cable and pulley steering

[17ft'r]

hopefully I got the pic of my "mirrocraft" I want to put steering on.
I just want cable, cone and pullies but do not know where to get these parts.

Can anyone steer (pun intended) me in the right direction and or advise?
The motor is 1963 18hp Johnson. I believe it had cable and pullies originally attached to it, however all was remove after it sat for 7 - 12 yrs. Some pretty serious (shed) time.

Thanks,

17ft'r

 

[bob johnson]

Re: cable and pulley steering

you are a lucky dude...I saw this last week i think, and when i read your post, went looking for it... and I found it again

Johnson/Omc throttle ctrls&steering system

i am not the guy, and i dont know the guy...but it caught my eye, because i was looking for a steering cable(morse) for my application

good luck

bob

 

[F_R]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Place a wanted ad on the classified ads page at The Antique Outboard Motor Club Website - AOMCI.org It's free.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Here's a great link to all the hardware you need for your cable/pulley steering as well as a link to a site to help you hook it up. Good luck.

Columns - Obsolete Outboards

Cable Steering Hardware

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

What a great site. My next question is I have never seen a boats steering system (set up). Being a visual guy I can't picture how many of what pieces I would need.
Any possibility of a (schematic) of the set up?

Thanks,

17ft'r

 

[kfa4303]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Here ya go.....

http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topics-questions-not-engine-topics/drum-cable-steering-281025.html

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

OK, thanks

17ft'r

 

[64osby]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Hey 17, you could have posted the pic in the other thread and kept that one going.

Seeing you boat, I wonder about the cable / pulley system on it. The cables will be exposed unless you build some type of gunwale cover. The cable pulley system can be run down one side like Tashadaddys drawing in kfa's link. But still lots of hardware and drilling holes in the boat and it will stick out about 2" from the side of the boat.

A couple guys have used a cable system that is inexpensive and should have everything you need except for a steering support tube.

UFLEX ROTECHW12 Rotary Steering 12 FOOT Package w/ FREE STEERING WHEEL

iboats may have something similar.

Even comes w/ a steering wheel. The advantage would be the cable does not require all the hardware and holes in the boat where the pulleys attach. Just make sure you order the right length cable.

The cables and steering posted by Bob Johnson is also a great deal, I'd buy it for the controls if he would ship it.

My .02.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: cable and pulley steering

+1. Unless you already have the hardware installed in your boat, it may be quicker, cheaper, easier, and a bit safer to get a steering kit like the one above. Of course, you could ditch the steering all together and simply use a tiller extender, which will allow you to sit, stand, and/or move your sight around as need to help balance the load. I use one on my 14' semi-v tinny and it works great. I don't know how, or why I lived without it for so long. Best of all, you can make one out a couple feet of thin walled PVC and a couple pipe clamps. The total cost is less than $5 and it can be removed in 5 seconds, if need be. They make them out of carbon fiber, aluminum, stainless steel and other materials, but PVC is more up my alley.

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Is there a schematic of or instruction as to what this set up looks like? I'm hearing that the boat had cable/pulley system on it but the (dash) rotted and he tore it all out. I do see several (holes) along both sides maybe indicating all the old hardware.

Hey I am not really set on any one system but the Rotary Steering is affordable, I would just like to view the instruction schematic somewhere.I tend to go after the easiest installation so if you know of any links send em my way.

Thanks to everyone getting me this far on this part of the project I really appreciate it.

17ft'r

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: cable and pulley steering

17 - it is easier to install a new rotary system than install an old cable pulley when you have nothing to re-use. The link above for the Johnson/OMC controls/steering is missing the most important part. The dashboard mount/shaft/drum are not shown in the ad pics.

Along with the rotary steering kit, you need a couple of other things. If your motor doesn't have a tilt tube you will need one of these Clamp Block and one of these Clevis Kit.

If your motor has a tilt tube you will need a link arm and which one will be determined by your Johnson motor model. I'm a Mercury guy so I can't help you there.

