Emergency steering

[smithy]

I never see any reference to emergency steering set ups here. What do you all do when your steering breaks?
I ask because the helm on mine broke with no warning after putting divers in the water. Lucky I had a piece of tube tie wrapped to the A frame for just such a purpose, this pushes over a spigot bolted to the engine. First time I had to use it. Worked ok but needed elastics to stop it jumping to full lock. Able to plane the 6miles home with someone else working the throttle.

Any further ideas that might help others, apart from than buying hydraulic steering?

[Ezgoing]

LEave engine to run and use one of your paddles to steer.

Use your auxillary.

[Nos4r2]

Last time it happened to me (hardboat,50hp, pulley steering) I came in at about 6-8 knots with the motor locked central by roping it to the transom eyes and steering by moving around in the boat. Sharper turns were by sticking a paddle in the water.

Wasn't much fun.Had to use the auxiliary to go through Poole harbour entrance rather than brave the Birmingham Navy all coming in with minimal steering...

(WHY is it that when you're doing 2 knots with a Seagull running at full bore and struggling that everyone seems to want to run you down and only change course in the last 5 yards?)

[Swifty]

On my previous boat the helm packed up. Lashed a paddle around the engine cover and tillered it home.

[Tim M]

Lashed a paddle around the engine cover and tillered it home

I believe that's how the RNLI do it.....

[jyasaki]

Had a buddy with a whaler who used a pair of Vise Grips on the front of the motor housing. Worked, I guess; he made it the several miles back in.

jky

[Alex Brown]

Just out of interest, what happens when hydraulic steering fails at speed? - ie a pipe bursting..... does the ram have a lock on it like cranes do to stop the thing moving, or would I expect a rather fast turn in a small amount of time and probably a small flight from the boat?

I saw a steering unit literally explode last year on a 9m ribcraft which was pretty interesting - the power steering from the engine went wrong and somehow blew open the steering block behind the steering wheel thus emptying the contents onto the deck. Thankfully it was only a few metres away from the pontoon, and the steering was still useable for the berthing, but I daren't think what would have happened if we were offshore.

-Alex

[codprawn]

Originally Posted by jyasaki

Had a buddy with a whaler who used a pair of Vise Grips on the front of the motor housing. Worked, I guess; he made it the several miles back in.

jky

Once drove a Countach like that when the steering wheel came off in my hands!!!