Lewmar Constellation Steering — Installation & Maintenance Guide

Pedestal

• Stove enamelled polyester finish: wash with fresh water and apply a good car wax polish. Touch in chips straight away after rubbing down with fine wet and dry, using yacht enamel for aluminium.
• Fix the pedestal with socket countersunk screws; if other deck bolts were used, slacken all four and reseat them on non-setting mastic, holding the screw and turning the nut.
• In a hot, sunny climate use a cover when the yacht is not in use.
• Constellation 600 bearings: one UHMWPE headed bush and one 60042RS sealed roller bearing, no lubrication needed; regrease the impregnated washer against the 60042RS at the annual inspection. Deluxe and Premiere pedestals have a further impregnated washer on the second roller bearing.
• Once a season remove the four countersunk stainless screws of the top cover, clean and refit with Whitlock anti-seize cream; do the same for the brake cover screws (the wheel must come off: do not lose the wheel key).

Cables, Chain & Conduit

• Every third year: slacken the eyebolts, tape the cable ends, pull the cable and chain set through the pedestal head and mark the master links before separating. With a tangential unit the cables are different lengths: refit them in the correct conduit for the right steering rotation.
• Soak the chain in light machine oil and drain. Check the cables for fraying or loose wires; replace if damaged and keep the old set as spares.
• Cable: stranded stainless 7 × 19 prestretched, 5 or 6 mm depending on boat size. Regrease with a silicone based lubricant.
• Typical life: cables every 3 to 5 years, conduits every 5 to 10 years; halve this for charter boats in continuous use. Conduit fittings can be reused.
• Only use original conduit from official Whitlock agents or the boatbuilder.

Quadrant & Cable Tension

Sheave Adapters & Open Wire Systems

• Conduit/sheave adapters replace 90 degree bends in the conduit route; essential on heavy displacement boats over 40' LOA.
• With conduit on both sides the loads are self contained; with open wire into the adapter the full load goes to the mounting bracket, which needs reinforcement, and the anti-pivot locking nut must be tight.
• Long conduit runs: fit conduit greasers in the horizontal runs; Whitlock synthetic grease comes in 300 gram tubs.
• Open wire systems run higher static cable tension than conduit systems. Check tension and the rigidity of all sheave mountings regularly.
• Cross-wire idlers (4", 5", 6" and 8") have bevelled faces and a sheave guard; check the safety pin is fitted and the M5 locking grub screw once a season.
• Rudder stops are not built in on these systems: the boatbuilder must fit rigid stops.
• Lubricate all sheaves at least once a season with light machine oil and check bearings and mountings.
• Use only the original cable construction and diameter. Cable size for sheave: 4" dia. 5mm or 3/16"; 5" and 6" dia. 6mm or 1/4"; 8" dia. 8mm or 5/16"; 10" dia. 8mm or 10mm (5/16" or 3/8").