Outboard Control Cable Protection

J

John S

New member
Hello all,

The control cables going to my Honda BF-90's are in that fiberglass loom stuff that C-Dory put lots of the wiring in too. The loom going to my outboards is starting to disintigrate from age and UV. What are my replacement options. I see the plastic tubes on the newer boats, but it looks like the newer motors even come with special connectors just for that stuff. Any other good ideas. I'd prefer NOT to disconnect all my control cables if possible.

Thanks,
 
John
On my other boat the cabels were wrapped in a flat plastic kind of coil stuff. Almost like a telephone cord coil only bigger and flat. Just start

at on end and wrap till you get to the other. You do not have to disconnect anything. Am not sure where to get it, but with a little reseach you should be able to find some
Chuck
Bootleg Hooch
 
Just an additional comment:

If you use a spiral wrap wire loom, which is what I would, barring a better alternative that is marine specific, I'd wrap the portion that is outside the covered protection of the gunnel and engine well (meaning that up near the engine and exposed to water, salt, etc.) with a self-amalgamating rubber tape, such as they use to wrap spreaders, turnbuckles, and the like on sailboats.

It's soft rubber, white, and sticks to itself and forms a tight seal without using an adhesive, such as on most tapes, that can dry out, fray, and come apart, etc. We've all seen how duct tape can do just that, of course.

Self-Amalagamating Tape comes in various widths, and lengths, A Marine Supply store may be one of the more expensive places to procure it, at least if you need quite a bit.
Electrical supply stores also handle it:Self-Amalagamating Tape But 3M may have the retail price 'Fair Traded".



Joe. :teeth :thup
 
Thanks for the input guys. It sounds like the Spiral wrap would be best for me I'm not wild about the look of the zippered stuff but glad to see other options.
What about using the split plastic tubing often used to protect automotive wires?
 
Sea Wolf":3pcviy4j said:
If you use a spiral wrap wire loom, which is what I would, barring a better alternative that is marine specific, I'd wrap the portion that is outside the covered protection of the gunnel and engine well (meaning that up near the engine and exposed to water, salt, etc.) with a self-amalgamating rubber tape, such as they use to wrap spreaders, turnbuckles, and the like on sailboats.
Click to expand...
Joe, is self-amalgamating tape the stuff they call "rescue tape"?

I don't remember how I stumbled on this site a while back, but I remember thinking it was a little too much like a product you would see advertised on late night TV.

Anyone remember the Popeil Pocket Fisherman?
---
mike
 
Mike-

I don't think so, but I don't have time to do a Ph.D. thesis on it.

The "self amalgamating tape" is a 3M product sold with varying labels, and the "Rescue Tape" is a somewhat similar product (generic) sold by Ace Hardware.

The first is probably made by (or from materials purchased from) DuPont, GAF, or someone else big in the U.S. or Europe, and Rescue Tape is probably manufactured overseas somewhere else at less cost, perhaps in the Far East, but that's just a guess, based on many generalizations, and may be wrong.

The Popeil Pocket Fisherman is a classic "Joke" as far as any serious fisherman is concerned, but may well soon be a collector's item on ebay, if it isn't already!

And the world turns out to be a perfectly logical place, again, no?


.......... not any more!

Joe. :lol: :thup






Mike...":3tg22wmu said:
Sea Wolf":3tg22wmu said:
If you use a spiral wrap wire loom, which is what I would, barring a better alternative that is marine specific, I'd wrap the portion that is outside the covered protection of the gunnel and engine well (meaning that up near the engine and exposed to water, salt, etc.) with a self-amalgamating rubber tape, such as they use to wrap spreaders, turnbuckles, and the like on sailboats.
Click to expand...
Joe, is self-amalgamating tape the stuff they call "rescue tape"?

I don't remember how I stumbled on this site a while back, but I remember thinking it was a little too much like a product you would see advertised on late night TV.

Anyone remember the Popeil Pocket Fisherman?
---
mike
Click to expand...
 
Anyone have a picture using spiral wrap wire loom on the cables?

When my rigging tubes go, I plan to sew a covering out of Sunbrella and add zippers, thinking it should last longer
 
John, et al ...

Whatever you choose to use to cover your cables, I would urge you to still inspect the cable-ends occasionally. Here's why:

When I bought my 2006 CC23 (8/09) the cables were enclosed in the wire loom material and the whole thing looked nice and neat. I used the boat, and everything was great until the end of my "South Florida Loop" trip in 3/2010 when my shift cable broke. (Fortunately the breakdown occurred going into a marina, and the whole experience was relatively easy to handle.)

During the follow-up replacing of both shift and throttle cables, I was shown the problem. During initial rigging, both cable outer coverings had been trimmed back about 2" too far, which exposed the inner cable core to saltwater intrusion, resulting in rust and finally, breakage. Had the cables not been concealed in the wire loom I would have been able to see the problem, and (probably) prevent the rust, etc.

The lesson I learned from all this is: inspect the rigging and make sure the cable-ends fit properly and/or are sealed against saltwater intrusion. Careful engine flushing didn't address the problem - but I learned something. I still use the wire loom material, but now I'll make a point of checking it occasionally.

You can see a picture at:
http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php

Best,
Casey
 
Back
Top