Problem with old Goiot wheel steering

[txg]

Two days ago we started our trip from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria down to the Cape Verdes. When going downwind fast in about 35kn of wind and therefore a lot of pressure on the helm, we noticed a squeaking noise coming from the steering system and therefore decided to head back to Pasito Blanco to find the problem.

Yesterday i had a close look at the whole system and found out that one of the pulleys for the steering cable was misaligned, probably it has been like this from the factory since 1978 according to the paint over it.

It was no big deal to align the pulley correctly but while doing this i found out that the plastic wheel is a little bit wobbly, when pulling on the end of it i can move it about 5mm to each direction. This probably happened due to the sideways loading on it.

Now i'm thinking about what to do. I can't find replacement parts for this steering system on the internet, so my idea was to take out the pulleys (if we start work on it we will do it on all four and not only the most wornout one), hopefully find some steel workshop nearby, have the hole in the plastic widened with a lathe and have a brass bushing pressed in. Probably this should be better than new.

Do you think this is a good solution or do you have any other idea or has someone experienced the same problem?

Thanks!

[UNCIVILIZED]

I'd be very, very tempted to switch to bronze sheaves instead of plastic, given the criticality of their function. That along with taking a long, hard look at the emergency steering setup. Including some significant real world tests. Ditto on your emergency rudder.

It would also be a good time to see if any upgrades should, or can, be made to any other components in the steering system. Given that it'll be torn apart in order to service the sheaves.

[Tailwheel]

Either solution would work, but I agree with Uncivilized on this: the bronze sheave would be more durable.

[Time2Go]

Try this company they can repair or make parts
and might even have a drop in replacement

Zephyrwerks.com

Cheers
Neil

[txg]

I was able to take the wobbly sheave apart and it looks like the sideways load not only put wear on the sheave but also on the shaft.

Upgrading to bronze would be nice, but we are a little bit in a hurry to get going and also currently on an island (Gran Canaria) where it is probably impossible to get a fitting bronze sheave, especially with the worn shaft problem. Also, these sheaves look quite massive and up to the task to me.

The shaft is 20mm, so my idea would be to have the shafts milled down to 18mm and the sheaves up to 22mm to fit a brass bearing. Or is brass not appropriate for the aluminum shaft?

[Steven UK]

Take a look at igus.com they specialise in plastic bushes and do keep stock. The wear on the shaft is not significant when thinking about the speed of the pulley, I.e ignore it may be an option. A simple hand reamer may get the pulley to the id you require and is easily self centred. You may also have more luck getting new shafts made locall as they look pretty simple, or build them up and remachine.

Also it does not look like there will be a catastrophic failure anytime soon and you should have an emergency tiller. You could order new parts and have them meet you somewhere.

Good luck.

[UNCIVILIZED]

I can't help but wonder if that boat which sank in the ARC was in a hurry to leave as well? And there are a lot of boats which were abandoned due to losing their steering. Or to the cascade failures that occurred due to it's failing.

In terms of turning down the axles, or opening up the holes in the current sheaves, I'd be concerned about maintaining proper wall thickness. Especially given the design of the current sheaves. This applies to bearing inserts as well.

As to sheave availability, & lead/delivery times. Usually it's not tough to find them on someone's shelves. And even if they're not, turning a few on a lathe, to custom spec's doesn't take that long. Nor should it be especially complex. So odds are you can find a shop that can build you a new set, plus a spare or two, in at most a day. Ask around.

[txg]

That's a wide range of answers, from "leave it like it is for now and repair another time" to "exchange all the sheaves".

I think these sheaves are quite okay, we sailed this boat in up to 55 knots and never had a problem until the recent one came up.

I had a look at the five other sheaves and shafts and they all show only very minor wear. The sheave that was on the worn shaft also seems to work much better when on another shaft. So currently i tend to just replace or repair the worn shaft. Will hopefully be able to talk to the metalworks guy tomorrow.

[jimbunyard]

Or you could just get 6 SS bolts the same size and length (plus a bit for a washer) as the threaded portion of the 'shaft' and have an appropriately sized piece of bronze, brass, SS, plastic or aluminum rod center-drilled and cut into 6 pieces and put them into spares to be replaced as needed...cost should be about the same for 1 as for six, it's the setup that takes the time.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by txg

... I think these sheaves are quite okay, we sailed this boat in up to 55 knots and never had a problem until the recent one came up ...

Doesn't that suggest an answer?
Often, things are OK, until they're not.

[txg]

Originally Posted by GordMay

Doesn't that suggest an answer?
Often, things are OK, until they're not.

That helps a lot

As i wrote in the first post and as can be clearly seen in the image that i posted of the shaft, the problem resulted due to sideways loading of the sheave, which i already corrected.

Today i found a nice workshop below a nearby shopping mall, and he will make me two (so i have one as a spare) new shafts for a nice price. So hopefully we will be ready to go again on wednesday.