BigBendFishing.Net

My buddy has a circa 1978 13.5' Whaler. Steering wheel and assembly are likely original or close to it. This past Saturday, the steering started slipping. No previous issues or slippage. Just started all of a sudden. You turn the wheel and hear a slight clicking and notice that the cable to the motor is not moving, nor is the motor. Not a lot of fun in East River. It would slip for a minute, and then re-engage.

Took off the steering wheel and got to the steering helm. There are two gears inside, and both looked fine. No visible breaks, some wear. But that little booger seems by far the most likely suspect.

A new steering helm is about $100 per the West Marine catalogue. That's a lotta cabbage.

Anyone have issues like this before? Should my bud just bite the bullet and get a new steering helm?

I had a problem like that, replaced the helm , which was old, helped some but the real problem lay in the cable..you could pull the cable out and check it.
Don

Replace the entire steering assembly. It costs very little more to buy the complete kit, and replace the helm and cable. This eliminates guessing which part is worn. (Yes, that's the voice of experience)

This should help.

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog. ... rchResults

Thanks ya'll. A trip to West Marine yesterday revealed that the entire assembly only cost $20 more than the steering helm alone.

We had the steering cable snap on the way out to the Bryson last Saturday running at almost 40mph. Luckily I was holding on when the boat made the tightest possible right turn and so neither my buddy or I went flying out. Much smaller a boat and I think we may have tipped over.

I would recommend replacing everything on the steering. This could have been pretty bad.

We rode in at 10mph pushing the motor with our feet, while the other worked the throttle. Pulling up on the trailer was pretty interesting also. Actually we even stopped at a hole on the way back and caught a 40lb king.