Twin wheel trouble
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phanakapan
Well-Known Member
Whilst we’re telling steering problem stories....
Four come to mind. 1st one, busy weekend, breezy Solent, near Cowes, in a centre cockpit Moody 33 mk II- bowling along, probably too much sail up, loads of boats around- wheel suddenly freely spinning with no steering. Quick panic, (relatively novice myself then) - then remember that an emergency tiller existed- and where it was. Popped it in top of the rudder stock, problem sorted.... except that to steer you had to be down in the aft cabin, and the tiller had limited manoeuvrability between the two bunks, and you couldn’t see out! So someone had to be in the cockpit shouting instructions and waving arms to the ‘blind’ helm. Dropped sails, engine on, and somehow we made it from Osborne Bay up to Island Harbour Marina and in through the lock with our voice activated auto pilot!
2nd time, 1st day of delivery trip on our new-to-us Van de Stadt; reversing out of a slip into a very tight channel in a busy marina, again on a breezy day, again wheel spinning and no steerage.... this time the centre boss wheel nut had simply come loose,thankfully we spotted it seconds before we got swept sideways into a row of moored up boats. We always add ‘got steering?’ to our pre- untying- the -lines -checklist now! Luckily it’s easy to check, as although we are wheel steered from a center cockpit, we also have a little residual tiller about 35cm long, on top of the aft cabin; the Aries lines work on this tiller, and there is a pole that extends it for emergency use. Which we needed when the cables snapped mid ocean, right up inside the steering column. That took ages ( a day?) to diagnose and fix, which we did eventually by using some guardrail wire, some sheaves, and some wire clamps.
At least we knew what the problem was and how to work round it- which came in useful and the end of that particular leg. We were coming into a really busy anchorage in Prickly Bay Grenada, proud as punch that we were joining the dots and completing our world circumnavigation. We had announced our arrival on the radio net, had tooted our foghorn to all and sundry, were dressed overall, looked like the whole anchorage were on deck cheering and waving at us... and with all eyes on us, we realised just when we were rounding up to drop the anchor in the one remaining (tight) space that the steering had gone again!! Whipped out the tiller extension cool as a cucumber but it was very nearly extremely embarrassing!!!!
Four come to mind. 1st one, busy weekend, breezy Solent, near Cowes, in a centre cockpit Moody 33 mk II- bowling along, probably too much sail up, loads of boats around- wheel suddenly freely spinning with no steering. Quick panic, (relatively novice myself then) - then remember that an emergency tiller existed- and where it was. Popped it in top of the rudder stock, problem sorted.... except that to steer you had to be down in the aft cabin, and the tiller had limited manoeuvrability between the two bunks, and you couldn’t see out! So someone had to be in the cockpit shouting instructions and waving arms to the ‘blind’ helm. Dropped sails, engine on, and somehow we made it from Osborne Bay up to Island Harbour Marina and in through the lock with our voice activated auto pilot!
2nd time, 1st day of delivery trip on our new-to-us Van de Stadt; reversing out of a slip into a very tight channel in a busy marina, again on a breezy day, again wheel spinning and no steerage.... this time the centre boss wheel nut had simply come loose,thankfully we spotted it seconds before we got swept sideways into a row of moored up boats. We always add ‘got steering?’ to our pre- untying- the -lines -checklist now! Luckily it’s easy to check, as although we are wheel steered from a center cockpit, we also have a little residual tiller about 35cm long, on top of the aft cabin; the Aries lines work on this tiller, and there is a pole that extends it for emergency use. Which we needed when the cables snapped mid ocean, right up inside the steering column. That took ages ( a day?) to diagnose and fix, which we did eventually by using some guardrail wire, some sheaves, and some wire clamps.
At least we knew what the problem was and how to work round it- which came in useful and the end of that particular leg. We were coming into a really busy anchorage in Prickly Bay Grenada, proud as punch that we were joining the dots and completing our world circumnavigation. We had announced our arrival on the radio net, had tooted our foghorn to all and sundry, were dressed overall, looked like the whole anchorage were on deck cheering and waving at us... and with all eyes on us, we realised just when we were rounding up to drop the anchor in the one remaining (tight) space that the steering had gone again!! Whipped out the tiller extension cool as a cucumber but it was very nearly extremely embarrassing!!!!