Hope this helps.

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Thanks for looking out for that. I was looking at his pics and I see everything but the "Helm Drum". I ask him about it in an e-mail so we'll see if he has it...............hope so. Thanks again.

17ft'r

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

I just placed on the AOMCI.org site. Hope it pulls something out.

thanks,

17ft'r

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

You just may be right about the "tiller" ext.. I'm still seeking up on everything I would need for a rotary or the pulley system.

I just spoke with the guy who had the boat prior to me and happens to be a friend and when I asked him about the steering he said yeh it was a pulley with drum system so I asked him if he still had the (drum). He said it went out with the rotten dashboard. I'm still crying.

thanks for listening,

17ft'r

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Thanks, yes it does help. It is all so overbearing in only working on motor cycles and cars, let me qualify (in the shade tree catagory) that is is difficult to see how and where the pieces go on in order to determine if it logical for my boat and motor and my (wallet).
This info to date is getting me down the road for a decison so thanks alot to all.

17ft'r

 

[kfa4303]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Steering systems are nice if/when they come in a boat, but installing a system yourself can get a bit tedious and pricey. You need Lots of little bits and pieces, regardless of what system you use, and unless there is an overwhelming need for it (wakeboarding, skiing, etc...), you're simply adding components that can/will fail over time. Tillers are making quite a comeback these days, especially down here in FL, and they take up way less space, give you more steering options and have 0 components to fail. Here are some vid of some high end modern tiller set ups, but you can replicate the same idea using the items I mentioned above.

Various fancy versions:

Low tide 25 Gheenoe - YouTube
Custom Gheenoe boats flying by - YouTube
Sea Foam Green Tiller Caimen - YouTube



My ghetto version You can kinda see me grab my PVC extender at the beginning of the vid. I shot the whole thing standing up wit the tiller in one hand and the camera in the other.

Wakulla Beach, FL movie.wmv - YouTube

 

[17ft'r]

Re: cable and pulley steering

Another question on "Cable Steering", what dia for the (pullies), this again is for the 1963 18 hp Johnson on a 14' mirrocraft (I know) my handle is 17ft'r, but that story is for another day.

Thanks for any help on the pulley(s) dia....................you thinking maybe (2")?

17ft'r

 

[bob johnson]

Re: cable and pulley steering

the pulley dia doesnt matter much...you are looking for any tupe of compound leverage advantage... I had that steering system on my 1969 alumacraft 16 ft runabout. other than the cable coating cracking....it worked fine for many many years..

I think the hardest part is getting it all close to fitting nice and then prelaoding the spring, pulling on the end of the cable in the last "U" clamp and tightening( the nut that squeezes both sides of the "U" clamp) it all at the same time.

for you to use the cable pulley system you REALLY should already have the hangers on the stern of your boat to hold the pulleys assyemblies... if not...then for sure go with the ne fangled steering cable( i think they call it morse) one cable in a sheath that pushes and pulls the motor to steer it

you can buy the whole set up for about $140 from teleflex
bob

 

[kfa4303]

Re: cable and pulley steering

+1. The diameter of the pulley doesn't matter much, but most are about 2" in diameter. There are usually 4 in total with 2 in the front and rear on both sides. When the cable is pulled taut and kept under pressure, the pulleys will stick out from the interior of the boat about 4"-5" on each side so, you'll loose about 8"-10" of overall interior width as well as several inches in the stern where the cables and spring hardware are anchored. Rotary steering systems are nice in tight spaces because they only require one cable that you run down the length of the boat, but they also require several pieces of specialized hardware that can get a bit pricey. Most vintage boats with pulley steering systems had a skiboat/runabout set up and were built with caps of some sort to cover the cables and hardware.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: cable and pulley steering

here are some pics of my boat when I first picked her up. you can kinda sorta get an idea of how the pulley system was put together. sorry, I wish I had better pics.