Repairing a Morse control

Undaunted by its ‘sealed for life’ construction, Ian Royston disassembles, repairs and reassembles a Morse control unit

A ‘sealed for life’ unit proves no barrier to home maintenance

Until the mid-1970s, Morse controls commonly found in small boats were side-mounted, single-arm units which could be stripped down for repairs after damage to the shaft pin (from excessive hammering of the red button to remove a reluctant control arm) or stiffness (lack of lubrication). Subsequently, all units came ‘sealed for life’ with six blind-headed rivets – no doubt for sound commercial reasons, making DIY repairs challenging and limiting your future options to buying a new unit costing from £150, or possibly obtaining a second-hand one from eBay. Encouraged by a retired marine engineer, I decided to attempt to repair such a unit on a friend’s boat, which I had inadvertently damaged while trying to detach a very stubborn control arm.