70% Steering solution for Mac26x
Posted: Wed Sep 19, 2012 7:30 pm
I haven't figured out how to put pics in this listing yet 
but I also put this in the Mods section under 'Motor' and 'Exterior' with pictures. 
Our 1998 26x
is new to us this year, the steering is execrable. Perhaps mine is a particularly bad example. Terrible. 
There is so much slop that one could move the wheel 90 degrees with no change in steering behavior. This created a condition where you are sawing the wheel back and forth in large arcs to get any kind of steering control. 
A friend of mine and I decided to look it over and arrive at a 70% solution so we could quickly continue to motor/sail. Many of the problems with the steering system (dare I say it), are designed in. In all places, bare threads are mating with bare drilled holes or tube, all of these mating surfaces are sloppy. Moreover, this condition generates fretting - or aggressive mutual wear of the surfaces. There was a huge amount of slop at every bearing point in this system, creating a "slop stackup" of amazing proportions. I wonder how many 26x boats are like this?
Life is short, the admiral has asked when we are heading out again, so basically we decided to tighten up the existing system (drop the pencil!, step away from the drawing board!).
Starting at the steering output flex shaft where it exits the starboard side we drilled out the bolt in the hull mounted pivot, and went next size up. Then we added a Polyethylene (PE) pivot face washer and fitted the pivoting arm with an Oillite bronze bushing. In all cases throughout this small project we spec'd SS bolts with shanks long enough that all mating surfaces were not touching bare thread. this required cutting down the excess thread length in most cases. All bushings are oil impregnated bronze bushings, for all pivoting faces contact we fabricated PE washers from flat polyethylene sheet of varying thicknesses. Most materials purchased through McMaster-Carr.
At the connection to the Boomerang yoke we ground off the original fastener (it was all thread-no shank) and drilled and bushed on both sides of the yoke tube - and installed a new shanked bolt.
At the boomerang yoke ends MacGregor welded in a thin walled through-tube for the pivot bolt to pass through. You can't bush it. the hole was soooo sloppy and one of the big slop culprits. We had to cut off the ends. We then turned and welded in a 1" SS plug with a press fitted bolt and attached SS Heim joints.
At the outboard pushrod the threads were tired and a very short nut was used, so an extended piece was welded in with surer purchase on this rotating portion
New bolts through the rudder pivot ends and large PE washers at the pivoting rudder faces (stole that idea from a poster on this site). Bushed both ends of the engine steering gear. Left the gudgeon pivot pins for later (forgot to source them).
The difference after taking it out was amazing! Smoooooth, with very limited slop. A "night and day", "order of magnitude fix", says one reviewer. While there is a bit of slop left (from the rack and pinion mostly) it is not noticeable under power, this boat is now a pleasure to steer.
Material cost for everything including a special .368" reamer for the press fitted through-bolt about $200. Special tools: metal lathe, tig welder, standard reamers (1/2"). Admiral's willingness to now steer the boat- priceless.
but I also put this in the Mods section under 'Motor' and 'Exterior' with pictures. Our 1998 26x
is new to us this year, the steering is execrable. Perhaps mine is a particularly bad example. Terrible. There is so much slop that one could move the wheel 90 degrees with no change in steering behavior. This created a condition where you are sawing the wheel back and forth in large arcs to get any kind of steering control. A friend of mine and I decided to look it over and arrive at a 70% solution so we could quickly continue to motor/sail. Many of the problems with the steering system (dare I say it), are designed in. In all places, bare threads are mating with bare drilled holes or tube, all of these mating surfaces are sloppy. Moreover, this condition generates fretting - or aggressive mutual wear of the surfaces. There was a huge amount of slop at every bearing point in this system, creating a "slop stackup" of amazing proportions. I wonder how many 26x boats are like this?
Life is short, the admiral has asked when we are heading out again, so basically we decided to tighten up the existing system (drop the pencil!, step away from the drawing board!).
Starting at the steering output flex shaft where it exits the starboard side we drilled out the bolt in the hull mounted pivot, and went next size up. Then we added a Polyethylene (PE) pivot face washer and fitted the pivoting arm with an Oillite bronze bushing. In all cases throughout this small project we spec'd SS bolts with shanks long enough that all mating surfaces were not touching bare thread. this required cutting down the excess thread length in most cases. All bushings are oil impregnated bronze bushings, for all pivoting faces contact we fabricated PE washers from flat polyethylene sheet of varying thicknesses. Most materials purchased through McMaster-Carr.
At the connection to the Boomerang yoke we ground off the original fastener (it was all thread-no shank) and drilled and bushed on both sides of the yoke tube - and installed a new shanked bolt.
At the boomerang yoke ends MacGregor welded in a thin walled through-tube for the pivot bolt to pass through. You can't bush it. the hole was soooo sloppy and one of the big slop culprits. We had to cut off the ends. We then turned and welded in a 1" SS plug with a press fitted bolt and attached SS Heim joints.
At the outboard pushrod the threads were tired and a very short nut was used, so an extended piece was welded in with surer purchase on this rotating portion
New bolts through the rudder pivot ends and large PE washers at the pivoting rudder faces (stole that idea from a poster on this site). Bushed both ends of the engine steering gear. Left the gudgeon pivot pins for later (forgot to source them).
The difference after taking it out was amazing! Smoooooth, with very limited slop. A "night and day", "order of magnitude fix", says one reviewer. While there is a bit of slop left (from the rack and pinion mostly) it is not noticeable under power, this boat is now a pleasure to steer.
Material cost for everything including a special .368" reamer for the press fitted through-bolt about $200. Special tools: metal lathe, tig welder, standard reamers (1/2"). Admiral's willingness to now steer the boat- priceless.
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