Has anyone done a single lever conversion or upgrade? I have a H42 1991 with the standard Edson pedestal with separate gear selection and throttle levers- all the new boats now have single lever (generally Morse) controls , so i was wondering if anyone has gone down this road- how hard was it and how much did it end up costing?
single lever control upgrade/conversion
- Thread starter eianm
- Start date
Here are some observations from our skippers:
1. I would love to have a single lever morse control: I chartered a Jeanneau 35 (only reason- a C34 wasn't available) for a day with morse lever (single control for throttle and gearshift), Yanmar and saildrive. It made me look like a real expert docking into a slip with a foot to spare... Has anyone ever thought of modifying our controls to a single lever? Is it doable? Or maybe everyone loves our setup just as it is?
2. Actually Tony I prefer the dual levers. Coming down the fairway I set the rpms to 1000, cycle between F, N, R as needed. If additional thrust is needed apply a burst of throttle then back to 1000. With very little practice you can get very close to 1000 by ear not needing to look at the tach.
Sometimes current/wind will require a higher speed to get into the slip. The nice thing about the pre set spring line is that it will snug you against the finger pier as it stops forward movement, preventing smashing the bow into the dock
I've used the single lever on dockmate's Hunter with a conventional prop and dual single levers on saildrives on a chartered cat and felt like they were much more work. In my limited experience, once the shift mechanism get a worn, it is very hard to find N. Idle reverse, N, idle forward, all seem to be in the same position/detent. On the chartered cat, I physically had to pull the levers out to the neutral fast idle position to ensure the drives were disengaged.
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I've used those single levers over the years and find them to be a PITA. They eventually all become a two handed operation, which is what you have now. And I spend so much time in front of my wheel that it's two levers but only one hand at a time. You really don't need two hands to works those levers, and shouldn't be using both at the same time anyway.
I assume that new boats have them 'cuz they're cheaper to initially install.
Think hard about it before you change over.
1. I would love to have a single lever morse control: I chartered a Jeanneau 35 (only reason- a C34 wasn't available) for a day with morse lever (single control for throttle and gearshift), Yanmar and saildrive. It made me look like a real expert docking into a slip with a foot to spare... Has anyone ever thought of modifying our controls to a single lever? Is it doable? Or maybe everyone loves our setup just as it is?
2. Actually Tony I prefer the dual levers. Coming down the fairway I set the rpms to 1000, cycle between F, N, R as needed. If additional thrust is needed apply a burst of throttle then back to 1000. With very little practice you can get very close to 1000 by ear not needing to look at the tach.
Sometimes current/wind will require a higher speed to get into the slip. The nice thing about the pre set spring line is that it will snug you against the finger pier as it stops forward movement, preventing smashing the bow into the dock
I've used the single lever on dockmate's Hunter with a conventional prop and dual single levers on saildrives on a chartered cat and felt like they were much more work. In my limited experience, once the shift mechanism get a worn, it is very hard to find N. Idle reverse, N, idle forward, all seem to be in the same position/detent. On the chartered cat, I physically had to pull the levers out to the neutral fast idle position to ensure the drives were disengaged.
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I've used those single levers over the years and find them to be a PITA. They eventually all become a two handed operation, which is what you have now. And I spend so much time in front of my wheel that it's two levers but only one hand at a time. You really don't need two hands to works those levers, and shouldn't be using both at the same time anyway.
I assume that new boats have them 'cuz they're cheaper to initially install.
Think hard about it before you change over.
I vote for two levers for the reason #2 that stu reports...
That being said, the single levers that you have to pull all the way back to shut the engine fuel off with, are the pits. I almost had an issue pulling in to my dock with a strong tailwind one day....moving quickly forward, (like I had done 100's of times before) go to neutral, idle down, go reverse and a quick burst to stop us....at the dock....instead when I pulled back to go reverse...I killed the engine - just when I needed rpm's to stop forward motion and settle the boat.
stu last comment is the one to really ponder over.
That being said, the single levers that you have to pull all the way back to shut the engine fuel off with, are the pits. I almost had an issue pulling in to my dock with a strong tailwind one day....moving quickly forward, (like I had done 100's of times before) go to neutral, idle down, go reverse and a quick burst to stop us....at the dock....instead when I pulled back to go reverse...I killed the engine - just when I needed rpm's to stop forward motion and settle the boat.
stu last comment is the one to really ponder over.
Stu: I don't think that they are any cheaper. I think that the reason they went to the single lever was because of the console setup instead of the pedestal setup.
I have been fighting with my single lever for 5 years. We just swapped out the old one for a new replacement and should know how it is going to work sometime this weekend. I have to agree with you that they are a PIA. Never had any complaints about my old dual lever arrangement.
I have been fighting with my single lever for 5 years. We just swapped out the old one for a new replacement and should know how it is going to work sometime this weekend. I have to agree with you that they are a PIA. Never had any complaints about my old dual lever arrangement.
Steve, did you replace the cables along with the new single lever? My lever is stiff as :cussing: It requires 2 hands and the Admiral can't shift it at all. When I pull the pin to disengage the shift and have it "throttle only", then she moves just fine....so I suspect the shift cable is the culprit. I recently pulled the faceplate and wheel off the helm to access the cables, and will be replacing the shift cable....I will let you know how it goes.
