Removing the top of the steering pedestal Cal34MKIII

The steering cable on my Cal34 jammed inside the pedestal the other day. I disconnected the cable from the rudder and motored home with the emergency tiller. I need to inspect the damage inside the Edson steering column but can't figure out how to remove the top cover. There's a compass in an aluminum bucket atop the canister that's secured from beneath - no fasteners accessible. There's a wooden disc that the bucket rests on and that is also fastened from below. Beneath the disc is a metal plate with Y arms that are fixed to aa inverted-U-shaped stainless tube structure that mounts to the deck just forward of the pedestal. I can lift the metal plate slightly by wedging a screwdriver between it and the pedestal column. So it doesn't seem to be fastened. I'm thinking that the U frame needs to be unfastened from the deck and lifted to release the Y-plate. Has anyone had any experience with this ? I tried the Edson website and they have good drawings and instructions for disassembling the mechanisms but nothing about the removal odf the top. I think this might be unique to the Cal34. Could use some advice. Jim

Never seen a compass housing that you couldn't remove from the top. Is there a light shroud attached to it. If so, the screws that hold the plastic light shroud down are usually all that holds the shell on. Maybe your shell is corroded and will come off with a little persuasion. Then you should have access to bolts that remove the compass and the rest of the assemblies.... HTH Wilkie On Mar 29, 2011, at 7:28 AM, zinbad3 wrote: The steering cable on my Cal34 jammed inside the pedestal the other day. I disconnected the cable from the rudder and motored home with the emergency tiller. I need to inspect the damage inside the Edson steering column but can't figure out how to remove the top cover. There's a compass in an aluminum bucket atop the canister that's secured from beneath - no fasteners accessible. There's a wooden disc that the bucket rests on and that is also fastened from below. Beneath the disc is a metal plate with Y arms that are fixed to aa inverted-U-shaped stainless tube structure that mounts to the deck just forward of the pedestal. I can lift the metal plate slightly by wedging a screwdriver between it and the pedestal column. So it doesn't seem to be fastened. I'm thinking that the U frame needs to be unfastened from the deck and lifted to release the Y-plate. Has anyone had any experience with this ? I tried the Edson website and they have good drawings and instructions for disassembling the mechanisms but nothing about the removal odf the top. I think this might be unique to the Cal34. Could use some advice. Jim