Edson wheel steering

[seafox]

I have just broken this small plastic part called a conduit end fitting on an Edson steering system. It looks like a cheap $5 part. That is why it broke. I bumped it when I was removing the gas bottle. The nut on it is not even stainless. It is mild steel and has rusted. There is a cheap stainless hose clip that comes with it. Edson US price $98.00.
NZ price $160!

We are only talking the plastic part in the photo here. Not the conduit or cable. That price is for one! It is the size of a small skin fitting.

Does anyone pay these ridiculous prices for Edson parts?

I went to Burnsco (local chandlery) and bought a skin fitting for under $10. With some small modifying it will replace the over inflated part.


All of the parts on their price list are incredibly high. Worse than Volvo even

I can't believe what a rip off these Edson parts are....

[Charlie]

Try and buy one of the nuts that holds the wheel on. Bloody expensive and a very odd thread. They are blood suckers.

[seafox]

I just can't believe people would pay this sort of money for these basic parts. Other than the pedal stool that is cast, most of the parts could be made by a decent engineer for a fraction of the price.

[billangiep]

seafox, I ran into the same problem a fews yrs.back, fabricated one out of an old marlon type thru hull.

[seafox]

Yep, we did the same thing today billangiep. Used a nylon skin fitting (thru hull). Cut a 3mm slice in the last 20mm or so of thread so I could use a hose clip to nib it up onto the conduit. $9.95 and worked a treat.

[billangiep]

Yes...Marine terminology "skin fitting" = tru hull. (grin)
seafox that is pretty much how I did it but before tightening the hose clamp ( I mean the hose clip), (grin) I coated the black sheath with epoxy before sliding it into the tru hull.
Bill,

[seafox]

Hi Bill,
when you say you coated the black sheath in epoxy, do you mean you injected epoxy in between the thru hull and the back conduit?

My bloody conduit is slipping through my skin fitting. I see on the Edson part, the inside of the end fitting is threaded to match the contour of the black conduit. That stops the conduit slipping through.
The hose clip is just to nib it up.

If the epoxy was injected into the thru hull that would make it similar to the
Edson part then.

I was thinking of buying another part I saw in the chandlery that was a reducing pipe that could be used as a thru hull. The conduit could be inserted on one end and it would not get through the reducing end. I think that would work.

I see that one of the end fittings is broken at the bottom of the pedal stool too Have you had to replace one there?

My stainless cable has a broken strand and I am going to have to replace that too. How hard is that to thread through the conduit?

I have wondered whether it would be easier to just remove the whole steering system, glass the hole and just have a tiller

Lot of mucking around for what a hunk a wood (tiller) could do.

[Alan Wheeler]

I would try the reducing fitting. Epoxy will not adhere to nylon.
I imagine the SST cable would come with the sheath. It will be probably and Edson version of a Morse cable. However, it should be simple enough to thread another through. What diameter and strand count is it? I may have spare cable here. looks like you might have to come over for a maintanance weekend :-)
Don't fret Darryl, you still have $150 to spend on trial skin fittings trying to find something cheap that'll work and still remain cheaper than the original. ;-)

[seafox]

I have not measured the diameter but looking at the Edson site I think it is stainless 9x19 1/4inch or 6.35mm. All the USA stuff is imperial. Can we buy that here or is our cable all metric? I suppose a 6mm would still go through the conduit. How hard it is going to be to feed new cable through the conduit is anyones guess.

[billangiep]

seafox, I did get the epoxy to adhere after a good rough up and before it was fully cured applied the hose clamp. I only had to replace one fitting that was easily excisable on a bulkhead. The conduit was sold separately from the cable. I replaced both cables and used 1/4 cable, (not from Edson, had a rigging shop fabricate a thimbled eye on each cable using two barrel sleeves each.) lightly taping the ends and it slid in with little problems. My helm was a pilot house design, mounted on a bulkhead with cabling to the Quadrant.
Bill,
P.S. cost of two cables and fittings plus tru hull was less that $20
Edson wanted $125 for one cable!!

[billangiep]

seafox, I have a "genuine Edson" cable (never used) thats been kicking around in the shop. I think it measures 5/16 x 20' it's yours if you can use it?
Bill,

[High Cotton]

BREAK
OUT
ANOTHER
THOUSAND

UUUUUNNNNNNNNNNN...BELIEVABLE !!!!!!

[MidLandOne]

Seafox - if you get to being desperate enough to buy one then Boat NZ in Christchurch have the Edson conduit end fitting listed at $53.52 incl GST.

It maybe there are several sizes and this is a smaller one than yours but when look at the conduit it goes with looks like it fits a 3/4 inch conduit.

Also may be a pricing error.

Boat Marine Mail Agencies - boat chandler sailing yacht look for item 19702.

[seafox]

thanks Bill, mine is the 6mm or 1/4 inch and are about 16 foot long each. Kind of you to offer I should be able to get a rigger to make me up two lengths with an eye in the end of each one. Not much room for even a thimble in the quadrant end though. I have to fit the two cable clamps between the tensioning eye and end of the quadrant otherwise the clamp hits the inside of the transom on full lock. I see on the Edson site they have drawn it without a thimble on the quadrant end.


Midlandone, thanks also. I have sent some emails off to Boat NZ. I will probably use my home made conduit ends on the quadrant bulkhead as they are easy to replace and I can keep my eye on them. On the two end fittings in the pedal stool I will buy some of the ones from Boat NZ.

[Alan Wheeler]

Darryl, Andy at Boat NZ is a good friend of mine. Would you pop a small note at the bottom of your text saying I said Hi. I haven't seen him for awhile and must catch up sometime.