Marking a centerboard cable

[seafrontiersman]

I have a stainless steel cable to raise and lower my centerboard, it works great but I want to mark the cable so I know when it is completely raised. I've tried tape, paint, and a plain whipping and they've all been rubbed off .

My idea is to mark it with "gun blue" which is used to permanatly stain metal but I'd like to have a brighter color. Anybody got a better idea?

Thanks in advance!

Mike

[knothead]

Instead of a plain whipping, you might try to pass your thread under some of the strands. The wire is 7x19 so it should be flexible enough to do that.
I bet that a bright colored ribbon passed through the wire a couple of times would last for a while.

[seafrontiersman]

Thanks for the tip about the ribbon, that seems like a great idea and I'll give it a try!

Best of everything to you.

[sailingdog]

I wouldn't recommend using ribbon or a whipping, as both of these will tend to hold moisture against the stainless steel and promote crevice corrosion. Coloring it with some sort of metal marking dye would be a better idea IMHO.

[knothead]

Good point SD.
seafrontiersman, I was remiss in pointing out that you should keep your centerboard cable lubed.
Including the brightly colored ribbon. Having an un-oiled ribbon will definitely shorten the life of the cable by a day or two.

[seafrontiersman]

Originally Posted by knothead

Instead of a plain whipping, you might try to pass your thread under some of the strands. The wire is 7x19 so it should be flexible enough to do that.
I bet that a bright colored ribbon passed through the wire a couple of times would last for a while.

I used a strand pulled from the cover of an old sheet rope I had laying around and pulled it through the wire using a big sail needle and it works GREAT!

You're a floatin' Mc Guiver!

Thanks!

Mike