BWY Steering Quick Disconnect

[Tomfoolery]

You can go fishing, water skiing , scuba diving and sailing.

Don't forget wakeboarding. I literally just got back from a nice evening pulling my 19 year old son around on a wakeboard, then bobbing around while we ate, then took some higher speed runs to one of my old haunts, then back home as the sun was setting. Came into the river with navigation lights on, and 80 degree, clear weather. Got a lot of funny looks from folks who, I'm guessing, were trying to figure out why a sailboat was going so fast, but that's just part of the fun.

Now I have to seriously look into adding the quick disconnect, as there just isn't much feel from the wheel when under sail power.

[TFlight]

Safety-wire the snap-ring

For those of you that have the BWY Steering quick disconnect you might consider safety-wire on the snap-ring at the disconnect.

I was reconnecting the steering in wavy conditions when the snap-ring came off along with the coupler , fortunately I had all the part still in my hand and was able to put it all back together.

[RobertB]

Problem with alignment
I just installed the BWY steering QD setup on a late model with the ETEC 60. Easy to do, solid design but one real problem. If the motor is installed so it points straight back when parked (on the motorwell mounted bracket, not connected to the rudders, where the BWY setup is at minimum length) the motor is then out of alignment with the rudders when connected to the steering linkage. In fact, the motor can not be aligned with the rudders without shortening the linkage rod supplied with the kit. In this case, could then adjust the parked location by moving the bracket mounted in the motorwell (new hole). Or make a new bracket to instal in the motorwell.

Has anyone found a way to make an adjustment to the rudder to motor alignment that does not involve the motor steering linkage? Keep in mind that the stock linkage is not adjustable. The only method I have seen is to use a pipe bender to the steering linkage tube that BWY supplies to replace the stock one with - not a method I want to pursue.

Does it even matter? Not an issue when motor is out of water and sailing. Not an issue when rudders are raised and motoring. Only an issue when motoring with rudders down.

[Russ]

A photo might really help.

Mine (installed by BWY at the dealer) works flawlessly with rudders or not.


--Russ

[yukonbob]

A photo might really help.

Mine (installed by BWY at the dealer) works flawlessly with rudders or not.


--Russ

Same here

[RobertB]

This photo shows the motor parked straight ahead. The rudders are also straight ahead. Note the offset between the two steering link ball mounts. The linkgage is also at it's shortest, I can cut it and thread it further if needed.

Proper fix I believe would be to shorten the link to align motor and rudders and then extend the parking location with a bar bolted to the BWY supplied mounting bracket.

Other approach, leave it as is and accept that the only time this will matter is when I am running motor and rudders together which is rare.

[Russ]

Yes, the picture helps.

Looks like you've got it mounted correctly. My guess is that your steering linkage to the rudders is out of alignment. I don't know how to fix that. I'll have to take a ride out and check on my boat to see how it looks. Maybe something inside behind the aft berth needs to be adjusted.

I ALWAYS dock with rudders and motor attached to steering. It really gives a lot more control.

--Russ

[Highlander]

I beleive this can be corrected by bending the center link under the aft berth !

J

[seahouse]

I would concur with you Robert - there is no other way around it – you need to both shorten your added linkage, and move the mounted ball over with either another mounting hole on the boat (best), or an offset-increasing extension bracket (OK).

You might be able to drill another hole (within the pocket created by the two welded-in gussets) to get more offset between the ball and the mounting bolt, but I doubt it would get you the distance you need.

You will reduce your steering range or render it asymmetric if you bend the “L” shaped bracket (it would need to be to a more obtuse angle than the right angle it’s at now) under the aft berth. For a small tweak that would work, but I think your distance is too large to adjust that way. It would have the same effect as moving the ball over on the steering tube, and cutting the end off – reduced steering range in that direction.

Though not fresh in my mind, I’ve studied this in preparation to do this mod myself, but haven’t bought one yet because of just this issue. I can make a perfect arrangement from scratch, and avoid the hassles associated with buying a new one that needs to be reworked.

But I haven’t done it yet, and you have. (almost)

Regards - Brian.

[raycarlson]

this is just one more reminder of the semi-sloppy engineering of the Mac.first you need to make sure you LH-RH rudders are aligned with eachother,mine were off by a good 20 degrees. then move on to aligning them with the motor, a good source for the parts you get from BWY is a place called Midcoast supply they have thousands of ball joint combinations at half the price.next you can work on getting the full arc of steering from lock to lock so it is equal from full left lock to full right lock, that's a little bit tougher job,originally mine would turn twice as far to the left as it would to the right..