There are several crucial parts of modern boats. If you’re going to get out on the water, you need to make sure all of them are operating correctly. A boat’s steering cable is certainly high on that list.
You can easily get boat parts from online outlets or various brick-and-mortar store locations, including boat cables. Once you have your new one, though, you may be uncertain how to replace the current one. We’ll cover that in detail in the following article.
How Can You Tell When a Boat’s Steering Cable Needs to Be Replaced?
Let’s say you own a boat. Before you take it out of the marina or away from the dock, you should inspect every part of it. This is how you can tell whether your boat cables need to be replaced.
With boat cables, what you are looking for are signs of corrosion, cuts, cracks, or discolorations. If you see anything like that, it’s probably time to replace the cable. If you’re unsure about something you’re seeing, it’s helpful to have someone with expert nautical knowledge look at the cable to confirm that it’s time to replace it.
You Must First Make Sure You Have the Proper Length of Replacement Cable
If you determine that it is indeed time to replace a cable, it’s essential to know you have the right length of boat replacement cable since there are different lengths for various watercraft. When you’re talking about boat cables, there are two that are needed. Those are the rack and pinion steering cable and the rotary steering cable.
These are different lengths, so make sure you know which one needs replacing before buying a new one. Otherwise, the one you select might not do your boat any good, and you will need to purchase a new one. Again, you can speak to someone with expert nautical knowledge if you are not sure which cable you need.
Replacing the Cable
Once you have your new cable, you can set it on the deck beside the old cable that needs to be replaced. You’ll need to unbolt the engine to get the cable away from the engine saddle. Next, look for a large nut and a pin at the end of the currently installed cable. Once you undo these, you should be able to remove the cable when you turn the wheel so it winds out.
You might also see two nuts that look like they’re holding the cap on where the cable enters the steering hub and then exits it. You might also see a length of white plastic pipe holding the cable in place with some boats. You can simply pull that off, as it’s a cover for the cable’s inner section.
Once the old cable is off, you feed the new cable into the housing, bit by bit. As you feed the new cable into the steering hub, use lots of grease. You might also watch a few YouTube videos before you attempt the replacement.
