Keeping the wheel turning

With the recent lovely weather, it's been perfect for doing boat work, which I really enjoy at any time but especially on sunny days. In my last post, I mentioned the hatch I've made for the Hennie H's grease pot. I've finished it now and am pretty pleased with how it looks now it's in situ although it highlights the other jobs that need doing!

Grease pot hatch done and dusted.

In the last couple of days, however, I've been busy trying to solve Vereeniging's steering issues which have been becoming steadily worse over time.

It's not that she doesn't steer well; she does, and the steering is very positive with little delayed action. The problem is that it's incredibly stiff and heavy to turn the wheel. I've studied the whole mechanism right through to the rudder and have been unable to identify what's causing the stiffness. Of course, it's a very old system and I have no idea what it might be called in technical terms, but it's completely mechanical. The photos below show how the steering wheel connects to the shaft that goes through to the stern where, at its end, a huge sort of horizontal cog wheel turns the rudder. Top marks for anyone who can tell me what type of steering it is.

Steering wheel with shaft that extends through the aft cabin
(the roef in Dutch) to the stern.

The two heavy duty cog wheels that do the main work of 
turning the rudder

At first, I thought the stiffness might have been because the cog wheels had become too packed with old grease, so I spent some time digging it out and cleaning the wheels. There's still more to do, so I'll keep returning to them, but it soon became clear that this isn't what's causing the resistance.

So then I went to the point where the shaft passes into the aft cabin (the roef). I'd noticed the old wooden support was cracked and the packing that was supposed to seal it from intruding moisture was completely dried out. This morning, I removed the support and discovered the steering shaft had a lot of surface rust on it. I've removed all the old hemp string packing, taken off the support and sprayed the shaft with penetrating oil prior to removing the rust. It looks a mess in the photo below, because that's what it is. Even so, I am doubtful that this is the real cause of the heavy steering. 

What a mess! 

Nevertheless, tomorrow I'll be making a new support as this one is finished. The bolts keeping it in place were totally rusted through and simply broke off. Plus, I have to scrape and remove the rust from the roef where the support was fixed to it, so that will keep me busy!

The next phase is to go to the stern and see if there's a problem there. It's a process of elimination, but whatever happens, the cleaning and de-rusting can only help to extend its life. So much of the steering system is open to the elements all year round it's inevitable it will suffer, and where Vereeniging is now she has zero shelter so the deterioration has accelerated. 

All I really need is for the good weather to hold as now it's perfect for doing this kind of project. I'm looking forward to going to France, but I'm a bit torn as I'd love to keep working on the boats while it's still so fine. Anyway, I shall just do as much as I can in the next couple of days

Enjoy your week allemaal and wish me success in keeping my old wheel turning.