New Flybridge Controls
Posted: Sun Oct 06, 2019 7:20 pm
We recently installed new controls on our flybridge, along with new cables to the lower helm. The old shifters had over 5" of play in neutral and the throttles were quite stiff. In the photo below, the shifters are both in neutral!
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A while back, I bought new Teleflex Twin S controls on a really good sale, but they had been sitting around collecting dust. I finally had the time to figure out what length cables I had and purchase new cables. After some research, I decided to buy Glendinning 3300 cables which are available directly from the manufacturer. The main reason I decided on these cables is that a number of commercial installers favored them over the Teleflex cables that are more commonly used. More on this later in the post.
Since the new cables were different lengths, I used a label maker to mark them by function at each end.
One of the worries I had about this job was how tight the "raceway" between the flybridge and salon. Previous projects have run into difficulties getting wiring through the tight and tortuous pathway between the two helms. To help run the new cables through this restriction, I bought some 10-32 coupler nuts from McMaster-Carr. This let me screw the new cables to the ends of the old ones on the flybridge before pulling them down to the salon. I'm not sure where I read about doing it this way, but it worked great! In the photo below, you can see just how many wires and cables go through the very tight holes in the floor of the flybridge!
. After pulling the cables into the salon, we then pulled them from the salon to the lower helm while they were still attached to the old cables. Once the cables were in the right locations, I attached them to the controls at each location. The end result looks much better, with the correct color balls on the shifters and nice tight control action.
As for the Glendinning cables, they seem very robust though I suspect the Teleflex Xtreme cables might be a touch smoother, but without having both cables in the same installation, its hard to tell. In any case, I am quite pleased with the overall improvement, especially when using the shifters to dock.
.
.
A while back, I bought new Teleflex Twin S controls on a really good sale, but they had been sitting around collecting dust. I finally had the time to figure out what length cables I had and purchase new cables. After some research, I decided to buy Glendinning 3300 cables which are available directly from the manufacturer. The main reason I decided on these cables is that a number of commercial installers favored them over the Teleflex cables that are more commonly used. More on this later in the post.
Since the new cables were different lengths, I used a label maker to mark them by function at each end.
One of the worries I had about this job was how tight the "raceway" between the flybridge and salon. Previous projects have run into difficulties getting wiring through the tight and tortuous pathway between the two helms. To help run the new cables through this restriction, I bought some 10-32 coupler nuts from McMaster-Carr. This let me screw the new cables to the ends of the old ones on the flybridge before pulling them down to the salon. I'm not sure where I read about doing it this way, but it worked great! In the photo below, you can see just how many wires and cables go through the very tight holes in the floor of the flybridge!
. After pulling the cables into the salon, we then pulled them from the salon to the lower helm while they were still attached to the old cables. Once the cables were in the right locations, I attached them to the controls at each location. The end result looks much better, with the correct color balls on the shifters and nice tight control action.
As for the Glendinning cables, they seem very robust though I suspect the Teleflex Xtreme cables might be a touch smoother, but without having both cables in the same installation, its hard to tell. In any case, I am quite pleased with the overall improvement, especially when using the shifters to dock.
.