It's obvious that Nalani will need new conduit. Lewmar now sells only blue conduit. And, at the time of this writing, the only details Lewmar provides online or in its catalogue is that the blue conduit will accommodate 5mm and 6 mm cable (no ID or OD) (see Lewmar photo, below).
Nalani might also benefit from conduit grease fittings (see Lewmar photo, below)? Lewmar posted this photo in their online catalog, calling it a conduit END fitting and providing the the correct conduit END fitting part number (89100116). The proper conduit grease fitting part number was 89100118. While Lewmar's photograph of a grease fitting appears in the online catalog, its part number (89100118 or 98100118) is no where to be found?
And Nalani also needed new conduit end fittings (see photo, below). The proper part number for a conduit end fitting is 89100116. Lewmar substituted nice black plastic construction instead of about a pound of brass in the old style fitting. And the Lewmar online catalog says absolutely nothing about the size of conduit the end fitting accommodates or the size of the threaded end/bolt.
And since I had been so lax in repairing the bad conduit, I decided that the associated tangential terminal unit should be replaced with an eye toward preventive maintenance. The aluminum on the old unit was somewhat corroded/eroded, though definitely not in danger of near term failure. Since I hoped I'd never have to touch the steering system again (right!), I decided to replace any and every part that I could/should. The Lewmar photo (below, click to enlarge) shows the tangential terminal unit and a quadrant, so it's a bit confusing at first glance. Nalani would need 89100111.
And now the fun begins.
Lewmar USA and West Marine state that the blue conduit will be back ordered for twelve weeks. I call Cactus Navigation in England. They check Lewmar UK's inventory. There is no blue conduit in England (or anywhere else on the planet) and the product is "out for manufacture". "Just in time" manufacturing looks like about twelve weeks (give or take the time it takes a container to get from China?).
Lewmar conduit grease fittings are no longer available. They aren't "out for manufacture". They're just "out". They appear (posthumously) in a misidentified photo at Lewmar online, but they're out. (Keep the photo for your scrapbook.)
Lewmar USA has 15 conduit end fittings in stock. They probably aren't big sellers, since there is no blue conduit to fit. I needed four, so I ordered eight. Can't let them get away.
And calls to Connecticut and England confirm that there are no tangential terminal units in stock anywhere. There is also a note in Lewmar UK about manufacturing one/some, "just in time" in twelve weeks.
Lessons learned:
-Anticipate all needs for Lewmar parts at least twelve weeks in advance.
-Don't start the project until you have the Lewmar parts in a box on your doorstep/dockstep.
-If you find a Lewmar part you can use, grab it.
-Lewmar US employees are very pleasant. West Marine employees are very chagrined. Cactus Nav employees are very British
-Lewmar might not be selling lots of Constellation steering parts. It might not be a strong profit point for Lewmar. Younger owners might want to stock up with spares.
No conduit, no grease fittings, no tangential terminal unit. Twice as many conduit end fittings as I need. In our next installment, Edson to the rescue, sort of.