Steering lock for shaft-type system

[Kelpie]

I have no steering lock on my centre-cockpit, shaft-type steering system. At present this is just a nuisance- we have to spend time lashing the wheel amidships, and if conditions are a bit poor the steering gear can grind away underneath our bunk unless we eliminate all movement completely. We are installing a Hydrovane and will need a better way of adjusting and locking the helm in future.

I don't want to reinvent the wheel, so what kind of device could we use as a lock? I'm thinking of some sort of tube clamp, fitted inside the pedestal, with a length of threaded rod coming out of a hole in the pedestal, and a knurled knob on the end. Main concerns are whether I can get the pedestal open without shearing bolts, how to secure the clamp, and how to prevent rainwater getting inside after I've drilled a hole.

Alternatively I have very good access to the sterring shaft inside the engine bay, and could easily fit something there, but it would be a bit tricky to set up a way of controlling it remotely- possibly a knob inside the cockpit locker, which isn't really ideal, but better than nothing.

 

[Goldie]

Hi Kelpie,

We do have a steering lock on our Edson steering, but it’s not great. What we use when locking the wheel for the Hydrovane is a wheel drum as normally used for a servo-pendulum vane gear which of course, uses lines to the wheel drum to turn the wheel. The drum is mounted on the wheel in the normal way but instead of steering lines, the lines are secured to a strong point on the sole below the wheel. This locks the drum and when the drum is locked to the wheel, the wheel is locked too. This also has the advantage that rudder angle can be fine-tuned by un-clutching the drum, rotating the wheel a few degrees and the re-engaging the clutch. Perfect.

I originally used a drum from a Monitor as this could be mounted forward of the wheel (around the shaft) and thus didn’t reduce the available space aft of the wheel. This worked a treat but the disadvantage was that my wife found it difficult to push and turn the spring mounted pin which engaged/disengaged the drum.

There was a post on the For Sale Forum here, linking to an ad’ on the OCC website for wheel drums originally built for the Clearway Autosteer but now built and marketed by Hydra and Trailer Marine in St Austell. I bought one of these and fitted it as it‘s much easier to use but having fitted it earlier this year, I haven’t been able to sail with it yet although I have no doubt that it will work well. The down side is that it needs to be fitted on the aft side of the wheel which, although access is easier, takes space.

When I’m allowed to go to the boat, I could take pics if required.

The Clearway drums can (or could then) be seen at trailermarineonline.co.uk/webshop/hydra-auto-steer-systems/ at a new price of £567 BUT, the original owner of the design is selling off his surplus stock at £50 (plus postage) each if he has any left (he had some when I bought a few months ago).

If interested, PM me for his email address.

Edit: if you search for Clearway on the For Sale forum, it comes up with the original post including an email address.

Edit 2: I’ve just had a look and whilst the price is there with Trailer Marine, I can’t see any pics of the drum.

Edit 3: I’ve found a pic of my new drum being offered up. The Monitor drum with the blue Dyneema on (now removed) is just visible behind.