Steering cable opinion?

Morning all, I have a question concerning steering cables. My boat is a 20' Javelin with a V4 140hp Evinrude. The current steering cable is a dual cable system and it needs replacing. I checked out the steering cables on iboats and they have a nifty little chart up on top that shows I can go with a single cable system since my motor is under a V6 and it doesn't go 50mph. So, in anyone's opinion, would you replace the current dual system with a single or would you stick with the dual?

Thanks in advance!

Re: Steering cable opinion?

You will be fine with a single and save a bunch of money to boot. Dual cables are set up for engines that will propel boats at speeds of 50mph or higher due to engine "flutter"- or the side-to-side motion on the engine. With a dual cable you can adjust each cable to tighten against the other to eliminate the flutter. It doesn't help with steering effort and apart from the redundancy of dual cables in case of a failure (which isn't very common) you won't see any issues with going to a single. Stick with the NFB helms to prevent torque steer and go from there. You can get an entire NFB system for your boat here for a great price:
www.surplusunlimited.com

I had a single on my boat and ran a 150 Merc that would just hit 50 mph on a good day going downhill. LOL I replaced it with a Baystar system to help ease the effort but didn't get much help from it. Live and learn. However, the single cable worked just fine.

Re: Steering cable opinion?

Thanks for the response. That is what I thought but just wanted someone else's opinion. It certainly is cheaper for the single cable, just didn't want to buy it and discover I did need the dual cable system...

Re: Steering cable opinion?

Ok, I have another question now...

I measured 4 times and got 4 different measurements. I either need a 16' cable or a 17' cable. I don't want to buy a cable that is too short. I did 2 measurements with a tape measure and got 16' and 17'. Then I did 2 measurements using a garden hose to try and lay it in about the same way and route as the actual cable and got 16' (all of these are +6" and rounding to the nearest foot). What size would you go with?

Re: Steering cable opinion?

Sorry to be a bother again, just hoping for an opinion on this, can't seem to make up my mind. I just pulled one of the old steering cables and found the length stamped on it, says 16 foot, however, I did the measurement posted here http://www.iboats.com/Teleflex-Nfb-...54937691--**********.381426884--view_id.40295 where it says "For rack steering cable replacement, measure existing cable as follows: Measure plastic cable jacket in inches, add 30", and round up to the next foot. Order that length cable. and came up with needing a 17' cable. So, which should I buy, the size that the original was or the 17' one that I get from measuring?

Once again, sorry for bringing this up again, just can't seem to come up with a clear answer for this...

Re: Steering cable opinion?

Well, you measured it using a method I use for lots of first time deals, a gardenhose mockup is how I figure hydraulic lines, or control cables on equipment. It works good for me. You got 16 measuring with the hose, and the housing says 16, I think I would go with a 16, but that is just my opinion and I have only done 3 steering cable installs on boats so my experience is limited.

Re: Steering cable opinion?

Thanks for the advice. You may have only done 3 but that is 3 more than I have done