Dual cable helm steering , Catamaran

[gramos]

I have just removed all the old cable steering system 1x 24ft and 1x 14 ft cables and the Pretech dual cable steering head and wheel . It had got very stiff after being unused for almost 3 years . It was quite old so out it came .
Now ordered all new Ultraflex system , exactly the same spec with M66 cables .
It was originally installed with the cables entering the helm unit one on each side .

Later it was modified ,in an attempt to reduce wheel play , with both cables entering on one side of the head unit .
This did reduce slack by a little .
My question is , which is the correct way to fit the cables , one each side or both on the same side ?
Anyone out there using this steering system that can suggest ?

[Chotu]

I had this system and it was never any good.

Both cables came in on the same side in my case. That was in the instructions

Ultimately, I ended up switching to hydraulic steering and it feels so much better.

[CatLove]

Chotu, what hydraulic system did you use?
I am having the same problem with my cables and want to move to hydraulic too.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by CatLove

Chotu, what hydraulic system did you use?
I am having the same problem with my cables and want to move to hydraulic too.

The whole thing is Seastar.

I used a seastar helm pump, twin seastar hydraulic rams.

I’m mistakenly bought a Seastar liquid tie bar valve. Very expensive and completely unnecessary. It is just some plumbing. DIY would be the way to go with that part of it. It looks really cool in the front. But when you look in the back, it’s just a diverter valve.

Then I tied all of that into Raymarine, electronics and reversing hydraulic pump. For auto helm.

oh yeah. And all of the tubing except the return line from the reversing hydraulic autohelm pump are copper compression fittings.

It was a painful set of things to buy, but it was absolutely necessary.

The cables just don’t work over large distances. There is too much slop.

[CatLove]

Originally Posted by Chotu

The whole thing is Seastar.

I used a seastar helm pump, twin seastar hydraulic rams.

I’m mistakenly bought a Seastar liquid tie bar valve. Very expensive and completely unnecessary. It is just some plumbing. DIY would be the way to go with that part of it. It looks really cool in the front. But when you look in the back, it’s just a diverter valve.

Then I tied all of that into Raymarine, electronics and reversing hydraulic pump. For auto helm.

oh yeah. And all of the tubing except the return line from the reversing hydraulic autohelm pump are copper compression fittings.

It was a painful set of things to buy, but it was absolutely necessary.

The cables just don’t work over large distances. There is too much slop.

Thanks for the details.
I only have doubts about the liquid tie bar thingy .
I have no practical experience with cat hydraulic steering long term and have no idea how good/bad the rudders realigning thru the liquid tie bar or otherwise can be or how it's done or how often .

I keep trying to figure a way to avoid the dual cylinders .
Maybe a sort of hybrid system with a single hydraulic cylinder that would move both rudders thru a mechanical arrangement , a mechanical tie bar of some sort or even a cable between the rudders may work.
Having hydraulic from steering wheel all the way to the rear where the single ram would be placed and transmit motion to the rudders via cable or tie bar may be much ebtter than cables all the way .
The question is, would it be good enough to warrant the compromise or would it introduce other problems

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by CatLove

Thanks for the details.
I only have doubts about the liquid tie bar thingy .
I have no practical experience with cat hydraulic steering long term and have no idea how good/bad the rudders realigning thru the liquid tie bar or otherwise can be or how it's done or how often .

I keep trying to figure a way to avoid the dual cylinders .
Maybe a sort of hybrid system with a single hydraulic cylinder that would move both rudders thru a mechanical arrangement , a mechanical tie bar of some sort or even a cable between the rudders may work.
Having hydraulic from steering wheel all the way to the rear where the single ram would be placed and transmit motion to the rudders via cable or tie bar may be much ebtter than cables all the way .
The question is, would it be good enough to warrant the compromise or would it introduce other problems

I would honestly go hydraulic the whole way. It’s a cleaner looking install.

I don’t know your boat exactly, but in my case, the rudders are aft of the bridge dec transom. The only way to connect those with a bar would be to have a bar aft of the bridge deck transom between each hull. And that’s ugly in my opinion. It would also interfere with my dinghy davits. That’s what my plans originally had.

Otherwise, you would have to have a complicated wire system from each individual hull transom, through the bridge deck transom connecting them. Still pretty annoyingto install.

The install is a lot easier to just run the hydraulic lines and have two Rams . It is also cleaner and looks good.

The liquid tie bar is fairly essential. I would say after 50-100 hours or so it’s good to realign. You don’t have to. But I’m a bit of a perfectionist with that. Realigning is very simple. All you have to do is stop in some water that is calm. Center one of the rudders by turning the wheel. Open the tie bar valve, take your hand and move the other rudder so it is also centered. Then lock down the valve. Done.

[gramos]

As I have already bought a replacement cable set up the hydraulic comments are not relevant .
What I really want to know is whether to fit the cables into the same side of the helm unit or opposite ? Anyone ?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by gramos

As I have already bought a replacement cable set up the hydraulic comments are not relevant .
What I really want to know is whether to fit the cables into the same side of the helm unit or opposite ? Anyone ?

I guess you were skimming due to the thread hijack. Understandable.

It was answered that yes, you can come from the same side. You just have to account for it in the set up.