Steering cable question again.

[vortech347]

I talked to Skidim.com about ordering a steering cable for my 99 Sport Nautique. The lady said they do not sell cables for Nautiques because they are different than the normal inboard Teleflex cables. She said they had tried many times to sell them to customers with little success.

The local dealer wants $190 for a cable and said it is 19.5' long. Is there an option out there that is an actual bolt-on. If I have to I will pay the $190 but my local dealer is notorious for overcharging on parts. And they are not flexible on the price.

[thevogt]

Vortech347-
When I replaced mine on my '93 Sport, I went with a 6" longer cable. Nobody stocks the OEM length Nautique cables in the half foot increments. Other than length, it is the same cable assembly you can buy from anyone else. The excess length will be under the front of the boat. Use a length of rope to fish the old cable out and the new cable back in. Tie the rope to the eye on the rudder end and pull to the front of the boat. Reverse the process for install. You will have to play with the nylon tie placement under the dash because of the excess 6" of cable. I'll try to find the link of the place I ordered mine from. If I recall, it was less than $150 shipped. Hope this helps.

Gary

[vortech347]

Yes it helps a lot. I wasn't sure if it was a difference in the attachment or the length that made the nautique cabes unique. I can deal with the 6" extra length.

Thanks You.

[thevogt]

Hope this link works. I Posted it a week or so ago for someone asking about stiff steering.

http://www.outdoorsuperstore.com/sto...K+SINGLE+CABLE

Gary

[vortech347]

I saw that post. I was hoping that would fit a newer Nautique because the price is $73 cheaper than my dealer. Thanks for the info.

[skinautique]

vortech,
That price is right in line for that part. I am not sure what you are going to do with that extra six inches of cable. It might end up causing a bind in your steering.

[vortech347]

OK, one more question. For you guys with Sport/Air Nautiques with factory ballast, how did you get to the rudder assembly to grease the rudder and/or replace the steering cable? I took the back seat out and the floor piece. I can see the rudder assembly but can't reach it. On the Sport/Airs with a trunk it's pretty far back there.

Did you take out the fuel tank so you could move the ballast tanks? This looks like a real PITA on ballast equipped boats.

[thevogt]

On my '93. it was a long stretch to get to it. Keep in mind, that mine has no tanks other that gas. You're right, it is way back there. Mine has the slant back transom, so there is no storage behind the rear seat, just a gas tank. I had to lay on my side/belly to squeeze under as far as possible. The battery was out, of course.

Gary

[skinautique]

Open the trunk and pull out the board that is over top of the tank. If I remember correctly, there is a hole that is notched out around the tank to access the rudder. To grease the rudder, you have to cut the safety wire, remove the top bolt (9/16) and the side bolt (1/2) and then drop it out of the bottom of the boat and grease the shaft of the rudder. Then reverse the process to get the rudder back in its position. Just make sure that you don't mess it up to where your rudder spins so far around that it can hit the prop. If that happens, you have to drop it again and realign it.

[SilverSpraySports]

Re: Steering cable question again.

I talked to Skidim.com about ordering a steering cable for my 99 Sport Nautique. The lady said they do not sell cables for Nautiques because they are different than the normal inboard Teleflex cables. She said they had tried many times to sell them to customers with little success.

The local dealer wants $190 for a cable and said it is 19.5' long. Is there an option out there that is an actual bolt-on. If I have to I will pay the $190 but my local dealer is notorious for overcharging on parts. And they are not flexible on the price.

vortech,
What do you mean by a bolt on? The price for that cable is pretty much the going rate.

-Doug

[vortech347]

Re: Steering cable question again.

vortech,
What do you mean by a bolt on? The price for that cable is pretty much the going rate.

-Doug

Doug,

When I talked to Skidim the person on the phone made it sound like the Teleflex cables they sold would not fit a Nautique. I was under the impression she meant they had different mounts and would not "bolt on" to the boat. I now know that they are just not sold in the custom 1/2' lengths. I can buy a 20' cable from the site listed above for $116. That is a far cry from $189 that was quoted me by my dealer.

And believe me, that may be the retail price of the part but my local dealer is notorious for selling at or above retail price on parts. It's weird, their pro shop has very competitive pricing on watersports products but their parts and service departments are consistently very high. It's bad enough I have to change a cable on a boat with 140 hours and that only goes through very mild Central Texas winters.

[nms1991]

the reason why they make them in half foot incriments is due to the amount of travel they have to have the tiller arms on a nautique are 1.5 times longer than on other boats so they have to travel farther to move the rudder the same amount.