Price of four bolts

View from the hatch
Eidos' cockpit during haul-out

While in the middle of the Atlantic two years ago, I decided to tighten a loose nut on a bolt holding the binnacle to the cockpit floor. Instead of tightening, the bolt sheared off - completely rusted. That left three bolts holding the steering wheel in place plus four screws on a metal covering sleeve making the whole assembly impossible to access for repairs at sea. I should have thrown the whole thing over the side right then and there.

Instead, we checked to make sure that the emergency tiller was easily accessible from the cockpit locker, lashed the binnacle to a cockpit winch and prayed for the steering to hold for the remaining 2,000 miles to Portugal. It did.

Once back near land and faced with only day sails, I got slack and ignored what could have been a huge problem when (not if) the remaining bolts broke and I lost my steering. My excuse? I didn’t have a large enough screwdriver to take off the covering sleeve. Until now.

Seeing that the boat was hauled out and I knew a trustworthy mechanic, I asked him to do the job. Change four bolts – what could be simpler, right? I could have done it if I had a big screwdriver and the muscle to turn it. Not!

The job turned into a maze. To take the four rusty bolts off, Albert and his helper had to take of the covering sleeve over the bottom part of the binnacle. Of course the whole bit underneath was corroded, not just the bolts, because water in the cockpit drains that way. So they had to disconnect the chain, the cable, the wiring, and take apart the entire assembly before they could access four measly bolts.

About ten hours later and 300 Euros bill, it’s done and in working order again. And for what? Just to have a wheel instead of a tiller? Whoever thought of this “improvement” should have their head examined and be made to spend ten hours in the space under the cockpit in 30-degree heat.

My advice? Never buy a boat with wheel steering.

Changing four bolts
Another world away from the boat yard.