Stiff Controls

Hi All
First time posting so I hope I'm in the right place to ask this question. Recently purchased a Clipper 30 and find the throttle/fwd/rev controls a little on the stiff side. It's powered by a Ford Lehman 80 diesel. Not sure if the cable simply need lubrication, or replacing or something else. Any advice welcome.

As cables age, they do tend to get stiff. If your cable run is not too difficult to access, replace the cables. I've tried lubing them with poor results. There are a couple versions of cables available, the premium version (can't remember the trademark name) shifts like butter. More critical if a two station boat where both controls work together and all cables are in play together. More opportunity for friction.

Do check that the engine and gear levers in the engine room are free to move with cable disconnected.

Some helm controls have friction screws, make sure they are not tightened too much.

In my limited experience, it's the cables that bind up. And like Ski, lubrication isn't the solution, just replacement. But it's worth disconnecting the cable at both ends to verify that the control stick, and shift level on the gear are moving freely. But my money would be on the cables.

The green cables made by Cable Craft are the gold standard but any of the Morse cables would be fine for your service. Use the old ones for lengths.

I haven’t done it but some people on the Trojan owners forum say they have had success lubing with Marvel Mystery Oil. Pour some in the top of the cable and then hook a hose over the end of the cable and put air pressure on the hose to force the oil through the cable. May or may not work but before I replaced the cables I would give it a try. Go to Trojan owners forum and search for the exact directions.

While I did manage to relube a cable, it didn't last as long as original. Probably wrong lube.

Probably cheapest on ebay.com.au or amazon.com.au

Purchase new and replace . . . You will be glad you did when you get in a tight situation and have to have precision control of transmission and throttle.

Good luck with your cables, and Welcome Aboard!

I’ve got the same situation, upper helm transmission controls are stiff. How difficult is it to change them out?

How difficult? It depends completely on how they are run in your boat. How tightly packed is the wiring chase the cables are in? It can be really easy or a total bugger. You can disconnect one end and see how much give there is when you try to move them back and forth. However they may go easy for a bit and then hang up halfway out. You can’t know until you get into it.

When I replaced my control cables I taped the new cable to the old cable and used the old cable to pull the new one into position.

I like the Seastar Xtreme Cables. Very low friction. Ridges on the core make for very little contact area between the core and the low friction liner.
SeaStar Solutions

HopCar said:

When I replaced my control cables I taped the new cable to the old cable and used the old cable to pull the new one into position.

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Me too. But if you don't know the length you pretty much have to pull the old one first to get that length. Guess you could use a fish tape taped to the original on removal and then pull the new one using that.

Wow..blown away by all the helpful comments from everyone. So many great tips and advice, thanks. It looks like replacement is the way to go, long term, so I will head in that direction and look at using quality cables. Cheers all.

Cables are often embossed with model and length on the plastic sheath within a foot or so of one end. Or maybe both ends.

Ski in NC said:

Cables are often embossed with model and length on the plastic sheath within a foot or so of one end. Or maybe both ends.

Click to expand...

The length is often given in inches which is a little counter intuitive as the cables come in one foot increments. For example if you see 144 on the cable it is a 12 Ft cable.

I dreaded this job for years as my shifter cable stiffened. I had planned to lube all cables and had all the components but delayed the job until finally one broke. Now I had no choice but to replace. I was reassured by Capt. Jack/Sailor of Fortune that it was no big deal.

He was right. In my boat, it was easier than I expected. I had the job done in a couple hours. One more learned skill to add to my tool box.

Thanks, Jack!

Sounds like I need to replace the fuel shut-off cable in my Albin-25 (Volvo-Penta MD17C). I'm always afraid I'll pull the knob off the upper end.

When pulling out the old cable pull in 2 new cables. Seal the ends of the spare.

No more effort , a couple of bucks, and should "stuff happen" the change over is measured in minuets , not trips to the boat store.