Edson CDi Steering System — Installation Guide & Owner's Manual

Spacemaker CDi and Diamond Series CDi

• System: steering pedestal, output lever, stop ring/backing plate, draglink, tiller arm; wheel purchased separately.
• The pedestal holds a 360° circular rack gear with integral wheel shaft/pinion gear and torque tube, oversize stainless bearings and non-magnetic materials, and comes standard with a wheel brake.
• Draglink and tiller arm are machined to customer specifications; ask for special instructions for fastening tiller arms to composite shafts.
• Wide angle geometry: as the wheel turns further, the angle between draglink and centreline widens – most mechanical advantage where rudder loads are highest, most sensitivity near midships. For this reason the tiller arm is offset forward from athwartships.

Table 1 – Tiller Arm Offset

The CD-i worksheet (EB-97-361) prints the second row as 8.5"-9.4" (as printed). The worksheet also asks for boat data, rudderpost diameter and angle (max. 20º), tiller arm side (port/starboard), draglink pin up or down and the ruddershaft key location: Edson locates the keyway in the tiller arm for the required offset.

CD-i Installation

1. Locate the pedestal, mark the centre on the cockpit sole and cut a six inch diameter hole; seal the cut edges with epoxy. Make sure the sole will carry the loads of steerer and pedestal (the crew will use it for support in heavy weather).
2. With the wheel installed, set the pedestal on deck with the wheel square to the centreline, mark the four mounting holes and drill a one half inch clearance hole for each bolt.
3. Loosely fit the stop ring under the deck on the pedestal bolts, aligning the bolts with the slots marked for your offset angle (Table 1). Screw the stop ring to the deck, then remove the pedestal, bed base and fasteners in good marine sealant and fasten pedestal and stop ring.
4. Spread the output lever at the split with a screwdriver blade, slide it onto the output shaft with the key in the keyway and tighten the clamping bolts.
5. Attach the tiller arm to the rudder shaft, offset forward the correct amount before drilling the shaft for a pin (a keyed tiller arm has the angle preset).
6. Fit the draglink on the output lever pin and the tiller arm pin; adjust its length so the output lever is centred between the stops with the rudder centred.

Rudder Stops

• The rudder stop ring / backing plate is a rudder stop that also reinforces the cockpit floor. Centre the bolts on the degree mark matching the offset angle (e.g. 12 degrees → bolts on the 12 degree mark); the offset is always forward.
• Larger vessels should use conventional independent rudder stops at the tiller arm. With independent stops, tiller arm travel must never exceed 72°: more travel over-travels the output lever and may cause loss of steering or failure of the system.

Example Installation Checklist (EB-419-01, Beneteau First 36.7)

• Pedestal (464) bedded in marine sealant, fastened with the (4) 646 mounting bolts, torque 40nm.
• Pedestal guard (1600-6-40SBEF): guard feet (G-260) on 1/4-20 nuts with gaskets and bushings; guard tube (B781) locked in the feet with the 1/4-20 set screws.
• Output lever (B-643) clamped to the down shaft with two 3/8-16 allen head cap screws and anti-seize, torque 40nm.
• Tiller arm (836AL-8-610) clamped to starboard on the rudderstock with four 3/8-16 cap screws, locked with the 3/8" through bolt, six degree offset forward.
• Drag link (617CDi) on 5/8-11 nylock nuts, adjusted to 602mm pin centre to pin centre, locking nuts tight.
• Stops set for 36 degrees of rudder travel each way; total tiller arm travel must not exceed 72 degrees. Ball joints greased; nothing interferes hard over to hard over.

Brake and Warnings

• The brake engages by turning the knob at the wheel hub clockwise and releases anti-clockwise. Operating the autopilot with the brake engaged may cause premature brake wear.
• Hold the wheel firmly while backing down: letting it spin freely in reverse can shock-load the system and lead to loss of steering or damage.

464 Classic CD-i Pedestal Parts

Parts list dated 12/28/01. The parts diagram labels B-921 as the guard plate, the bearing cap A-2175, the brake knob A-1795 and the drag-rod A-1829, and the checklist names the brake knob and shaft A-1795, A2186: these differ from the list (as printed). Rod ends: left A-1737B, right A-1737A. Quote your pedestal when ordering; we do not stock CDi parts – ask us to source them.

Old Style CDi Brake Replacement (EB-99-398, 470 CDi pedestal)

• Tools: Phillips and straight screwdrivers, 7/16" and 5/16" open or box wrenches, small and large adjustable wrenches, 5/16" Allen wrench, needle nose and snap ring pliers, rags, soft faced hammer, small wood blocks.
• Remove wheel and faceplate, console top and bin/cooler, and the cockpit sole to reach draglink and tiller arm. Unscrew the draglink like a turnbuckle (one end right hand, one left hand thread).
• Remove the snap ring (C16) and key (C17), the set screw holding the aft bearing housing, then tap the aft bearing housing and bearing aft. Remove the four bolts of the forward bearing clamp (C18) (with a rotary drive autopilot, remove the master link and the chain) and lift the pinion gear/wheel shaft out forward.
• Remove the output arm (C12) screws, spread the split with a large screwdriver and work the arm down while lifting the rack gear; do not force the shaft up before the key is out or the lower bearing and retaining ring (C19) are damaged. Lift the rack gear and output shaft straight up without tilting.
• Replace the brake collar, fit and fully spread a new cotter pin, clean the base of the rack gear where the brake rides, then reassemble.
• Set the rack and pinion mesh with no backlash and smooth rotation by moving the shaft fore and aft, tighten the four forward bearing cap bolts and recheck.

464 Classic Pedestal Base (D-210-1)

• Full size casting drawing: 10" diameter base, cast in aluminum 356-T6, calculated weight 3.59 lb.
• Four bolt holes .563" dia. with .76" bolt head clearance, 3.005" from the centrelines each way.
• ‘Edson’ and ‘D-210’ are cast into the bottom surface; as-cast tolerances +/- 0.030".

Print at 100% to check the footprint on deck.