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Boy, did I ever have an exciting few minutes this evening! Today was the day to put my 2002 in the water. The mechanic had just finished installing a completly new steering system(cable, bezel, et al). An hour before towing the boat to the marina he came and checked over my four stroke 2005 Honda 50 HP outboard - revved it up, checked it over. All appeared to be fine.

The launch went well and we pulled the boat alongside the dock near the launch to check out everything before manouevering to my assigned berth. I started to move away from the dock in a gentle fashion, put the throttle to move forward slowly when, much to my astonishment, the motor speeds up rapidly and I take off around the marina completley out of control. I did my best to avoid causing a major disaster by hitting nearby boats. I had no control whatsoever over propulsion but could steer. The throttle did not respond ast all. I completely forgot to pull the emergency stop. At one point I was headed straight for the very rocky shore but manged to alter course and aimed for a log wall. I hit it at a considerable speed and the engine stopped. Subsequent inspection of the bow revealed very little damage. I'm sure grateful for that but I must admit I was shaken up a bit.

I have no idea yet what happened to the throttle. My mechanic is inspecting it tomorrow. Has anyone else had a similar experience with the Honda?

Yikes!!!!

Sounds like you were quite lucky there wasn't bad damage to your boat or to any other boats.

Good Luck,
Jim

efalstrem said:

Has anyone else had a similar experience with the Honda?

Not that I ever recollect. Did the little doohickey in the kill switch get knocked out in the collision? Is that why the engine finally shut off?

In the excitement of the moment it is understandable your forgetting about the kill switch. I am just imagining zipping around a marina trying to avoid all manner of objects. Did you violate the ""no wake" zone

I just told the Admiral your story. Please keep us all informed.

Ray

efalstrem wrote:The mechanic had just finished installing a completely new steering system(cable, bezel, et al).

I just finished a complete replacement of mi steering and rudder system from the 1997 system to the 2002 plus a new connection bar

I will post that mod later because it is a complex and very promising thing. I am making pictures and drawings of it.

When I finished the installation of the boomerang bar and tested it I found out that when the motor moved up and down it smashed the control cables.

I had to move those cables from below to above the new boomerang bar.

After doing that all was OK.

Maybe thats what happened to you...

Jose

I have had a similar situation occur with my Honda 50(2006). The outer sheathing for the cable has a wire wrap,with a plastic sheathing. The cable sheathing can be stressed from the motor going up and down,and eventually the outer wire wrap starts to fracture. This can cause the cable to bind,and the inner sheath to snag,making the cable stick in position(wide open!). Lucky me, the shift cable and the throttle cable did this simultaneously,making it very exciting.
Replace the cables(do both at the same time-much easier) with the Teleflex Red Jacket cables(M takes a 12ft,don't know about the X)
It's a pretty straight forward job,with climbing in to route the cable being the hardest part.
Fortunately for me it happened as I was coming into a harbor,still out in open water and I was able to shut it down and anchor while I rigged a temporary fix.
Glad to hear you didn't meet any other boats by accident.

Hi All:

My mechanic inspected my motor and throttle cables today and the problem was pretty much exactly as described by Kayakdan. The outer wire had cracked and the cable had stuck in the wide open position. He tells me the cable run was poorly done and will be making some changes when he installs the new cables tomorrow. He also confirmed that the raising and lowering of the motor can be hard on the cable. BOAT.

One good about today is that I was able to raise the mast, install the boom and all the fittings without incident.

Efalstrem, not to single you out buddy but, a good chance to explain to all the very important need to KNOW YOUR BOAT and what to do in a situation not normal, that frankly happens to everyone from time to time.

Know your boat and related parts, like the motor sails ext, ext,

Common sense needs to be with us all the time, for instance, we know that turning the key starts the motor, but it also shuts it off, we shouldnt rely on things like kills switches, that are meant to, in a emergency, like falling out of your boat, to keep the boat from becoming a pilotless missile, its not meant to be a pull the cord and everything is saved as you are in your boat, although it would work, its best we just use the key.

