Wheel box removal

[Greg]

Anybody removed the steering wheel box. I removed 4 screws from under the box but it seems to be attached to the back of the combing somehow.
I removed the rudder attachment and the bezel from the transom thinking I might find screws going in from the back but found nothing.
Ideas?

[PJ]

I would give Com-Pac a quick 5-minute call they'll get you squared away

[Greg]

I did talk to Gerry and he told me about the screws on the bottom. I removed them but it is still attached from the back so I called him again and he told me that there may be some screws from the back and to look in from the rudder control port in the transom but he also added that there is no consistent means of the attachment. Looked and felt around but found no fasteners. That's why I'm seeking info. Could be the sealing tape holding it, but it's real strong.

[Greg]

Never mind. It was adhesive tape (really strong). Used a small thin flat blade and tapped it with a hammer.
Already to put it away for the winter.
I'm going to strip, epoxy coat and over varnish all the bright work.

[Jeff]

Wow that's commitment to detail! I'm curious about what you see inside (steering mechanism). Over time I've managed to inspect and service almost everything except the steering mechanism. Never had any issues and it's very precise, but it's so hard to inspect I've let it go each season. Is there any part of it that should be inspected / serviced?

This season the lower rudder pin sheered off just as we were approaching a narrows with tide running. Lost all steering. Fortunately, a passing tug boat saw we were in trouble and towed us to the nearby marina. It was a quick repair and we were on our way again. But glad were were not in the narrows!

[Greg]

I removed the rudder because there is a lot of corrosion in the pintle holes in the upper aluminum rudder body. The pintle bolts had been replaced with smaller ones and there was a LOT of play (boat walked all over the place, especially under power. I talked to Gerry about this and he says the hinges can be bored out to accept bushings to adapt proper bolts/pintles. That's my plan.

The following link will take you to the type of steering system that's used. There's not a lot to inspect.

https://www.asap-supplies.com/media/faq/technical-article-steering.pdf