We were coming into Barnegat Inlet. The wind was with us and the tide against us, kicking up some short steep seas. Just then as I made a hard turn to starboard, avoiding a trawler coming straight at us, the wheel came off the helm.
Just kidding. We were waiting at a marina in Forked River the past two days for a new helm to arrive. The old helm broke a bunch of teeth off one of the gears, and the steering has been pretty sloppy recenty. Yesterday the new helm arrived and I installed it.
New Teleflex Big-T helm out of the box.
Wheel, bezel (mount), and old helm.
Hole where wheel and helm used to be.
New helm installed.
If you compare the first and last picture of the new helm, you'll see that I cut off a washer in order to insert the steering cable. The new helm isn't really meant to be opened. But other than that, installation went pretty smoothly. The most difficult part was seating the cable on the gears, and rebolting the helm cover.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Look Ma, No Wheel
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5 comments:
Hello Scott & Amy,
You had us going on the helm wheel story, lol. It looks like it is raining up there, It has just started here. We were making covers for the helm and stateroom windows (my first canvas project). Finished the one for the helm window, stitching is a little crooked, but turned out ok. The rain interrupted the job.
Glad you got your steering repaired. Can you install a hose clamp and washer around the gear box shaft to remove the play you describe? Sounds like Amy's luck is just like Meg's. She always caught more (if not all) the fish when we were stinkpot boaters many years ago. How was your anchorage in the Shark River? I saw the bridge on the boatcam, and the gps has you near the bridge. By the way, we both love the boatcam, and the gps map program.
Good luck on your next passage,
Louie & Meg
Hey Lou, we anchored before the second set of bridges in Shark River. We were the only ones there and the current was pretty strong. Lots of traffic on a Saturday too.
I was debating whether to try to pass under the fixed bridge at Shark River. The documented height is 50 feet. I wonder if other Gemini owners have taken their boat under. It just seemed a little tight to me.
Scott,
I just checked my owners manual (105Mc) and it says 46 feet. Even with my antenna's I should make it. I am pretty sure your mast is 1 foot lower than a 105Mc. I just checked the charts and we have not been under a bridge lower than 60 feet. I notice in our travels not all bridges have a height gauge that shows the bridge height at different tide levels. Good luck at Hell's Gate.
Thanks Lou. When I've seen my old Gem near newer Geminis, the mast appears noticeably shorter. I think we'd have easily made it under the bridge, but it seemed like a big gamble if I was wrong.
Lots of fisherman and head boats at Shark Inlet. I saw a few people reeling in fluke (summer flounder). We had a few hard hits on the lure we were trolling yesterday, but I lost them before I was able to reel them in. I'm guessing they were striped bass. We call 'em rockfish down in the Chesapeake.
Good for people to know.
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