Why bother replacing your throttle controls?
With care and maintenance your boat's throttle controls should last for years, but they do eventually wear out. After a while the controls will get sloppy, and excessive play in the control box will make your boat harder to control and shift changes and revs can become unpredictable and hard to fine tune. Before you smash the boat in to the dock, it's time to replace your controls and gain back the confidence that comes with a tight and solid control box.
Replace that old throttle control box and don't go broke!
Replacing that ugly, worn out, and sloppy control box doesn't have to be expensive, and the feeling will be like night and day. If you search the web for throttle and shift control boxes you'll find that there are numerous options out there. Top mount, side mount, dual lever, single lever... Electronic controls, cable controls (which most boats have), control boxes with tilt and trim, and some without.
Right here at Marine Surplus we have them all. You'll save money over buying a throttle control box elsewhere, get exactly the same high quality new old stock product.
In With the New Control Box
Maybe you are going with a high-quality retro-looking twin lever control box with one lever controlling the FWD / NEUTRAL / REV (forward, neutral, reverse) and the other lever controlling the engine speed like this one.
Or maybe you need one that works with your digital throttle system that comes with some outboards. I'm personally convinced it's a conspiracy to be able to charge $1800 for a throttle lever (really... that's what the manufacturers charge for many of them). You might be able to find it cheaper here still. Take for example this Mercury Smartcraft Twin Lever unit. Mercury OEM wants $1900, but we'll sell you one for less than a grand!
Control Cables
If you’re already going to change your controls, it's prudent to replace your old control cables, too. Remember, your cables are as tired as the control unit is, so now is the right time to update the whole system.
Teleflex and UFLEX are known to make high quality controls cables, and you're in luck because we carry those too and again, you don't have to spend a fortune.
How hard is it?
If you’re somewhat mechanically minded and not intimidated by figuring things out, you can probably replace the controls and cables yourself. The job isn't technically complex, and don't forget that you do have the old control box there as a guide.
Get to it, and gain back the control that you once had!