Casey's "South Florida Loop" Shift Cable Story....

C

Casey

New member
...see, I just knew a catchy title would bring folks in to Read !

I finished 654 miles of the "South Florida Loop" on Tuesday (the Loop goes from Lake Okeechobee to Florida's west coast and down to the Keys, then back up Florida's east coast and back to Okeechobee). Overall a very enjoyable three week trip.

On the final leg, about 75 miles from where I left my truck & trailer, I lost 'Reverse gear. No Reverse at all, and problems getting the motor into/out of forward as well. Hmmm.... The shifting problem arose spontaneously; no hint of a problem until that moment. Fortunately I was able to get a ride to the truck and had the boat on the trailer by nightfall; very lucky, all things considered.

Let me share what I've learned about shift and throttle cables.

The boat had 20' TeleFlex cables in place, one of which was broken, and the throttle cable was also rusting badly (failure imminent). Although the 20' cable was enough to make the 'run, it was rather tight. My mechanic suggested going to a 22' cable, thus reducing any sharpish bends and just make the whole installation smoother. Seemed reasonable to me. We are going to upgrade to TeleFlex 33C Red cables for an additional $20/cable; money well spent I think.

But the really interesting item was: The original installation cables had about 3-4" of the protective plastic covering cut away, which exposed the inner wires and core to the Elements (including saltwater). The engine ends of the cable simply rusted away until they broke. Of course, the exposed, unprotected cable itself wasn't visible because it was neatly hidden from view inside a woven black plastic sleeve. The sleeve made it all appear very neat - but it absolutely kept me from seeing the rusty condition that would have been otherwise easily visible.

Bottmline: Have you looked-at/inspected your cables lately? It might be a very good idea, and if it's a hidden inside one of those nifty sleeves which make everything pretty; open it up and spend a few minutes occasionally to actually LOOK at it!

Fortunately I was entering a small marina when I lost 'Reverse, and it wasn't that much of a problem. On the otherhand, if I'd been down in Miami, or the Keys it could have been a much bigger hassle.

If I get over to the boat tomorrow I'll try to take a picture of the offending part(s); it's a good lesson to have learned.

Best,
Casey
 
Casey,

Glad to hear that you completed your cruise and I will check out the cables that you mentioned. I enjoyed meeting you and wish that our timing was better so we could have had time to talk when Marcia and I crossed wakes with you last week off Bahia Honda.

Regards,

Nick
"Valkyrie"
 
Bill & El - I'll try to write-up something on the Loop Trip shortly. But for the moment Sandy has three weeks worth of Honey Do's I've been neglecting. ...as the saying goes: Freedom is Not Free.

SmittyPaddler - Yes, I stopped at the Rod & Gun Club but didn't stay there. An interesting old place, for sure. R&GC is now charging $1.50/ft to tie to their dock (no services), so I found another site that worked well. ...and yes, you can be assured that when the temp's finally rose a bit, the mosquito population in Everglades City is still Very healthy!

Nick & Marcia - Yes, it was good to meet you both, even if briefly offshore. I'll look forward to another chat in the future. Maybe we should 'book some more time at the Mike&Judy Resort in Naples, eh?

Boris - "Katmai" was originally purchased at a dealership here in Florida that was formerly a Cape Cruiser dealer, so I presume that's where the rigging was done. I've had other dealings with them (in addition to the purchase) and they seem quite professional (they did my windlass installation, plus barrier coat and bottompaint) so I'm reluctant to dime-them-out for the cable issue. That said, I would be interested to know why it was done the way it was done.* (SEE NOTE AT END OF THIS MESSAGE.) There may be a good reason. I suspect it was simply a shortcut, done several years ago, but I'm curious. After seeing the result (four years and 355 engine hours later...) I'll stick with arrangements that are more visible and easier to Inspect ! Honestly, the thing I learned from this experience (more important than the removal of a few inches of the cable's protective covering) is that the nice-looking, but conceals-a-problem use of the woven loom/sleeve over the hoses and cables. As owner, if I had clipped the two plastic wire ties that secure the sleeve, and LOOKED INSIDE even Once, I would have seen the problem; so it's My Bad as much as anyone else's.

The sleeve actually does have a utilitarian purpose; it's reduces U/V deterioration of the hoses and stuff inside, but does so at a cost: it makes occasional inspection more difficult. Suggesting that folks who might have a similar arrangement be made aware of the need for occasional inspection was my main purpose for bringing up this "lesson learned." I plan to write another C-Brat thread (soon...) titled: "Preflighting Your Boat" that will hopefully open-up the topic a little more.

Best,
Casey
* not to make this message unbearably long; I think I may have just realized why the cable housings were partially cut away. The two cables, (as well as other hoses and 'stuff) pass through a very large rubber plug as they enter the bottom of the engine cover. I suspect that the cables, with protective covering intact didn't fit through the small holes-provided, and the original rigger opted to remove the protective covering to reduce the cable diameter slightly so the cables would fit. An obvious alternative would have been to ream-out the offending hole(s) in the rubber plug with a rattail file; but that probably would have taken longer than simply removing the cable covering. Hmmm...I'll have to revisit that when I go check on the boat later today.
 
Casey I'm glad it was not a gear or dog clutch problem . I guess this is a maintenance problem that all of us who live in a salty environment should look into. I wonder how long cable's last in a salt water ?

The good point of this is your shifting will be a lot smoother.

Take care and good seeing you again hopefully we can get a trip together
 
Yes Jim, I'll look forward to the next time we cross-wakes!

I just posted a couple pictures of the of the offending cable ends in my C-Brat album.

I don't know how long cables "should" last, but from previous experience it's certainly more than a year! I'm guessing 3-5 years, but they are just another item that needs occasional 'inspection to prevent Surprises!

Best,
Casey
 
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