Hi there I performed the idler plate and sheave replacement project last year on our 1990 C&C 34 +. We now have a stainless-steel idler plate and reconditioned sheaves.
The four base bolts on our model self-tap into nuts fixed into the floor of the cockpit. I had to however cut an access hole in the liner of the aft cabin to access the binnacle guard "feet" holders. when doing this I cut it rectangular and then screwed the cut-out piece to a teak picture frame that i made and then this mounts to the head liner of aft cabin to look original. Four critical points I learned were: 1. Thickness of the current aluminum idler plates stocked by Edson is much thicker than the original. This is one reason why I went with customer Stainless steel plate. Raising the base of the pedestal will affect how your compass interacts with equipment on the binnacle guard. 2. Edson advises that original manufactures, including C&C, often modify the idler plates when they were received from Edson. Therefore, either be prepared to modify on site when you receive a new plate from Edson or create an accurate plate template and send to Edson and ask them to follow the footprint. 3. New sheave arms have a wider width than the original. This can cause a problem when you are going to align the steering cables as for in my case I could not close the angle enough with the new sheave arms to match the run of the cables to the radial drum. This is why I had the original sheave arms professionally inspected and reconditioned by Edson. 4. I would not rely on the fact that a boat was primarily used in a freshwater environment to give me comfort when considering idler plate maintenance. The original material was light steel and as my boat was only out of fresh water for the last 4 years before I purchased it I believe it must have suffered most of the plate corrosion during time in fresh water. This is a mission critical piece of gear that should be checked periodically in any environment. My extreme gratitude goes out to fellow lister Chuck who spurred me to action. I am extremely happy that I made this upgrade as I am much more confident and before doing so did not know the risk we were running with original plate. Another lesson learned to consider may be that if you choose to go with the custom stainless steel plate choice you may want to consider having a local fabricator make the unit despite the effort to help by Edson. This is because Edson will have to make a custom plate as well and if there are any unexpected modifications that need to be made specific to your application than it may be speedier to have it done close to home. Hope this helps. Blair Coincidence C&C 34+ ________________________________ From: Dave S via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Sent: November 20, 2021 11:17 AM To: Stus-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> Cc: John McCrea <johnmcc...@comcast.net>; Dave S <syerd...@gmail.com> Subject: Stus-List Re: Edson Steering Sheave Assembly Bolt Failure. I haven’t tackled mine, and as it’s a freshwater boat there’s no corrosion to speak of, and it doesn’t appear to be leaking. I have been curious about the deck in this area. How was the deck penetration dealt with? Is it cored in that area? Was it reinforced or protected from water intrusion? Thx. Dave 33-2 Sent from my iPhone On Nov 20, 2021, at 10:08 AM, John McCrea via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: Yes they are the four through bolts that hold the pedestal in place. I will contact Edson for replacements just curious if anyone else had them fail. Will also be resealing pedestal to stop water intrusion. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone On Nov 20, 2021, at 8:02 AM, Steve Thomas via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com> wrote: I believe that the bolts in question are the through-the-deck bolts that secure the pedestal to the deck. They are also the only aluminum bolts that I know of that were once "standard" on Edson pedestal steering systems. If I am wrong on the latter, I am certain that others will chime in. :) Steve Thomas 1980 C&C36 MKI 1978 C&C27 MKIII ------ Original Message ------ From: cnc-list@cnc-list.com To: cnc-list@cnc-list.com Cc: shawngwri...@gmail.com Sent: Friday, November 19, 2021 8:42 PM Subject: Stus-List Re: Edson Steering Sheave Assembly Bolt Failure. Can you share any photos of the bolts in question? Are these above deck, or below? I'm not aware of any aluminum bolts in my pedestal, but they may have been replaced with stainless steel. There is one SS round head machine screw that is loose and has no material left to grab (threads stripped out) on one of the aluminum pieces which fit over the SS tubing at the deck level. As the pedestal is solid, I've ignored it for now. Everything below deck looks good also, but it's been a year since I checked so it's on the list. -- Shawn Wright shawngwri...@gmail.com<mailto:shawngwri...@gmail.com> S/V Callisto, 1974 C&C 35 https://www.facebook.com/SVCallisto On Fri, Nov 19, 2021 at 1:19 PM John McCrea via CnC-List <cnc-list@cnc-list.com<mailto:cnc-list@cnc-list.com>> wrote: All, I was aware that my bolts in my steering assembly below the pedestal were failing when I noticed a gap on the bow side of the sheave assembly this summer. After trying to tighten one of the aluminum bolts it crumbled. Had two remaining good ones in the stern and limped the way through the remainder of the season. Today loosened the steering cables to start to take apart the assembly with the intent of fixing in place with new bolts. Having had a similar but more catastrophic failure on our past 1989 37/40 XL I can see that the assembly itself is in good shape. My question is the use of the aluminum bolts. Since that is what failed should I switch to stainless? May be a good question for Rob Ball but wanted to see what others have used. Thanks! John McCrea Talisman 1979 36-1 Mystic, CT Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu ________________________________ Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
Thanks to all of the subscribers that contributed to the list to help with the costs involved. If you want to show your support to the list - use PayPal to send contribution -- https://www.paypal.me/stumurray Thanks - Stu
