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Old 12-10-2021, 06:10 PM   #18
rslifkin
Guru
 
City: Rochester, NY
Vessel Name: Hour Glass
Vessel Model: Chris Craft 381 Catalina
Join Date: Aug 2019
Posts: 7,552
Quote:
Originally Posted by koliver View Post
What goes wrong? Why would cables need replacement?

Mine are 41 years old. I have been using them since 1994 and 3 owners before me since 1980. As far as I can tell they work the same now as they did in 1994 and in 1980. There are no signs of deterioration. Yet, when my Insurer asked for a Mechanical inspection, one of the things the "inspector" suggested (to me, but nothing about the cables appeared in his report) was that I should replace my Morse cables.

He made other "off the wall" suggestions so I am not convinced that he wasn't smoking something funny that day.

Cables can wear over time, particularly the inner liner that keeps everything sliding smoothly. But if they don't get dirt and water in them, don't get moved and kinked, etc. they can last a very long time if they're good quality cables. If they aren't showing any binding or excess friction and visually appear to be in good shape, I wouldn't worry about replacing them. Just monitor their conditions so you can replace them if they do start to wear out.

I contemplated replacing my shift cables this past winter after 34 years, as one of them was starting to get a bit stiff (even after lubrication). My hand was forced in the spring when I was backing into our slip one day and the stbd shift cable bound up hard (fortunately in neutral) and didn't want to move when I went to put that engine in gear. I did get it to move with a good bit of force after that, but there was no way I'd trust it.

Put in new shift cables after that and all is well (with lower shift effort than before). The throttle cables are still original, as those still seem to be in great shape with very little friction (so I see no reason to replace them).
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