Bridge Throttles Stiff

[MyPleasure]

Hi Fellas,
The throttle controls on the command bridge are really stiff on our Carver 36 aft cabin. I tried to re-route them but they’re just a bit too long and they bind inside because of the hard turns.
The lower controls are much better.
Has anyone shortened up these cables, or are they not adjustable?

[waybomb]

I would bet the cables are bad.
Length or bends should not be an issue.

[MyPleasure]

Thanks waybomb, I never thought about that. I know that there are some tight bends in the throttle cables, but not sure about the cables themselves. I’ll try to remove one of the bridge throttle cables and see what kind of shape they are in.
There’s not a lot of room for the throttle cables in the cablnet so the bends are tight. Maybe new throttle cables would help.

[km1125]

Not uncommon for older cables to get stiff. There's quite a few threads on here about folks replacing them. Look for numbers stamped on the cable jacket, because those are the numbers you'll need to get exact replacements.

[Viper]

The cable type and length should be stamped close to one of the ends. The last set of numbers will be the length in ether feet or inches. Before you remove them, assess the bends and see if there is a better way to route them so you can reduce the bends as that's where they will wear the fastest and affect the amount of effort needed to shift/throttle. If they're too long, get shorter ones that are the proper length, too long is not good. There are specs for maximum bend radiuses depending on the make and model so keep that in mind when replacing them. Extreme cables are a good choice and available just about everywhere.

[waybomb]

I thought i had blown a transmission. Turns out the cable was too stiff and wasn't moving the lever on the trans enough.
I guess I had gotten used to the feel over the years. What a difference now.

[MyPleasure]

Thanks fellas. The lower control throttles are nice and easy to move compared to the upper control throttles. It’s really frustrating trying to sync the engines with stiff cables. I feel that they are definitely a couple of feet too long, but after 30 years, they could well be in need of replacing. I’ll check for the numbers this weekend.
Thanks for the mentioning the Extreme cable Viper, hopefully they are available in Canada.

[bud37]

Source of the post I feel that they are definitely a couple of feet too long

Personally I think the cable stiffness is more related to the cable age than the extra length.....There are some devices you can rig up to lube the cables but how effective it is and how long it works for is any ones guess.

[MyPleasure]

Thanks for the advice guys! I did find the part numbers on the cables, which includes the length of the cables as well. Hard to believe that the cables are 35 and 38 feet long. Going to be fun replacing the cables. For the price though, I’ll be replacing both throttle cables before next spring.