NW Rendevous and shift linkage cable

[Wanderlust]

Hi Everyone,
Just wanted to report on the NW CD Rendevous which took place last weekend in the San Juan Islands. It was serendipity that I was able to attend as it coincided with a planned sailing trip on my MK II, which by the way was my first time out on it since my purchase and shipping from back East. It was a pleasure to meet other CD owners. Quite an assortment of personalities ranging from folks who have semi-retired and have more time to sail than I do, to others with children. Im not much of a socialite when at anchor but this was great. The rendevous began and continued after my attendance at different harbors/ marinas. All in all, it was a pleasure meeting others and I hope to make it again in the future. Great fun seeing other boats, their improvements, their compromises and just what a competent and good natured bunch that CD owners can be.
But now a question. Fortunately while I was dropping anchor and preparing to back it down on a calm night, my shift lever went limp. Turns out that the steering axle had worn through the threaded adjustment point on the shift lever cable in the pedestal. After several hours of disassembly (and some destruction of the plastic compass mounting base) I managed to catch enough remaining threads on the cable to reattach the shifter and continue for another couple of days without returning to base for repairs. As I am now back home in Alaska, I need to order another cable. I was unable to disassemble the pedestal far enough to remove the cable (lack of tools and frozen bolts). So, do any MKII owners happen to know the length of cable used between the pedestal and the Westerbeke 21 engine in their boats. If not, I will remove it on my next trip down to Washington where its kept, but I was hoping to get out on the water if possible instead of waiting several days for a special order delivery of the cable.
So a pleasant hello to all those who attended the NW Rendevous and hope to see you again next year.

[Wayne Grenier]

shift and throttle cables do not last forever-keep in mind in a pinch you can reach in and shift the lever on the gearbox by hand-your best bet is to pull the exisitng cable and go to a supply store-Morse makes most of them and they are sold by length and the size and number of threads on the ends-most are quite standard-here's a hint-by 2 and keep one as a spare-I have not had the experience of pulling up to a dock or slip and having the cable break as I was putting the engine into nuetral but I'll bet it had happened (crunch)-