1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
Dive96
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Joined: Wed Sep 09, 2020 9:59 pm

1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby Dive96 » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:27 pm

I am at a point on my 1978 13 Sport where I need to remove the engine, move it to a stand, and then remove the remaining interior parts.

First I need advice on the removal of the wire rope and pulley steering system and the tension spring at the engine. Is there a process and an easy way to do this, first to release the tension and then to start to take off the steering?

Advice would be appreciated, or if there is a write up in the manual or other place. Separately, I am planning to just take photos and notes as I remove the parts. Let me know if there is a trick or advice to removing the interior parts of a 13-footerfor a first timer. I'm concerned about making sure everything goes back in correctly and getting boat back together to its current form. Photos attached of current interior.

IMG_Rear1_CW.jpg
IMG_Rear1_CW.jpg (51.73 KiB) Viewed 2888 times
IMG_3503_Rear2_CW.jpg
IMG_3503_Rear2_CW.jpg (44.2 KiB) Viewed 2888 times
IMG_ThrottleCW.jpg
IMG_ThrottleCW.jpg (37.88 KiB) Viewed 2888 times

jimh
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby jimh » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:29 am

I do not have any first-hand actual experience with disassembly of the wire rope and pulley steering system, but if I were trying to remove it from the boat, I would proceed as follows:
  • preserve the wraps of the wire rope around the drum of the steering wheel so that they do not become loose; use gaffer's tape to hold the wraps on the drum;
  • disconnect the steering link to the engine; this should reduce the tension in the system by allowing the spring to contract;
  • leave the steering cables intact; in this way when reassembling them they will not have to be adjusted; if complete removal of the system is necessary, remove the pad eyes that hold the pulleys in place; noting any peculiarities about their location in the system to make reassembly simple

biggiefl
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby biggiefl » Tue Oct 13, 2020 11:03 am

It is not going to be fun.
On my 24th Whaler. Currently in the stable: 86 18' Outrage, 81 13' Sport(original owner), 87 11' Sport, 69 Squall(for sale cheap).

Dive96
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby Dive96 » Tue Oct 13, 2020 7:10 pm

[Removing the wire rope an pulley steering] is sounding a little daunting. I don’t see that I have any other option if I want to restore the boat.

It appears that a lot of owners replace the rope wire and pulley steering system--which I don’t want to do. Is that because it’s so hard to reinstall?

jimh
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby jimh » Wed Oct 14, 2020 7:15 am

Dive96 wrote:It appears that a lot of owners replace the rope wire and pulley steering system--which I don’t want to do. Is that because it’s so hard to reinstall?


I don't understand why you think removing the steering system is going to be particularly "so hard."

Keeping the original steering system actually sounds like a good idea, to me. The wire rope and pulley system is a nice throwback element in a restoration. I think the biggest problem with keeping the steering intact will be linking to a modern engine, if you re-powered the boat. Many small outboard engine race boats use wire rope and pulley steering, so there must be some sources for the parts and linkages.

Dive96
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby Dive96 » Wed Oct 14, 2020 1:24 pm

I just the impression from the few comments here that it would be difficult (or not fun). Other reading I have done makes the re-spooling of the cable on the steering wheel sound challenging too. Either way, I do plan to keep the original, and will post as I run into problems. Thanks

jimh
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby jimh » Wed Oct 14, 2020 1:53 pm

Dive96 wrote:I just [got] the impression from the few comments here that it would be difficult (or not fun).
I believe there was only a single comment in that regard.

I would anticipate that the portion of the wire rope that has been spooled onto the drum at the steering wheel for many decades may have taken a set and be resistant to laying in a different orientation during reassembly. That is why I suggested to preserve those wraps of wire rope on the steering wheel drum.

If you think the removal and reinstallation of the steering system will be too difficult, perhaps you could leave it in place and work around it in your refurbishment. From what I can see of the boat hull in the three illustrations above, the boat appears to be in rather good condition. I would not anticipate that you will need to completely repaint the hull and cockpit.

biggiefl
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby biggiefl » Wed Oct 14, 2020 3:19 pm

You do not have to remove all of the steering like the pulleys as you can polish around them.

If refinishing the wood, the majority of cable needs to be removed as you can see where the cable exits the console and goes through pulleys in the side wood. In order to remove the console you will need to remove the cable from the helm and then later respool it. You may however be able to disconnect everything and remove the console, side piece, and the entire steering in one piece. If possible, that would be my attack plan.

With the right amount of pictures and notes it should go back together much easier.

Personally with a 42year old system, you may want to use new cable but that really depends on condition. If there is any coating missing from the wire rope I would probably replace the wire rope.

Replacing with a newer style steering will bring new challenges as well as there is no steering tube so a bracket would need to be installed. I would keep the original setup until you repower.

Again, it is not going to be fun but what can you do?
On my 24th Whaler. Currently in the stable: 86 18' Outrage, 81 13' Sport(original owner), 87 11' Sport, 69 Squall(for sale cheap).

MarkCz
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Re: 1978 SPORT 13 Dismantling Steering System

Postby MarkCz » Thu Oct 15, 2020 12:14 pm

I had removed the cable and pulleys from a similar vintage SPORT 13 for a few years when I was using a 9.9-HP two-strokeppower-cycle tiller-steering engine on a local lake. Eventually they allowed motors up to 20-HP to be used, and I reinstalled the pulleys and bought new cable and clamps. Since I never removed the helm it was not too hard to reinstall the parts, maybe a few hours. Take pictures before removing anything and you should be okay--if your reasonably handy.