* Wayne.B wrote, On 8/10/2007 3:38 PM:
On Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:11:43 -0400, Rosalie B.
wrote:

As for the throttle cable - I've never heard of another one breaking.

Happens quite often unfortunately, gear shifters also.
....

On the return of the last trip in our previous boat, the gear shift
cable broke as we dropped the mooring. After deciding there was
nothing to do, we just kept it in forward all the way home. As we
pulled into the slip, my wife was down below at the engine, prepared
to shift into reverse. Unfortunately, she didn't realize how hot the
lever would be, and it took here a few extra seconds to shift. I had
to goose the throttle, which promptly broke that cable! Now I was in
reverse, at high throttle, in a narrow fairway in the marina, with a 2
knot crosscurrent, no throttle or shift control, and it was getting
dark! I killed the engine, fended off the boats I was backing into,
and screamed for help! Fortunately, it was a liveaboard marina, so a
dozen people rapidly appeared, and a line was tossed as we passed the
only empty slip.

Any last minute questions about whether it was time to get a new boat
ended right there.