TOPIC: help with cable steering system

Boater swap meet is the best!first time i went to one and got what i want all for $50 but don,t know what to do with it?i got my control all figure out now and thanks for the helping me with that.Now steering system can someone help me with a drawing or some pic so i can understand how all of this work.thanks

Go to the Classic Boathouse web site. Click on forum and then on boat shop and you will find an article on setting up cable steering with a picture. Clint

Been through the same thing. Here's one I copied off iboats.com

Commander
Great find for 50!
I can't help you with the drawings: don't know where they have been moved to. I used to have a couple of some different steering designs on an old computer, but don't know where those are either.

I can offer a helpful tip.
Once you have seen the drawings and figure out which system you intend to use.
Figure out how much cable you'll need plus some extra.
Cut it off that roll.
Then stretch the cable out in the sun on the ground and let sit for awhile.
This will help relieve the tension in the cable and it's tendency to coil back up.
It even helps to attach one end to something and "roll the cable thru your fingers with some pressure to get the "twist" out of it.
Do this a couple of times.

Also, keep in mind, once you have set up your system:
leave a little extra cable where you cut it off to be able to grab it and adjust it again for tension.
In other words, once you have used it for a little while, the new cable will have a tendency to flex and lengthen a little. You will want to watch it closely for the first few runs. The steering will get a little sloppy. If those first few runs are going to be on an extended day at the lake, bring the tools necessary to adjust it with you.

regards
lar

I'll toss in a couple tips to add to the excellent responses above -

The spool/drum on these is usually one of two types. Most often, the drum has 2 smooth spools with a center divider between the two. There is another style that has a groove cut/cast into the spool that the cable winds on.

In mose cases, there will be holes drilled through the cable drum, right between the two spool areas. This is where the cable feeds through.

Once you determine the cable length you need, (leave a couple feet extra) cut it and tape the cut ends of the cable together with a bit of electrical tape. Find the mid point (1/2 way) of the cable between the cut ends. Mark the mid point with a short shot of spray paint or with a sharpie laundry marker. Do not cut the cable. Remove the tape you previously put on the cut ends.

Feed the cut ends of the cable through the holes in the steering cable drum from the INSIDE of the drum, feeding each end through a hole between the two spools. Check to see that the center of the cable (that you previously marked) Is located properly between the two spools. You will now have an equal amount of cable to wind on the hub for Port & Starboard.

Keep in mind that when you get things all hooked up, that the motor must turn the opposite direction than what the steering wheel is turned. (wheel clockwise = motor counter clockwise) If not, the boat will turn the wrong way & you will have to remove the setup & re wind it again.

this will not work,the Delmar interior is a walk through type and the cable can,t go across.

commander wrote:

this will not work,the Delmar interior is a walk through type and the cable can,t go across.

My '65 razorback cabin cruiser had cable and pully steering. Both cables ran down the right hand side of the boat and then one passed all the way over to the left side under the splash well and looped back to the engine. Wish I had taken some pics of it now. I think my first Redfish Oceanic cruiser was the same way too.

Commander,Try this

I don't think that the both can come off the same side of the pulley. one has to be top and one bottom. One has to pay out as the other takes up. if they are on the same side it won't maintain tension.

both off the bottom is best, especially if your using the thru hull pulleys reduces side play binding, pulleys are at the same height ...there is another reason that escapes me at the moment
but the hydro racers pointed out my mistake coming off the top & bottom of the drum..it may not matter coming off the top in this application & it probably must go in different directions for both to come of the bottom, I wish I could remember why I was told by a few different sources
my hydros are setup cables off the bottom ( in different directions though), so it does in fact work,

commander, you can still use the config in the drawing, but in this case since both cables run on one side make the cable come from top & bottom of the steering drum