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OK all! Please Help me out here. We went out on our 97 Mac X for the first time and had fun overall...However... The aftermarket steering system is garbage! The and would bind and literally torque the bar.T There is a linkage going directly from the front of the outboard to the front bracket of the right rudder(pics will follow as soon as I figure it out). Anywho... It bends and I am thinking of making my own set up. Feel free to send me ideas. Also my right rudder sank while the left floated...whats up with that???? Any help would be awesome.

Cheers,
Ben

Does the come with "pull down" lines for the rudders like the has?

Sorry, can't help with the steering issues.

Good luck.

Cheers,
Jim

Sure do....One problem down one to go! Thanks Jim!

Ben

The rudders should have holes in them to let them fill with water, then they sink. If the boat is on land for a while, you can get bugs building nest which will plug the holes.

Mud daubers and yellow jackets I do by hand, bald faced hornets (actually vespula as well) I use Agent Orange.

I have a 1997 Mac 26X also. I LOVE my boat.

Check and see if someone has stepped on the aluminum rudder mounts - bending them (and they bend easily) so that they scrap the fiberglass instead of being clear of it. It affects your steering. Doesn't do the fiberglass any good either.

Rudders should have lines running to them. Use them to tie the rudders in the down position and in the up position. Rudders (I made this mistake first time) should not be left loose.

Pay attention to your swing keel. When it's down, steering is much more effective.

Water ballast - make sure it's full unless you are not sailing.

Benmcgov wrote:OK all! Please Help me out here. We went out on our 97 Mac X for the first time and had fun overall...However... The aftermarket steering system is garbage! The and would bind and literally torque the bar.T There is a linkage going directly from the front of the outboard to the front bracket of the right rudder(pics will follow as soon as I figure it out). Anywho... It bends and I am thinking of making my own set up. Feel free to send me ideas. Also my right rudder sank while the left floated...whats up with that???? Any help would be awesome.

Cheers,
Ben

If you're going to replace the steering anyway, consider going Hydraulic. For <$500, you can put in a Baystar system the way Crikey did and have exceptionally precise steering that will never have any of these mechanical linkage issues. Search his post on it. I'm going to do it at the first sign of trouble with my (new) factory system.

Make sure the rack and pinion box on the stock Detmar steering never gets loose and it will last a long time. I'm going on close to 12 years now with mine and it still works fine. Oh, and also, you need to grease the steering cable every 6-12 months where it comes out at the outboard too..otherwise these cables will sieze up in the elements. I'm also still on my original stock steering cable too...preventive maintenance is the key!

Thanks everyone for all the great pointers! I was able to find the problem. When the previous owner had the boat he had hydraulic steering put in the linkage going to the rudders was not properly addressed. I made my own today out of 1/4 stainless and I'll let you guys know how it holds up. Also the hole in the left rudder appears to have a mud duaber nest in it(good looking out Catigale)!