Throttle Shift - Morse

[rebuckley]

This weekend - I had the upper helm Morse control "stick" in forward gear. I was not able to pull back (and didn't force too much for fear of breaking it)

I have a single engine, and the control is a Morse control. The "stuck" in gear happened one time during our recent week long trip. If I work the shift level at the lower helm, it moves smoothly and will free up the upper helm. Although the upper helm seems to stick again over time.

For example - entering Block Island harbor, the upper helm was stuck in forward - when the lower helm was shifted a few times, the upper helm worked fine for the rafting process - but got stuck again on the trip home.

I guess my question is multiple - as I have zero experience in cables or shifters. (1) with this issue (if it is enough information) do you think the problem is the upper helm, or is it the lower helm? I have heard sometimes the one that binds up is not the issue, but binds because the other has an issue. Seems counter intuitive to me, but this is a boat system. (2) Are there any schematics for Morse controls - as in how to lubricate or adjust? Not sure if it is a simple lubrication issue, or if I have a larger problem - but would rather start with the easy fix and work my way up.

Any suggestions are welcome, as I said - I have no clue.
Thanks - Reb

[jleonard]

You need to separate the two shifters to figure out where the problem is.
Disconnect the cable coming from the upper control unit. Do this at the lower station which should be easy to work on.
Then shift each one and you'll know which is the problem.
My guess is that one of the cables needs to be replaced, most likely the upper.
You will have to pull it out to measure, then buy the replacement, unless someone here knows the length.
If you tie a small diameter line to it before you pull it out, you'll be able to use that line to pull the new cable in place.


BTW, I replaced ALL of my cables (4) a few years ago as a pm exercise because a boating friend had a failure in one of the locks.

[Slow Ride]

I had a failure with a snapped cable resulting in an impact at very low speed after shutting off the engine. Thread a 10-32 ferrule to the end of the existing cable and thread the new cable to the old one and pull them through. My 1978 36' used a 19' for lower and 26' for the upper - although it is about 15" longer than needed. Not a problem.

When going through the bulkhead at the lower helm from the bottom, coat the cable with blue Dawn liquid - it will pull much easier. I pulled up from the bottom - if you join the cables with a metal ferrule it doesn't matter which direction you pull them. Somewhere on TF I gave the part number from Graingers.

mike