Hi all
'Constance' will soon be back in the water following her 'leg work'. During the few hours of use I've had out of her so far, it was obvious to me that the steering was far stiffer than it should be. Anyone following me down the Waveney would have surely thought I'd had 'one over the eight' as my wake followed in a zig-zag fashion through correcting, over-correcting etc etc. The cable mechanism looks straightforward enough but I can't fathom what the problem could be. Any suggestions ?

Hi there. You need to locate the point of stiffness; so if you disconect the steering likage as close as possible to the drive leg and see if it is free or not. If free then investigate towards the drive leg and the drive leg itself which should not be overstiff to move on its own. Was the steering stiff before the work was carried out on the leg, if not then whoever did the work should return and sort it out. Best of luck, Jimbo

Hi Jimbo
The leg should be refitted later this week. I don't think the two problems are connected but i'll disconnect at leg as you have suggested and see what happens.

Sorry, I misunderstood that the leg had not been fitted. So check the run of the steering cable to the leg for any sharp bends or kinks; if there are any then smooth the cable run. Are there any greasing nipples that you can use to re-grease the cable? If all looks well then it is either the wheel bearing that is stiff or the steering cable is totally kippered and needs replacing. This is usually a last resort.