CONTINUOUSWAVE

My 86' [you have a 1986 boat, not an 86-foot long boat—use four digits for years] CENTER CONSOLE SPORT 15 has a 96' [again, you have a 1996 engine, not a 96-feet long engine; use four digits for years] Johnson 48-HP SPL engine.

What cable length [for a mechanical steering cable] is required for this boat?

BACKSTORY

What had been a very sticky steeing cable suddenly froze up completely—very exciting. I nearly went up on the rocks trying to wrench it free again—an experience I never want to repeat.

The cable steering is eight years old and is used in saltwater, but that doesn't seem like much of a service life. I had replaced the original with a Teleflex Saf-T-Quick cable (just the standard model, not the no feedback) and helm when the previous one went.

The steering tube could stand replacement. I reamed out all the old grease (which I do anually now) with a wire brush chucked in a drill, and greased the steering tube, so I know the binding is not in the steering tube.

I have since read that the model number is printed somewhere along the cable length, but I have not searched for it yet. Rule of thumb I've read is measure entire length of plastic sheath, add 18-inches, and round up to nearest foot.

I'd like to get more life out of the next cable.

THE CABLE BUDDY SYSTEM

I have read mixed reviews on the Cable Buddy Systrem. That has you drilling a hole through the steering tube.

Since the rubber seal at the end of the steering cable is intended to keep out water and dirt, how is it going to allow oil to enter at the steering arm end?

Seems like it would just leak out the other end of the steering tube, which is common to negative reviews on Amazon.

The other complaint on these is that many boats don't have enough spare thread on the steering tube to hold both the steering tube nut and cable buddy. That might be the problem on mine.

Is there any [advantage in longer service life for the cable in a mechanical cable steering system] in getting the Cable Buddy?

I used a Steersman Nut on my last two boats. No special oil, just regular marine grease. Same as you add to the engine pivot joints.

I never had a frozen cable in 10 seasons.

Just remove existing port side nut and replace.

http://www.steersman.com

The archives show the 11' cable is the appropriate length.

A SPORT 15 and a CENTER CONSOLE 15 are two different models. One boat cannot be both simultaneously.

A service life of only eight years does seem unusually short. Examine the installation carefully. Perhaps the cable was damaged or a bend radius was too small in its installation, and the short service life was caused by those mistakes in installation.

The replacement cable length should be possible to infer from the existing cable length.

Although the aftermarket nut and seal sold under the Steerman’s brand is often cited as being a big help to maintain lubricant inside the tilt tube, I have used one and not been especially impressed with it.

I was the third owner of the boat, so I don't know if the cable was replaced before me. It doesn't appear to be excessively curved compared to installations I've seen on other boats, I'll post a few photos and see what people think about it. I did the last cable reinstall myself, but lost my records of soecific model. I followed the install instructions explicitly, and it worked well until this season, so I didn't make any installation errors I'm aware of. I had matched the new cable length to what was in the boat when I bought it, as far as I can determine, it's the correct size. As far as I know the boat model is a 1986 15' "Sport CC", it does have a fiberglass center console and a removable cable trough cover running down the boat centerline from console to rear transom, with a short uncovered section all the wiring and steering cable come up out of. A Database was made mention of for an 11' cable length for this boat, is that a resource here on Continuous Wave, or elsewhere?

I rowed out to the boat and looked HARD for any kind of model number on the cable whithin a couple feet of each end, NFG. The only marks on the cable are "Made By Teleflex USA" in white paint, which is still legible, so i don't think this ever had a model # printed on it. With a good bit of crawling around, I managed to get at least an approximate length on the plastic sheath of 139", which works out to 11.58' feet, so I'm guessing this was a 12' cable, but I'll admit it was difficult to get an accurate length, had to measure it in segments. The cable looks the right lenth, any longer and it would be sticking out above the transom, and shorter and I don't think it would make the turn up out of the cable trough. I'm surprisd this isn't more of a hard and fast number. Does Boston Whaler have any records of what it "should" be, or any records I can search with a serial # in hand?

Gilmour wrote:Does Boston Whaler have any records of what [the steering cable length] "should" be...?

That is a good question for Boston Whaler to answer.

Gilmour wrote:...any records I can search with a serial # in hand?

Visit WHALER.COM and browse OWNER RESOURCES, but there will not be any option to search by a hull stencil number for any components.

Gimour wrote:A Database was made mention of for an 11' cable length for this boat, is that a resource here on Continuous Wave, or elsewhere?

The term database is your invention. The information about an 11- foot length was cited as from the archives, that is, the retained prior discussions and other resources.

If your installation followed the manufacturer’s instructions there will be no need for multiple photographs of the failed cable to be posted. Just follow the instructions when you install the new steering cable.

The cable usually has the length in inches on it.