Q&A
By
Michael “Mick”
HannockBOAT
DOCTOR
BOATINGMAG.COM
JUNE 2018BOAT DOCTOR ///Q&ABOATINGMAG.COM | JUNE 2018 | 31SEIZE THE DAY Seizing the pin of the shackle used to connect your boat’s anchor to its
chain adds security to this essential connection. A wire seizing is traditional, but you can run a
zip tie through the hole in the shackle pin and around the shackle as a faster, easier substitute.PHOTOS: COURTESY WEST MARINE
A:
Hi Mario. They are just like any other cable control. There
is a throttle friction adjustment on the back of the throttle-
lever housing, accessed by popping out a rubber plug. Try
adjusting these screws and see what happens, noting the
position of the screw before you begin. You might also
disconnect the cables from the jet end — at the thrust de-
fl ectors — and move the levers and see what happens. That
way, you will be able to tell if it is the throttle cable or the
shift cable (aka control cable, which moves the defl ector).ABLE
CABLE?
Q:
Dear Boat Doc, I have been boating since the age of- I’ve always driven sterndrive boats, with a few out-
boards thrown in along the way. A couple of summers
ago, I bought a Yamaha twin jet-drive boat for the
reasons most people buy jet boats: no outdrive main-
tenance, shallow water clearance, etc. I was aware of
the negatives of this type of boat, mostly difficulty in
slow-speed maneuvering. What I did not expect was the
difficulty in using the throttles. The twin throttles are
extremely hard to move forward or backward, forcing
me to move in large increments unless I punch the
throttles gently to get small increments in speed. While
I have gotten used to this, it makes it hard to hand over
the wheel to my kids, or anyone else. I am wondering if
this is normal, or if there is an adjustment that can be
made or a lubrication point that I am not aware of.
Mario Bienvenue
Columbus, Ohio
CONTROLS
A classic set of
levers is familiar
to many who
grew up owning
and running
inboards.