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Conference unifix::sailing

Title:	SAILING
Notice:	Please read Note 2.* before participating in this conference
Moderator:	UNIFIX::BERENS

Created:	Wed Jul 01 1992
Last Modified:	Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2299
Total number of notes:	20724

2081.0. "another little tip" by TFH::KTISTAKIS (Mike K.) Wed Sep 15 1993 14:53

    Did you ever have problems with your power throttle when you push
    the lever for more power and the lever comes back like a spring
    pushed it back? And then,did you spray with WD the linkage of the cable
    where attaches to the engine and the control lever inside the binnacle?
    And finally because that didn't work did you change the control cable?
    Everything happen to me with the exception of the last part(did not
    change the cable) from the day of the lunching of the boat this year.
    So I was tying the level to the binnacle when the road... I mean the 
    seaway was clear till I had the time and the knowledge to fix it at
    later date.
    Well,maybe it hasn't happen to you like all the other people I asked
    in my marine and they all advised me the WD way but keep it in mind
    who knows?  (Get to the point Mike!)
    When this happen use the WD treatment first and check the linkage
    movement(power off) both connections,engine and binnacle. If everything
    seems O.K. but you still have the problem take one or two,I use two,
    small hose clamps and put them around the control cable.Start tighten
    the clamps while checking the level(don't overtight because the lever
    will stop moving)till you find the right amount of pressure of the
    insulation of the cable to the the wire of the cable.
    By the way last year when the boat was out of the water and I was
    cleaning the engine room I saw two hose clamps tight on a single cable,
    nothing to hold.Didn't make any since to me so I removed them.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
2081.1	Possible cures to cable spring	CFSCTC::CLAFLIN		`Wed Sep 15 1993 18:08`	42
	Hi Mike I'm back from Down Under, Kiwi Land and Fiji. The problem with your throttle does appear to be friction related, as you have already surmised. To a certain extent I think it is unavoidable and a function of control cable length. There is a certain amount of friction between the cable and its housing. Over a length this will cause the control cable to "bunch up" in an "S" curve inside the housing. The spring effect is just that. You remove the push of the throttle lever and the "spring" control line relaxes by pushing the throttle cable back. I think you description of clamping down with hose clamps etc. will work. The bad part is that you are putting undesired forces into your throttle line. Murphy loves me and would rear his head by snappy the throttle at the most awkward time. Here is a list of steps in more or less increasing order of difficulty to lower the friction in the throttle control line. Lubricate visible areas, binacle and engine. Try to get something like TriFlo to go down the inside of the cable housing. Check the throttle linkage for smooth operation. This may include cleaning a venturi to unstick a butterfly, stronger return spring on throttle, fixing a bent throttle linkage. Less obvious but a good source of friction is the route of the throttle control line. Make the bends as few as possible and as large as possible. Obviously you want the control line as short as possible. Look carefully at the angle that the throttle cable mates with the throttle linkage. You want this to be as tangent as possible. At 90 degrees the control line would never cause the linkage to move. Disconnect the cable from the engine and connect it to a semaphore. Next time I go out with you designate me as cheif engineer. Send the command for flank speed by semaphore or courier pigeon. The engineer changes the throotle directly.
2081.2	How was Fiji?	TFH::KTISTAKIS	Mike K.	`Thu Sep 16 1993 09:02`	7
	Doug, Nice to have you back.Hope you had a good time Down under.How was the sailing and the scenery over there ? I found about my throttle cable cure last week,but if you knew it along how come you didn't tell me when you were on the boat and saw me so many times tying the throttle lever to the binnacle ? Yes I will change the cable.This year I am bringing the boat home for major overhaul.
2081.3	Fiji in the rain	CFSCTC::CLAFLIN		`Thu Sep 16 1993 14:26`	43
	I spent a week visting friends in Fiji. Some qhick notes of sailing interest. The cable remedy came as I tried fixing a John's throttle in Suva harbor. After staring at it a while, I found a service loop in the cable that was only about 4" in diameter. I freed that and things improved greatly. I also spent a couple of days working on making a new bed for his batteries and fiddling with a new alternator. Suva is the main city in Fiji (actually until you get to Aukland). There was an interesting mix of good supply and then nothing at all. For the most part goods cost between 1.5x - 10x US prices for the same thing. As a general rule high tech items cost more than low tech. Likewise things imported from the 1st world cost more than things importedfrom the 3rd world. Somethings are simply not available at all, battery jumper cables and terminal cleaning brushes are two that come to mind. Electronic repair is marginal and only one shop worth considering at that (AB WEST?) John belongs to the Royal Suva Yacht Club. It is located on the edge of Suva and is a nice unpretentious place. The outer islands do not have customs facilities. This is to discourage drug trade. Frankly, I did not see much evidence of that type of thing. My impression was that in Suva and the surrounding area, petty crime is a problem. Fijian socail structure in the countriside makes the rural area OK. The coral reefs are amazing. I wish the eather had been more conducive to snorkling. In retrospect, I would have liked to take a tour bus into the mountainous interior. While the Fijian are a wonderful gentle and friendly people, they have an incredibly violent past. The raised torture to an art form that makes the Marquese de Sade look like he was using finger paints. Native art is primarily in the form of woodcarving, tapa cloth, and some pottery. This is winter in Fiji. What but we could all suffer that way. I'll bore any and all with pictures when they come back, probably when I set up a viewing of the Southern Cross video. (See I really haven't forgotten). Doug dtn 244 7042