V21 Steering Cable Broke - Near Disaster!

Blue_Runner

Blue_Runner

God
Staff member
Well, it was Stinky Hooker worst nightmare revisited. Headed down the lake, boat full of people and kids and the steering cable gave way! I noticed some tension on the cable as I went to turn and heard a loud "pop" then the wheel just took a hard right....about 27 mph and less than 100 yds from shoreline....thank God it did the hard right or we'd have been toast. I barely had enough time to pull it back let alone think of putting it in reverse, which didn't even enter my mind ::)

So, what steering cable length do I need for my V-21? I'm thinking 18ft? Where are the other V-21 people when I need them? ;D
 
I'm here at work and haven't even raised the cowl on the motor in a while. Does anyone know if the 2004 Yamaha 150 2-stroke would have a lifting ring on top under the hood? If I go back with a standard NFT system I'll probably have to lift the motor....fun fun. ::)
 
My first boat was the old cable and pully steering, I was going down the cape cod canale and the steering let go!

Had to have my friend bear hug the motor to keep us stright to get 3 miles to the ramp, Man that sucks!!

I can tell you all Yamahas I have seen all have the lift ring so you should be fine.

Cable leanth ??
 
The bad part is I'm taking off Friday from work and supposed to leave bright and early for the beach. This sucks!
 
BR rip out that old one fast it has the length on the cable my V20 and my 21 both use 15 ft cables. When you pull it out tape a nice strong rope on the cable that way you can use the rope to pull the new one back in faster and easier.
 
That would be nice if it does have it stamped.  I'll check. Thanks for the tips! We are all lucky to be alive.
 
I had noticed when turned fully in one direction it would stick a little bit - hardly noticeable.

Also, NFB had begun giving me feeback from the motor going on a year now. :-/

Steering cable was 2 years old and installed by the previous owner.
 
Reading your description of the events...are you sure the cable broke and not the helm? It sounds like maybe the helm let go? Jus wonderin?
 
Airslot said:
Reading your description of the events...are you sure the cable broke and not the helm?  It sounds like maybe the helm let go?  Jus wonderin?
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Yea, I was thinking the same way and with it only 2 years old it should not broken.
 
1st off, thank God yall are ok. At least it was in a bigger boat and everone stayed onboard, NOT like the smaller cc we were in. :(


Im with them on checking the helm. Im thinkin helm because you say the NFB had been giving you feedback for awhile. The cable does NOT have anything to do with feedback or not, the helm does. The cables are the same whether your system is standard rotary or NFB . It is the helm that is different.

Usually for a cable to break it will start getting tight and hang up all together first.


Either way its a quick fix once you get the part...10 munutes and you are boating again. 8)
 
The helm is only 2 years old as well.  What makes me think its the cable is the helm appears to be pulling the cable through fine.  

Please explain my 10 minute fix in detail cause I'm thinking along the lines of much worse - pull motor, new helm and cable etc.!!

THanks,
BLue
 
Blue, couple questions, and you may have to go home early to get the answers, tell the boss we said it was OK to go home early, you know, boat bizniz. ::)

Can you turn the motor without the helm moving? Is it smooth?

If you remove the helm, you should be able to tell if the cable is in one piece or not. Not sure how yours is setup, but I'm guessing that to see if the cable is in one piece you have to pull the motor, or pull the helm. Just hoping we can help you find the easy way out. Who knows maybe you'll be lucky?
 
Slot, yes, motor can turn by hand smoothly. When I turn the helm, I can see the cable moving back and forth on the helm end, but of course nothing on the motor end.

I've got a buddy coming over and we will look at it this evening. If nothing else I'll get the cable length and be prepared to pick up a new NFB system tomorrow.

Then tomorrow evening I'll pick up the motor and switch them out. :P I hate boats!
 
Blue, I'm not to the point of replacing my steering yet but am anticipating having to do so before first splashdown. Look at this, personally I would change all, helm, cable, etc. The unknown is worst than death. The price isn't too bad.
http://www.boatersworld.com/product/358501658msk.htm
Not having physically looked at this I don't know if it's correct or not. Please post if it will work.
 
Blue_Runner said:
I hate boats!
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I feel your frustration. You'll get it fixed and will be enjoying your boat again real soon. Thankfully everyone is OK and it's only the boat that's broke.
 
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