson for all turns, and turnbuckles at the rudder for adjustment. I love it.