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280 Steering helmet

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Yobbo

New member
G`day from Australia today on my way back to the marina I lost steering, My engine is a AQAD40B and my sterndrive is a 280DP (no trim) the steering helmet is just loose and moving around on top of the drive. I broke a steering helmet 12 months ago and the mechanic replaced it with a secondhand unit and it looks like this one has now broken too. My question is will a steering helmet from any 280 fit? or are there different sizes? My next question is do any of you reputable mechanics have one they could sell me, new or used and ship to me in Australia? I of course will pay shipping, someone like Ricardo Marine?

Cheers Ian
 
The first gen 280 could be seen with the single helmet pin... next gen with the double bolt pin.
You need to know this before you purchase a helmet.
 
I PM'd you. Need to know which of the three clamp rings your drive may have on it. Things get changed out to different parts on a lot on these old drives over the years. What was once OEM could now be OEM of a different but useable part.
 
Yobbo said:
G`day from Australia today on my way back to the marina I lost steering, My engine is a AQAD40B and my sterndrive is a 280DP (no trim) the steering helmet is just loose and moving around on top of the drive. I broke a steering helmet 12 months ago and the mechanic replaced it with a secondhand unit and it looks like this one has now broken too. My question is will a steering helmet from any 280 fit? or are there different sizes? My next question is do any of you reputable mechanics have one they could sell me, new or used and ship to me in Australia? I of course will pay shipping, someone like Ricardo Marine?

Cheers Ian
Click to expand...

And MY question... Why are you breaking steering helmets? What is the point/mode of failure? This part normally has little or no stress on it other than steering torque and some slight side sideways force from propwalk torque, and almost no "wear" if correctly installed. ???
 
It looks like the only way to see which one I have is to pull the boat out of the water. The first one went when the reverse lock failed and the leg kicked up in reverse and props caught the swim ladder that was down over the duck board, and yesterday when I was swamped buy a 50 foot sports cruiser doing 30 knots (I`m doing 8 knots), it overtook me about 15 feet away from me, and its 5 foot wash caught my stern and sent me surfing and I touched bottom, I was lucky the coast guard were there to help me, although I have witnesses the big cruiser was gone before anyone saw its name or registration number. It looks like my insurance company is going to cover this, I`m really lucky no one was hurt, my two kids aged 5 and 8 were lying on the front berth and were both wearing life jackets, we had been off shore watching the whales as the annual whale migration is now in full swing, my boat is 33 foot and weights about 5 ton but the wash threw it around like a 10 foot tender
 
Glad no one was hurt! I see you have the same kind of #$%!!! boat owners that we have up here. It's bad enough up here that I do not take my boat out on weekends between Memorial Day (end of May ) and Labor Day (beginning of Sept). Fortunately for me, my boating season runs early April (not this year though!) thru to mid November. My wife and I often sit on the beach ( bay) and watch boats zip by at 25 to 30 mph IN THE DARK! And this in an area where not all aids to navigation are lit... or on any chart.
 
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