SHIP'S LOG:

I didn't get out of Lake Worth today, rather today was spent correction a problem with my steering, or I should say, in my steering. As I mentioned yesterday, there was a "catch" every time I turned the wheel to starboard. I didn't know what it was, how serious or not, hell, I didn't even know how to get the compass off the binnacle so that I could look into the pedestal. And this was a serious matter, or could be, for I sure didn't want to loose my ability to steer the boat as I meandered up the ICW.

The first thing I did was plot and lay in a course for Jensen Beach on the off chance that unlike most boat projects, correcting this problem would be simple and swift. I also had to wait for had to wait for the EDSON people to get to work. They made the pedestal and I figured that they would know what the problem was and how to fix it. I spoke to a very nice guy named Ken who speculated on what it could be, all options sounded troublesome, complex and expensive, but insisted that before anything could be done, the compass had to be removed.And he hadn't the slightest idea on just how to do it. That meant calling RITCHIE NAVIGATION, the makers of the compass and of course, the tech support people, probably a person, was on another line and I had to leave a message and a request for a call back.

Surprisingly it came quickly and the answers sounded simple. Remove the two screws holding the lighting element and this will detach the stainless steel housing around the compass itself. Remove the four screws holding the compass to the teak spacing pad and then remove the four additional screws holding the spacing pad to the pedestal. Sounded simple, was difficult.

Getting the two screws holding the lighting element an d the stainless steel housing was simple. The four screws holding the compass itself to the teak spacing pad was difficult because no screw driver I had was short enough to fit the screws directly and they started to strip. Fearing they would and I would be stuck, I used a little Miracle Mystery Oil to sort of soften the wood around the screws. while waiting for this to happen, I remembered that I had a couple of "L" shaped screw drivers, that looked like to "L" 's, with a Phillips head on one end and a Flathead on the other.Using these and a lot of brute strength, I was able to remove the screws. I was now faced with the task of removing the four screws holding the teak pad in place.

Believe me when I tell you that no amount of effort on my part could budge even one of them a little. I used every trick, plan, stratagem I could think of and just about every tool I own and none of them moved at all. I decided to drill off the heads and leverage up the pad and replace the screws later. And this is what I did. Getting the remainder of the screws out revealed the fact that somebody had used LOCKTITE when putting the screws in the first time, never expecting that maintenance(periodic) and/or repairs might need to be performed some time in the future. But in nay event, the teak pad was off and the compass as well and I could behold the inside of the pedestal.

It was disappointing to say the least but gratifying as well as there was nothing that I could see of the chain and the gearing and the rest of the insides that indicated any "major" problem. I called Ken back and Edson and he told me what to look for and I looked and there was nothing to see . . . .except that the brakes on the wheel lock need to be replaced but I knew that. It is quite possible that it was merely a question of neglected routine, periodic maintenance that was the problem ( out of sight, out of mind) to which I plead guilty and for sure as heck whoever did this installation should do so as well.

Well, I lube the teeth, the gearing and the chain to a fare-thee-well and prayed that was the answer. Next I found four machine screws to replace those drilled out. I actually found in my "What Not" pasts locker, four screws that fit perfectly. I cleaned out the LOCKTITE and reset and screwed in the teak pad.The compass was screwed on and the housing and light and everything was back to where it was supposed to be, hopefully working better than before. It took me from 9am to 2:30pm to accomplish this rather simple project but more than enough time to rule out Jensen Beach today. So I'll got tomorrow. I'm flexible!