Quote:
Originally Posted by Chipmunk
The steering cable on my 2003 5.3m Tornado RIB broke and I am looking to replace it.
Should I replace the helm at the same time as the cable, given both are 20 years old?
I have looked online for helms / cables suitable for a 115hp engine and there seem to be two options - a 3.0 turn lock to lock and a 4.2 turn lock to lock. Which one is more suitable for a 5.3m RIB with a 115hp engine? The existing helm is a SeaStar Solutions NFB however I can't see a model number on it to check.
Is there anything else I should consider when buying a new helm and cable?
Many thanks
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If the helm is good & you can find a compatible cable then no reason to change both if you don't need to, on the other hand a full system is probably under £200 so wouldn't break the bank to change both bearing in mind the safety implications of a steering failure.
The 3.0 turns will be slightly heavier than the 4.2 turns, your 115 is quite a lump so maybe better off with the 4.2 turns it will just mean more turns required if you do a lot of slow speed manoeuvring, at speed you probably wont notice much difference.
You could go to hydraulic as your getting towards the upper limit for cable systems but your probably looking at 3 times the cost & theres probably more to go wrong with a hydraulic system than a cable. I'm not a great fan of hydraulic unless its absolutely necessary a decent nfb system would be my choice.
