Long Island Marine Surveyor

Telephone 631 589-6154  Fax 631 563-3758

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Long Island Marine Surveyor 631-589-6154

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Long Island Marine Surveyor


Compression testing Boat Engines Boat Delamination Underwater Machinery Steering Station Boat Engines Boat Bilges Marine Fuel Systems Boat Fire Safety Safety equipment Electrical Oil Analysis

 

 

The Steering Station

 

       

Typical Steering Station for power and sail.

Steering

The importance of a steering station is evident since this is where we are operating the vessel.  The steering wheel must turn freely with undo play.  The steering may be by cables, hydraulic lines, worm gears, geared quadrant, cable and sheave, tiller etc.  Each of these system must be thoroughly examined and should be in good operating condition.  Hydraulic system should have no leakage, cables systems should move freely and not jam.  Quadrant and sheave systems should not be worn or loose at connections.  Examination of a steering system consists of a detailed inspection of all its components.

               

Rust hinge supporting rudder of sailboat

Throttle and Shift controls.

Each engine has its own controls for accelerating and shifting the engine from forward to neutral to reverse.  These controls are usually cable that attach to the engine and drive linkage.  These cables occasionally become worn and will make shifting difficult.  Replacement of cables should be considered normal maintained for a vessel and should be check on a regular basis, always before commissioning.  Some stern drive boats have a single handle control for both acceleration and shifting gears.  Inboard boast generally have two separate controls one for shifting and another for acceleration.  Inspection of the Shift levers are always part of a boat survey.  

Wiring

       

Wiring  to the vessel gauges should be in satisfactory condition and orderly.  Steering station switches must be properly labeled, with proper fuses and color coded wiring, all marked to indicate their usage.  Gauges must all be operational.  A survey includes an operational check of Fuel gauge, Voltage gauge, Trim Tilt system, Trim tabs, MPH gauge, RPM, Dept finder etc.  All electronic equipment at the helm is checked or operation.  Radar, GPS, Fish finder, VHF radio, direction finder, plotter, autopolit, temperature alarm, etc.  All switches must be operational as bilge pump switch, water pump switch, lighting switch, macerator switch etc.  The anchor lights and navigational lights must be operational.

The helm should have good visibility.  Seating should allow comfort to both captain and passengers.  Docking and operation of the vessel should be easily done at the helm.

 

Steering Station

bulletThis is an important part of a boat since this is where the vessel is operated.  Ease in operation in addition to visibility and properly working systems are all important to safe boating.
bulletWiring, fuses, electronics, all are inspected for serviceability.  Electronics could cost several thousand dollars and will comprise a portion of the vessels value.
bulletSteering controls, throttle and shift control a boat.  Malfunctioning of these systems can be dangerous.  

 

 

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