pretty loose or poorly aligned for the wire to jump off. I have had my steering chain break several times. The lesson I learned is that once one link goes others will soon fail. Edson, IIRC recommends replacing the chain every 5 years. That is for normal use, not for cruisers. Carry a spare and know how to change it.

You can buy Edson's made up sets for about $300 or you can make your own for less than half that.

Another thing. The axles that the sheaves turn on under the pedestal on my 1985 boat were brass or bronze and had significant wear on them the last time I had the steering apart. Edson now makes them out of SS clevis pins. These need to be greased. Since I was in NZ and had a good SS fabricator for a friend I had him modify two clevis pins to take a grease nipple. He drilled and tapped holes on the wide end for the nipple and cross drilled a hole so the grease would go right to the bushing surface. I pumped grease into it until is oozed out the sides of the axles. I also replaced the bushings - they weren't bad but taking that system apart is a PITA so it was a good idea to replace anything small while it was accessible.