Sticky Throttle

[Kevin Henderson]

This weekend while sailing (When motoring out and in) I have begun to notice my throttle lever seeming a bit sticky.  While throttled all the way back to slow, as I begin to throttle up there appears to be a "sticky" point about 1/4 of the way up to throttle. 
What are some things to look for or check.  I didn't have time yesterday to begin running down the troubleshooting list but my first check will be the cable for tightness or to see if it appears to be binding somewhere.
Has anybody else ever experience such a problem?  And what are some solutions?

[noworries]

You will need to take the binnacle off to get at the controls.  You can detach the cable from the controls to see if the stickyness is in the cable or not.

You can take a quick glance at the engine side to see if there's anything it's rubbing against there.

If you take the control arms off inspect the screws that hold them to the shaft.  I had one sheer off earlier this month at Catalina.  You can get the bolt at Lowes or Home Depot, but they don't have them at the island.

[Ron Hill]

Kevin : It's been my experience that the throttle linkage at the engine is more apt to have a "sticky/rough" spot than the under the compass. 
Check both areas as well as the throttle cable under the aft cabin. 

[Paul Blumenfeld]

Both of my engine controls were getting difficult to move.  It only reached a top priority when the throttle stuck as I was backing out of my slip.  Was unable to shift out of reverse as I headed to the boats and slips behind me. I was able to turn and turn off engine to slow down.  I now have new control cables.  Not too expensive but the installation was a pain with 4 corroded and seized bolts. The difference in how smooth the controls are now is just amazing.  If they have never been replace in may be time.