Engine control cables in a Mark II

[patchwork]

I may have created my problem with heavy-handed use of forward-reverse when trying to back into a berth in windy conditions. The problem is that the pedestal gear lever (port side on binnacle) on Patchwork (C34 Mk II, hull 1437) stops in contact with the instruments frame connected to the pedestal, without sufficient cable throw to engage forward gear. There is insufficient adjustment at the engine end of the cable (and a rather feeble looking ball-mounted attachment to the transmission shift lever at right angle to the cable). There also seems to be insufficient adjustment in the cable length inside the pedestal. With a view to either replacing the cable, adjusting at the binnacle end, or shifting the cable relative to its clamps to gain more throw in the forward gear direction, I started the cable demount as described by M & T Vaccaro (September 2004) and the Edson download. Two issues have emerged that have me stumped at present. The steering wheel will not come off - I have bent and broken the bolts in my gear-wheel puller. I will try a heat gun on the boss when I have repaired the wheel puller. But also, being large and physically in-articulate, I cannot access the steering cables for slackening (so to be able to lift the steering chain out of the way of the cables clamp inside the pedestal), either from the Lazarette approach, or from the aft cabin approach. I could hire a small person (while I am in dock), who could access the quadrant, but I would be glad of advice and opinion on dealing with this situation.

[Wayne]

A few years ago I had a yard do some work inside the binnacle, and when I picked up the boat it wouldn't shift properly into gear.  It turned out that there was a screw pretty far down in the binnacle that had come loose; all this screw did was to hold the cable in place, but without it there was too much slack in the cable.  Just another possibility . . .

[Stu Jackson]

A friend who used to own #242 had trouble getting his wheel off with a small puller and broke it.  He got a big momma puller and it worked.  Once off, grease the shaft before you put it back on.

The C34 Tech wiki has a ton of engine info, like this:

http://www.c34.org/wiki/images/9/9f/TransmissionCable.pdf

In general, the solutions skippers have used are those or bending, very slightly, the shift lever itself.

Good luck.

[patchwork]

Thanks for your comments Wayne and Stu,
I have put everything back together in the binnacle, so at least I have learned to replace the gear and throttle cables. I am thinking that straightening the gear lever would give full throw to the transmission, to engage forward gear. Should I heat the lever with a blow torch and squeeze it a bit in a vice?

[Ron Hill]

Patch : I did some straightening of my shift lever, but used a hydraulic press. Easy does it!
I'm afraid if you heat the stainless it might discolor and make sure that it is cushioned so you don't scar it - as stainless is somewhat soft.

A few thoughts

[Footloose]

Patch

I heated mine with a torch and as Ron said is does discolor the stainless.  Fortunately you ca polish it back to the original without much elbow grease.  Stainless is self healing.