Adjustment for throttle creep

[pschauss]

When I run my boat at cruising speed, about 3000 rpm, the throttle control lever for the starboard engine tends to slip a bit, down to about 2800-2900 rpm. The control for the port engine tends to stay pretty much where I put it.

Is there any adjustment on the throttle controls to prevent throttle creep at cruising speed? I believe that I have the original Morse controls (separate shift and throttle). I can see screws which look like they control the maximum/minimum stop positions, but nothing obvious to control the amount of drag on the levers.

Another observation I have made is that to get the same speed out of both engines, I need to have the throttle lever for the starboard engine about 1" ahead of the one for the port engine. Is it possible that I have too much slack in that cable and, if so, is it a simple adjustment?

My boat is a Sport Fisherman with the upper and lower control stations.

FWIW, we have had the boat in the water for about four weeks now and she has been running well. The whole family (wife, daughter, son-in-law, grandchildren) enjoys being able to get to the beach in 10 minutes.

Thanks,

[moguls2go]

We had the same problem, also with a morse control- although I don't think the control itself is the problem. We used a cable brake and it worked perfectly; $20 or so at our local marine hardware store- it simply clamps the cable jacket a bit tighter around the cable itself and provides just enough friction to fix the problem.

Adjust slowly- it is possible to crack the jacket and create a much larger issue.

https://www.jamestowndistributors.com/u ... o?pid=9534

[pschauss]

Thanks for the link. I have ordered the cable brake. For now, I only plan to put it on the cable for the flying bridge. I will let you all know how it works out.

I suspect that the difference in drag between the port and starboard controls is due to the fact that the cable runs from the flying bridge and cabin controls to the starboard engine have fewer bends. Working the controls with the engines off, there is considerably more drag on the port side.

[Rawleigh]

Which Morse controls do you have? I seem to remember a screw on the quadrant that tightened them up.

[pschauss]

I suspect that mine are original. From the outside, the only adjustments are the high and low stops. There is an extra scrip in each handle about an inch from the screw which holds the handle to the shaft but it looks like its only function is to fill the hole.

[pschauss]

I bought and installed a cable brake from Jamestown. Works as expected.

Makes the boat much easier to drive at cruising speed.

Thanks for the suggestion.