I also had some corrosion on the steering pedestal on my C&C 41 CB after 10 yrs of sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. Two years ago, I carefully stripped it, in place, with various combinations of wire brushing, sanding and some applications of paint remover. After cleaning it up carefully, I applied 2 coats of zinc chromate primer, followed by 3 coats of a black epoxy paint. It looks terrific-- just as good as the original paint job, and it seems to be holding up quite well so far. It was cheap, easy to do and didn't require me to disassemble the pedestal. If I had to disassemble the pedestal, I'm sure some of the parts would be frozen and would have required drastic measures to remove. If this doesn't work out, I'll just have to face the inevidible someday.

I seriously considered doing that. I studied Edson's tech report on painting a pedestal that's available on their web site. I felt that in order to do the job right, I would eventually remove the pedestal anyway because I usually screw something up when I try that kind of project. It turns out that disassembling and removing it was not that hard (about 2 hours). The hardest part was crawling under the cockpit to loosen the steering cable. I will end up with a new pedestal, but it will cost a lot more bucks.

check out www.edsonintl.com as it is a good manufacturer's site.

I notice in catalogs that Edson has a kit to redo the wheel lock. Try their website at http://www.sailnet.com/edson/
Phil Rousseau "Altrice" 1984 34

The repair itself is relatively easy. You essentially have to clean the two break arms of what's left of the old break pads and adhesive and to glue new pads to the arms. The kit comes with all necessary parts and adhesive. You'll have to find a pipe or circular object which matches the inside radius of your arms. You use the pipe to apply inside clamping pressure while the adhesive cures. The kit comes with very good instructions. The problem may come when removing some of the pedistal parts to gain access to the break assembly. I had problems with stainless screws seizing in the metal casting of the pedistal base on my 82 C+C 37. Otherwise its a simple job.

You can also order the brake kit from Defender and save a few dollars. It's a pain in the *&^*& to install - helps if you have a long pair of tweezers to install the infamous cotter pin.
John

I have replaced the pads on my Edson pedestal using their kit and I agree it is expensive for what you are getting. In my opinion the only items you may have a problem sourcing are the break pads and adhesive. Since it is strictly a friction break it would probably not be too difficult to find a suitable substitution for both but then again for 35 bucks is it worth the hassle? The repair itself is relatively easy. Remove the compass and its cradle which will expose a bracket re staining the tops of the break arms. You essentially have to clean the two break arms of what's left of the old break pads and adhesive and to glue new pads to the arms. The kit comes with all necessary parts and adhesive. You'll have to find a pipe or circular object which matches the inside radius of your arms. You use the pipe to apply inside clamping pressure while the adhesive cures. The kit comes with very good instructions. The problem may come when removing some of the pedistal parts to gain access to the break assembly. I had problems with stainless screws seizing in the metal casting of the pedistal base on my 82 C+C 37. Otherwise its a simple job.

Ron,
A friend just relined his brakes with the Edson kit and the "brake shoe" material is preformed to fit the metal frames and the outside diameter of the steering shaft. I doubt that you could find this material anywhere but Edson.