ADVICE REGARDING ADJUSTABLE STEERING LINKAGE CRUISER 33

[ANTREVELL]

MY STEERING FELT A LITTLE SLOPPY . I FOUND THE SELFSTEERING CHAIN AND WHEEL STEERING CHAIN QUITE LOOSE IN BINACLE
I HAVE ADJUSTED THE CHAIN SO THERE IS A SMALL AMOUNT OF MOVEMENT RATHER LIKE A FAN BELT .
CAN ANYBODY ADVISE THE CORRECT TENSION OF BOTH CHAINS ONE IS MARKED RED AND THE OTHER IS BLUE

REGARDS TONY REVELL PEGATHA

[Craig]

I have had to remove the Autohelm, 3 times under warranty, and had to tighten the chains. Not a good job.

I could not find any definitive answer to how tight they should be. I did over-tighten once and found the wheel a bit stiff.

Your fan belt movement seems about right. Before putting the cover back on, turn the wheel from lock to lock to ensure you have full movement. If the chain comes off the sprocket, it can be difficult to put back on. If the chain jumps a few sprockets, the adjustment mechanism may prevent the wheel turning to full lock.

I can't remember the product I eventually used, but I originally put some nail polish on the thread to lock the nuts to stop the chain working loose. If the chain comes loose, the loose chain will fall down and jam the bottom sprocket. This has not happened to me but I know of one boat where it did happen and the rudder was locked on full turn.

Craig
"Shirley Valentine"

[battuta]

Yup, I've had similar challenges getting the tension right on my 2009 B31 Cruiser.

My experience is a little but of "floppiness" (even more than a fan belt, like 2-3 cm) on both the main and autopilot chain is best. I use blue "lock tight" to help hold the tightening mechanism in place. Also, make sure you check the tensions at different points in the turning cycle, as they can vary (don't ask me why) and one chain can infringe on the other, particularly at the point of the tightening mechanism. Also good to add this to your periodic maintenance checks.

Finally, I found spraying Teflon non-stick lube on the chain and sprockets helps the mechanism glide more smoothly.

Hope this is helpful.

Riyad
s/v "Battuta"
Vancouver, Canada

[MarkTheBike]

Thanks for the info, Battuta. I checked mine recently and felt it was tighter than a fanbelt but, not knowing any better, I left it. However, reading your post makes me think mine's been over-tightened (after dropping the rudder a couple of years ago to do the bearings) although it runs smoothly but not quite as easily as I would expect. Perhaps a 1/4 turn off each adjuster as a first move and a drop of Loc-Tite.

[Sadlerfin]

I've just purchased my Bav and only ever had a tiller before so my question is what maintenance should I be doing to the wheel and its chain?

Mine runs smooth just not sure if I should grease it or whatever.

Thanks

Derek

[ANTREVELL]

Thanks everyone for very valuable advice . Following the comments I have slackened my chains a little more as when spinning wheel the chains did touch each other . I think I now have it about right . I found very important that both autohelm and steering chain need to have the amount of tension/slackness . When I finished I ran some grease in my hand over the chains but they look like s/steel so hope they wont rust.
This is a great forum and very helpful

Regards Tony  Cruiser 33 Pegatha

[Nigel]

Please don't use all capital letters in a post, or in the subject.