Steering

[chadwiseman]

I find the steering a little stiff in my 26x. Is there somewhere obvious to grease? Also when the rudders are up so you keep them up with just the rope or use a bungee ? Does anyone union the motor or rudders when steering with one or the other rather than turn all 3?

[dlandersson]

I use marine lubricant on my steering cables.
I keep my rudders up with line.
Any time you are motoring 6+ knots you should raise your rudders and swing keel.
I'll send my bill.

I find the steering a little stiff in my 26x. Is there somewhere obvious to grease? Also when the rudders are up so you keep them up with just the rope or use a bungee ? Does anyone union the motor or rudders when steering with one or the other rather than turn all 3?

[WinSome]

Ditto the prior info.
Plus- our ‘99X’ with Honda bf50 rudders and motor are fulltime ‘unionized’! Makes for easier operating than some of the later model boats -and/or higher hp versions

[chadwiseman]

do you raise your motor during sailing (still connected)?

[chadwiseman]

also where do you lubricate the cables (under the steering column or at the rear where connected?

[WinSome]

We raise the motor during sailing. It’s still connected. Our steering still works ok.

[dlandersson]

Yes. Remove noticeable drag.

do you raise your motor during sailing (still connected)?

[OverEasy]

Regarding steering lubrication…..
When we repositioned our steering wheel assembly in the pedestal on our Mac26X we looked at the assembly and couldn’t find an obvious way to get any additional lubricant into it, For us at this time there isn’t an issue as things are still moving freely but if anyone has any suggestions on how this is to be accomplished we’re all ears!

[DaveC426913]

There are lots of reasons why steering might be stiff.

One really easy one is: are you hanking down your rudders? You really want the rudder downhauls as taut as practical.
If your rudder(s) can drift from fully deployed, you will experience a very sluggish wheel. This is very common and easily remediable.

Are your cables going through too tight a bend? This could happen is a number of places, and it depends n which cable config you have (through cockpit floor, or out side of pedestal. I assume unless you say differently, the default is through cockpit floor). Is the cable a smooth curve in the stern berth cavity? What about the loo where it exits the transom to join the steering yoke?

You might consider posting some pics of your setup. I can think of other gotchas.

By the way, your profile says you have an S.

[socalmacer]

I noticed my steering was stiffer than normal when taking out my 1996 26X this season. As the original owner I tried all the above to fix the issue. I had already done all the annual lubrication I've done over the past 25+ years. The one thing I noticed over the last couple of years was the plastic cover on the steering cable was starting to come apart in certain areas near the transom hole where the cable is run through. The makeshift cover I had put on was still in place when inspected further. After checking everything else, I decided to replace the cable with one purchased on Amazon (used the part number found on BWY website). I measured the length on my year boat and found it to be 12 feet. Upon removal of the steering cable, I notice it was in much worse shape than found during inspection. The outer cable shroud is carbon steel and was severely rusted and coming apart in many places when the out plastic cover was peel backed. As an engineer, I know from experience that once the the carbon steel material got exposed to salt water it was only a matter of time before it was going to be an issue. The new steering cable was a direct replacement and fit perfect. The steering is now much smoother and no longer stiff. The one thing I attribute to the failure of the cable is storing the outboard in the upright position which puts a lot of strain on the cable. I also noticed I have a similar issue with the throttle and shifting cables where the plastic cover is now coming off! I am watching this very closely as this could be a real issue if these cables fail! These cables are also under a lot of stress when the outboard motor is stored upright.

Any way, good luck with this!!!!

[green]

I noticed my steering was stiffer than normal when taking out my 1996 26X this season. As the original owner I tried all the above to fix the issue. I had already done all the annual lubrication I've done over the past 25+ years. The one thing I noticed over the last couple of years was the plastic cover on the steering cable was starting to come apart in certain areas near the transom hole where the cable is run through. The makeshift cover I had put on was still in place when inspected further. After checking everything else, I decided to replace the cable with one purchased on Amazon (used the part number found on BWY website). I measured the length on my year boat and found it to be 12 feet. Upon removal of the steering cable, I notice it was in much worse shape than found during inspection. The outer cable shroud is carbon steel and was severely rusted and coming apart in many places when the out plastic cover was peel backed. As an engineer, I know from experience that once the the carbon steel material got exposed to salt water it was only a matter of time before it was going to be an issue. The new steering cable was a direct replacement and fit perfect. The steering is now much smoother and no longer stiff. The one thing I attribute to the failure of the cable is storing the outboard in the upright position which puts a lot of strain on the cable. I also noticed I have a similar issue with the throttle and shifting cables where the plastic cover is now coming off! I am watching this very closely as this could be a real issue if these cables fail! These cables are also under a lot of stress when the outboard motor is stored upright.

Any way, good luck with this!!!!

Would you happen to have any photos? This is my second season with my boat and I’m not familiar with the lubrication you mentioned or the cable you replaced. I’m tackling issues one by one and stiff steering is one of the next.

[OverEasy]

Hi Chadwiseman!

We also have a Mac26X (circa 2001).
Our steering cable routes down through the floor within the pedestal into the aft berth ceiling then back to the starboard corner inner side wall to face the side of the engine. All the curves are more than 15x the diameter of the outer jacket of the steering cable.
There is a hard SST shaft that protrudes from the end of the cable that connects to the steering cross bar.
We don’t incur any pinch or twist or strain on our steering cable whether the engine is up or down. We have always thought the this was the factory SOP arrangement….

Is yours different???
Could you provide a photo of your setup to the engine?

The only stresses we incur with the engine in the up position is that of the engine electrical cables, not the steering cable.
We’ve minimized the electrical engine cable strains by playing around routing those electrical cables to minimize pinching in either the up or down engine position. To minimize any chafing we use some larger split sleeve cable protector and tie wraps.
(We’re currently away from our boat for the month of July but will try and send pictures when we return in August.)

Best Regards
Over Easy

[socalmacer]

Here are some pictures of the motor raised and lowered.
I would note the new steering cable was smaller in diameter which allowed me to put a clear plastic sheet (made of cut tubing) around the cable where it penetrates the transom. This should reduce the stress on the cable plastic cover when the motor is raised and lowered.

[OverEasy]

Hi Socalmacer!

Nice photos of your cable arrangements.

Our Mac26X cables are routed a little differently.
We have two separate locations…
> one for our engine control and electrical cables which is similar to yours and located on the most aft sidewall
> one for our steering cable which is located on the intermediate aft side wall

I don’t current have the opportunity to take a photo of it directly as we are currently away from our boat until mid August so I marked up where our steering cables would be in relation to yours…


Here is an interior view of our penetrations


We routed our engine control and electrical cables under the rudder steering crossover bar to minimize the potential kinking when the engine is raised to avoid the strain on the engine cables. It allowed more than twice the bend radius yours seems to exhibit.

Hope this helps….

Best Regards
Over Easy