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Edson Wheel

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Hi Respected Sailors

How often do you change the chain on your Edson Wheel? Have you had any record of chain failures!

Mooring neighbor called Edson for a part and technician shocked to hear that his wheel was (40) years old and the chain had not been replaced. The Edson Tech said the chain is on borrowed time. The tech said the chain should be lubed annually and replaced at (7) year intervals. My chain is (32) years without replacement? Our boat season (year) is less than (4) months on the mooring. A couple of years ago I looked at the chain and it appeared fine no obvious wear. It was still lubed to the point where I did not add more chain lube. I don't have chain replacement on my short list at this time.

We would appreciate your feedback.

Best Regards

Pat
1981
E28+
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I'm shocked--shocked--that you have not been changing your chain every seven years.

You probably have not also been changing the gelcoat.

You are perhaps not aware of keel fatigue, requiring a new keel bi-annually.

Opinion: I've had the pedestal apart three times in 18 months, and my original chain looks fine--and there's not all that much force on it anyhow. Clean and grease and don't worry about it. Pay more attention to the quadrant, idlers, stops and rudder bearings.
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Good news. I feel better. I want to invest in a airbag unit for the wheel and maybe one of those cameras that cold help backing in to a dock.
Regards
Pat
1981 28+
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
"Chain, chain, chain. Chain of fools"

As an avid cyclist who rides thousands of miles year, I have a lot of experience with chains. I've NEVER had one break. After a few thousand miles, the plates and pins wear and the chain is considered "stretched". A foot of chain will be 1/32 of an inch longer than 12 inches. What this does is cause uneven wear on expensive alloy sprockets and chain rings by the steel chain. So you toss the chain, the cheapest part, and replace it with new.

A modern 11 speed steel bike chain is a fraction of the size of the stainless 50 series chain in my Yacht Specialties pedestal. The average cyclist also puts way more force through the chain while peddling than is needed to steer our boats. The road environment, particularly in the wet with grit, is much harsher for wear than inside your pedestal with grease coating your stainless chain. I had the 30 year old, original chain from my pedestal, out a few years ago and it looked perfect. I added a few new links from McMaster Carr because I raised the pedestal 3" and I couldn't see any difference between new and 30 year old links.

I would check you have grease coverage on the chain every so often, but I would be more interested in the condition of the cables and sheaves before I would worry about the chain.

Mark
 

Rick R.

Contributing Partner
Sounds like business is slow at Edson......lol!

Agree with Mark.

I ride lots of miles on my road bike and motorcycles. When I replace a chain I on a motorcycle I usually replace the sprockets at the same time.

I'm thinking the Edson tech would agree that the wheel should be replaced when the chain is shot gunned.
 
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Pat O'Connell

Member III
Edson Chain

Respected Sailors
Thanks for the consult, very helpful. We are all on the same page. I think chain sales are a little slow at Edson too... Nice to be able to get some more thought on the issue.
Best Regards
Pat
1981 E 28+
 

Emerald

Moderator
One more thought, I think most Ericsons came with an emergency tiller - do you have yours? If not, it's easy enough to get one.

:egrin:
 

footrope

Contributing Partner
Blogs Author
I can't believe everyone agrees about this!

You can't get all the scrunge out of a 34 year old steering chain. At least I couldn't. So, I just gave up after 30 minutes of soaking and scrubbing.
 

Pat O'Connell

Member III
Respect Sailors
Thanks for the reminder. Boat came with a tiller that we had changed to wheel before purchase so we never got a emergency tiller with the boat. Adapted the old tiller to be the emergency tiller. It isn't pretty to use but it works. There is not much room aft of the binnacle or in the 6 foot cockpit of our 28+. Its been wonderful for our small (3) family for 34 years.
Thanks again!
Pat
1981 E28+
 
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