I have, a cole Nantucket 31 and the gear lever is back of cockpit low down making it difficult when coming onto mooring.
Want to relocate to binnacle at wheel height so easier to use any ideas
That's going to be a very hard task.
Expect your gear lever system to the diesel throttle and gear shift is a Teleflex Morse - google that and see what you can find. I found the below who could maybe assist. Seems like Teleflex Morse have changed their name to Seastar Solutions.
chsmith.com.au/brands/teleflex.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIloCq8ZCs7AIVgnwrCh2c-Q8lEAMYAiAAEgJ4uPD_BwE
How low down is it from your wheel? How low down do you have to bend? Can you put a temporary extension onto the gear lever? Realise there are probably dis-engage buttons to activate to move the lever.
Extending the system to your binnacle could be possible but these Teleflex Morse systems are only designed for a certain length, and they have to be fully secured at appropriate locations along their length else they will buckle under the compression loading case and not achieve the gear shift or throttle change. They could do the same under the tension loading case if not secured as designed.
That's going to be a very hard task.
Expect your gear lever system to the diesel throttle and gear shift is a Teleflex Morse - google that and see what you can find. I found the below who could maybe assist. Seems like Teleflex Morse have changed their name to Seastar Solutions.
chsmith.com.au/brands/teleflex.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIloCq8ZCs7AIVgnwrCh2c-Q8lEAMYAiAAEgJ4uPD_BwE
How low down is it from your wheel? How low down do you have to bend? Can you put a temporary extension onto the gear lever? Realise there are probably dis-engage buttons to activate to move the lever.
Extending the system to your binnacle could be possible but these Teleflex Morse systems are only designed for a certain length, and they have to be fully secured at appropriate locations along their length else they will buckle under the compression loading case and not achieve the gear shift or throttle change. They could do the same under the tension loading case if not secured as designed.
From what I've seen on mine being 16' teleflex and others the cable outer only need be secure at the ends, tight bends are the thing to avoid.
It's probably doable, but perhaps a change in technique is possible? I have a Cole designed Nantucket Island 33 and it has a low down morse control. One thing I've learned over the years is that sometimes things that make you scratch your head and wonder what the heck the designer/builder was thinking at the time actually make perfect sense on further analysis and to try and change things will not necessarily be an improvement. For example, on my boat re-locating the morse control high would necessitate needing to reach through the wheel to operate it.
My control is the single lever type and my solution has been to use my foot to operate it which is actually very easy to do. Normally I have the admiral pick up the mooring, but when single handing I'll run a 10m line fitted with a quick connect carabiner clip attached from the bow cleat back to the cockpit. Then I just need to pull alongside the mooring, pick up and attach the line to the mooring pennant, throw the whole thing overboard and then pull or winch the mooring pennant in via the attached line depending on conditions. Of course, there's one design aspect of my boat I've never found any logic in and that is the use of hawsepipes through the bulwarks which complicates attaching to a mooring on the fly at the best of times.
However, if you do relocate the control, you will just need to mount it in a suitable enclosure attached to the pedestal. The two morse cables attach to the morse control mechanism directly so don't need support from anywhere else and should feed up inside the pedestal easily.
Thanks for your reply.
Our gear lever is quite clunky and stiff also.
Never tried the foot option tho worth a thought. We would also need to consider the size of the wheel as its substantial. We will look at perhaps at an extension instead of relocation
Thanks for your reply.
Our gear lever is quite clunky and stiff also.
Never tried the foot option tho worth a thought. We would also need to consider the size of the wheel as its substantial. We will look at perhaps at an extension instead of relocation
Hi, a friends boat is similarly set up, the foot does an excellent job however does need some experience. ![]()
Maintenance of the control markedly improved things as well. ![]()
Thanks for your reply.
Our gear lever is quite clunky and stiff also.
Never tried the foot option tho worth a thought. We would also need to consider the size of the wheel as its substantial. We will look at perhaps at an extension instead of relocation
They can get very stiff is un-lubed and unused over time. If you can get behind it, a good spray with Lanox or similar into the mechanism should free it up a bit with a bit of luck. You can also squirt some light oil down the morse cables as well.