The statement "my mechanic" I think is used to much, simple maintance and the ability to tell when something is worn, or ready to break, should be common knowledge when we take up boating. Its fine that when we get a flat tire in our car and call the auto club to change it, but we still should know how to change the tire and have the proper tools to do it. That applies to boats too, simple pre checks, and knowing how it works, when you push the throttle forward. You can tell if the throttle is stuck before you ever push off the dock. Take the time to learn about the systems on our boats and how they work and what they feel like normal.

Again not looking to single you out, but you posted your mishap, so lets help others, you were an extreme danger to everyone around you, people could have got killed, and all you had to do was simply turn the key off. Take the time to learn your systems in your boats, your life, and others depend on it. Its not stupidity, its lack of knowledge, knowledge every single boater should learn before they venture into crowded ramps and marinas.


Mike

Your point is very well taken and I do agree with you wholeheartedly. I don't mind being singled out if it will remind others in the boating community to learn from my failure to properly prepare for this event. It was foolish of me not to review in my mind "what if" scenarios but it seemed such a simple manouever to move my boat to its berth. This is only my second season as a owner. This is not an excuse, merely an explanation of why I was not better prepared.

My throtlle cables have now been replaced and I'm off in the morning to do some slow motion evolutions.

Mike,

I agree with your premise, not your conclusion.

When one problem happens, knowledge makes you familiar with the situation so you have the abilities to compensate. Especially when time allows you to think, and respond. When several problems potentially catastrophic problems happen at the same time, or in rapid succession, knowledge is not enough. If you get slapped in the face, you know to defend yourself, but the sharp pain staggers your mind. You're in shock. Before you can respond to the first attack, you then get kicked in the shins. In a short time you're down. Airline pilots have the knowledge of flying a plane, and how it's parts work, but they should be going through simulations of flying problems on a regular basis to develop the reaction skills which are needed.

If I may use efalstrem's situation as an example.

The boat is started, and placed into gear. It suddenly goes into wide open throttle position. You are in an small space filled with boats of all sizes. People are around and you must avoid collision. As you do so you are coldly, suddenly, rudely thrown into one catastrophic situation after another. All that was needed was to shut off the boat, but the hecticness of the situation aborts rational thinking. efalstrem is just being human. The only knowledge which would have applied in that situation is the knowledge of having been in that situation before. I don't believe that is the knowledge you were referring to.

Just to make certain I am understood. This is not an attack against you. Please understand that. I agree with everything thing you said, except the conclusion. We should all be as knowledgeable about our boats as you suggest, but sh*t happens We do the best we can, and hope for the best, or pray Maybe both at the same time

I am not wishing this on efalstrem, but if the situation happens again, I bet efalstrem will be be better prepared because of the knowledge of having gone through it before. What's the saying? If it does not kill me, I am stronger for having gone through it.

Let us all be more aware of the mechanic's of our Mac's.


Ray

Again, thanks for the comments, Ray. This morning I went down to the boat to move it to my assigned berth. It wasn't very far to go but before setting off I paused and took several minutes to plan my short passage. I checked the throtle control ahead and astern gently before letting go the lines. I also donned my life jacket. I planned my approach to my new berth which I had never been to before. From that point on everything went very well. My new steering system responds so much better than the old one. Once safely secured alongside I spent a most enjoyable day scrubbing the upper deck and preparing for a new season. All of this on my 72nd birthday!

