Replacing the 20 meter long steering cable on Navasana

When we got to Brisbane after sailing some 23,000nm from La Rochelle, I found some broken strands on the steering cable. I had been anticipating this somewhat since majority of the Nautitech 46s and 40s that had crossed the Pacific had broken or broken some strands of their steering cable. I wasn’t a happy bunny but glad I found the broken strands before it broke completely while sailing.

It seems that these long steering cables fail at around 20,000nm so it is worth carrying a spare and checking the cable carefully when you get above 15,000nm. Luckily I was already carrying a complete set of the original Goiot cables as spares so got right into replacing the cables at Rivergate Marina. Earlier, I did look into replacing with Dyneema but would need a special pre-stretched version which would also need to replaced more often since dyneema is not as abrasive resistant as steel.

Here is the kit that I got directly from Nautitech but you can also get it from shop&sail.com. The chains are a separate part so make sure you order them as well.

The first thing I did was remeasure the existing cable by marking the lengths on the quadrant carefully. It is worth doing this before you break a cable otherwise it may take a long time to get everything aligned by trial and error. I started with replacing the short inner cables that run inside the engine room. This was pretty easy except that I had to loosen the pulleys attached to the bulkhead to get the cable heads through.

I then measured the new cables against the old ones and surprise surprise one was a bit shorter. So I had to adjust the number of turns I would need at the quadrant when I put the new one on. Luckily the other 5 cables were exactly the same as the old ones, so that was a relief!

To attach the cables to the rods and chains they kit provided these chain connecting links which all seemed to be attached in one direction for some reason, so it worth attaching them carefully the same way so they don’t come apart. After that installing the new cables was easy. Best to remove and replace one cable at a time so that you can use the old cable to pull the long steel rod out to connect it.

The easy cables done, next job was the long outer cables that go through to the steering wheels. For this you have to remove the black plastic covers that the chartplotters are bolted onto, which is easily done with a sharp knife to cut through the sealant. I released the cables on both ends and then pulled it out through the pedestal, making sure to secure the wheels and measure where the chains sat on the sprockets.

Next I made the new cables using the new chain lengths and sprayed them with TAC-2 adhesive lubrication so there was no chance of the lube coming off even if it got wet.

When I went to measure the new cables versus old, surprise, surprise the chains were one link longer that the old ones. Luckily there was enough clearance for the extra link in the pedestal. The chain would now be exactly be in the middle but that meant I had to adjust the number of turns again on the quadrants 🙂

Installing the new chain into the pedestals.

Coiling up the ends made it easier because the cables are so long.

Many of the pulleys had to be loosened to fit the solid steel cable heads through. I was by myself so had to tape a spanner on one side of the bolts while I turned the other side. I worked surprisingly well 🙂

Once the cables were all installed I tightened the quadrant bolts to the old cable settings adjusting for the one short cable and the extra links on the chains. The amazing news was that everything was aligned perfectly. When I turned the wheel all the way to each end, both quadrants hit the stopper at the same time. This is the best way to see if everything is aligned. The bad news was that the cables were way too tight.

I usually check the cable tension by deflecting the outer long cable in the engine room in the center. It should deflect by 7cm, but this was a lot less. To get the tension right, I had to loosen the outer cables by 15cm each and the inner ones by 5 cm each. I assumed that the new cables needed some time bed in and I would need to tighten the cables after a while but surprisingly even after 2000nm the cables are at the same tension. The only reason could be the extra link in the chains, but I still can’t see how that would affect it.

Anyway, so far so good after more than 2000nm. The job took 2.5 days doing it by myself but with one additional person it could be done a lot quicker. Hope this is useful to others especially if your cable breaks in some remote location and you have to replace it yourself!