Ed

efalstrem, May you have many more spring cleanings and summers of sailing About 5 years ago, my dad (in his 70's) at the time, rest his soul,me and 14 and 16 year old nephews are first time fishing Eagan Lk BC. After 20 plus years of fishing Machete, Lac de Roche and area lakes in the 100Mile House, Little fort area we decided to try Eagan. My dad is at the helm of my 19.5 Bayliner Capri which he had piloted for a few years.As we let go from dock we had the engine quit, it was colder,wetter than usual that summer morning and I/O engine had not quite warmed up. Little did we know, there was a waterfall within 50 feet of the dock. We were being pulled towards it and the kids started screaming, we're going over, well I'm in aft end of boat trying to talk my dad through setting choke with key and calmly firing up motor. Because of the kids screaming, me trying to instruct him to do what he had done many times before, he got flustered. We were getting closer and could now see hulk of another boat that had gone over. I had to act quickly but calmly. I had a 10 hp Honda kicker on a spring mount drop down so I dropped it into position, pumped bulb a few times, set to choke and grabbed the starter rope and pulled. We were within a few feet of going over when the Honda fired and I knew it had to rev a few times at 1/2 choke or it would die, so knowing that we would go over anyway if it died, I took that extra second or so and then kicked off choke,turned throttle to reverse and gunned it. I had a prop plate to keep troll speed down so it took a moment for it to start backing the Bayliner but it did and we had to wipe ourselves after that close call. Sometimes you have to let your mind absorb what's happening in the moment and slow down reaction so you make the correct decisions, but going over a plan for unforeseen events can be life saving. Kind of like a car wreck where things seem to happen in slow motion, if you let it, the mind is a magnificent thing that can do wonders if you let it Happy Sailing

I am an intermediate level sailor, neither expert nor novice, but I will pass on something I have notice hanging with the experts a bit - places like Newport, San Fran Bay, Patagonia

when s*** happens, the experts SLOW DOWN - they move deliberately and with forethought about their next step(s).

Situations like above (where you have seconds before going over a waterfall) arent the norm in boating - usually we make situations worse by a hurried action that isnt really required.

The classic example of this is when I had a 'missed approach' and hopped off my boat on a dock when only the stern presented itself - only to find I had left the boat in idle forward, with Grandma and 2 4 year-olds on board.

Little did we know, there was a waterfall within 50 feet of the dock.

"Hey Jim.... I was thinkin' that right here, fifty feet from that waterfall would make the PERFECT place for for us to build a boat dock!"
Are you serious? WHO DOES THAT!!!

A hundred bucks worth of chain or cable strung across the river are in order here to snag hapless fishermen and their precious cargos, if this place really does exist. Works on the Niagara river anyway.

As for the problem itself, what I do with my Honda BF50A is use the power tilt/lift to raise the engine only to the point that the cables start to meet the steering bar. That gives me plenty of ramp and towing clearance and when in the water, only the skeg is in the water and the prop is out of the water. When I did the full-up position many times, I, too, cracked my cables and finally, when the throttle failed to the zero position I was lucky it happened at the dock during warmup. Repeating, if you raise your Honda all the way so that the two cables flex awkwardly on the steering bar, you WILL have a disaster/problem sooner or later. What a pixx-poor design!!!!!!! (I know someone is thinking that what-if scenario when the power tilt/lift fails while trailering since in the motor-partially-up position that I use there is no way to lock the motor to the up position as the locking mechanisms only work at 100% up position. My answer to that is not to worry, since the motor clears the road when fully down and I check the motor and trailer often when trailering.)

Is there anyone with a Honda who has figured out how to get rid of this "problem of flexing cables" as it will continue to happen to the original poster here and all other Honda owners with potentially very bad results.

argonaught, you question my storytellin' LOL Here is a map of resort, http://www.eaganlake.com/new_page_10.htm ,looks like there is something across river outfall (maybe not Niagara Falls drop but not your gentle row,row,row your boat,gently down the stream either) at the time there may have been a rope across, not sure but I think if you were in our position you would be scrambling to save your boat from going anywhere near the outfall. After a 700 mile trip and unloading all night, then getting up at the crack of dawn, it was an oversight on our (mine) part not to know the lay of the land so to speak. Won't ever happen again, I can guarantee you that PS, may have been slightly more than 50 feet but hey, by the time I'm 80 it will have been embellished with all kinds of interesting scary details And I just noticed that the dock we were on was right in front of office and it is not there any more. Remember, we're talkin canuckers here, eh No offense to my Canadian friends, I love ya