Mark
OK- so all GREAT input- thank you . The main reason I was looking to change to single lever is that my gear selection on my factory standard Edson pedestal is so un-precise- is this likely to be caused by a worn cable- it seems so , if I have understood clearly????
Always HAS been the issue and is why I posted what I did earlier. They are just unreliable. IMHO.
Cannot engage fwd or rev with Single lever
Our Hunter 376 has the same configuration single lever and has been hard to engage for 2.5 years. Last Sat morning while anchored out, the lever would not go into fwd or rev, (stuck like concrete) but as with Mark, when disengaging the gears on the lever (pushed in a small button on the lever), the throttle works fine and engine purrs great. Mark did you replace your shift cable and does anyone have any idea why the lever will not move when trying to engage. (by the way could not sail back as was 25 miles back home into a 30 knot wind and was towed back)
Good afternoon Mark and Steve,
Our Hunter 376 has the same configuration single lever and has been hard to engage for 2.5 years. Last Sat morning while anchored out, the lever would not go into fwd or rev, (stuck like concrete) but as with Mark, when disengaging the gears on the lever (pushed in a small button on the lever), the throttle works fine and engine purrs great. Mark did you replace your shift cable and does anyone have any idea why the lever will not move when trying to engage. (by the way could not sail back as was 25 miles back home into a 30 knot wind and was towed back)
Disconnect the cable at the engine side, and see if the transmission will go in and out of gear easily. The cable is probably bound up at the engine side. If the tranny goes into f and r by hand, you need a new cable. I just did this on my legend 37.5. In fact, i broke the cable at the pedestal end due to the pressure from the binding at the engine side.
Ben
Ben
I think Splax is correct. Having had the pedestal apart and replaced the throttle cable, it is clear that aside from some resistance in the cable, the trans cable is not what is supposed to hold the lever in F-N-R. Like the throttle, it is continuous pull. The detents are in the gear box, usually ball bearings on springs that engage hollows in a shaft. As the case, bearings and shaft wear, the rod slides past the detent without sufficient resistance to stop the shifter in one of the three positions. You can move the cable lever on the trans housing by hand to test this. If yours is really sloppy, you can try putting a U-Clamp on the shift cable [making it similar to the throttle cable] to increase resistance between the cable and its sheathing so that the cable holds the lever more positively. If you can't feel it very well, at least you'll pretty much know that the cable will hold the lever straight up when in neutral, etc without wandering.
Re: Cannot engage fwd or rev with Single lever
Antipodes,
I just replaced the shift cable on my 91 vision 36. It was not easy, but it was not rocket science. I took pics with my cell phone as I took things apart, and I lined up a new Teleflex cable of the same length. The hard part was pulling the old cable out, it was cable-tied in unreachable places. I used a 14 inch bread knife to reach the last cable-tie deep under the aft berth. I came close to disassembling the entire berth. I tied a nylon line to the cable to have a way to pull the new one through. The lever end of the cable is different from the transmission end, so be careful to send the new cable through the correct way.
I decided to not send it through using the nylon runner, I just pushed it through and fished it out as needed to get her in. It was a PITA, but I got it done alone. Luckily I had access under the cockpit from the aft cabin, and the cable goes up into the aft lazzerette and then under a removable deckplate in the cockpit, so it was semi-accessible on my boat. Shifting is much easier now. With the old cable out I can see where she was chaffed under the exhaust and corroded at the transmission end. I am glad I replaced it before I got into your predicament. If that were to happen to me, I think I may have attempted to disconnect the cable at the transmission and shift her into gear by hand. The lever at the transmission is marked with a F and R and arrows, so that is always an option....just not the easiest when trying to get into the slip at the marina. I hope this helps.
Antipodes,
I just replaced the shift cable on my 91 vision 36. It was not easy, but it was not rocket science. I took pics with my cell phone as I took things apart, and I lined up a new Teleflex cable of the same length. The hard part was pulling the old cable out, it was cable-tied in unreachable places. I used a 14 inch bread knife to reach the last cable-tie deep under the aft berth. I came close to disassembling the entire berth. I tied a nylon line to the cable to have a way to pull the new one through. The lever end of the cable is different from the transmission end, so be careful to send the new cable through the correct way.
I decided to not send it through using the nylon runner, I just pushed it through and fished it out as needed to get her in. It was a PITA, but I got it done alone. Luckily I had access under the cockpit from the aft cabin, and the cable goes up into the aft lazzerette and then under a removable deckplate in the cockpit, so it was semi-accessible on my boat. Shifting is much easier now. With the old cable out I can see where she was chaffed under the exhaust and corroded at the transmission end. I am glad I replaced it before I got into your predicament. If that were to happen to me, I think I may have attempted to disconnect the cable at the transmission and shift her into gear by hand. The lever at the transmission is marked with a F and R and arrows, so that is always an option....just not the easiest when trying to get into the slip at the marina. I hope this helps.
Thank you for your detailed explanation. I will proceed with replacement now on my 1997 Hunter 376. I am also replacing the shifter with a new aftermarket assembly. It appears I will have to install the new one 90 degrees off from vertical to horizontal because of my pedestal design and the new shifter array is not square, but rectangular. I found that the cables need to be 21' for the throttle and 24' for shifting, after I drug two cables (18' and 21') through the pedestle base, into the stbd stern lazerette, over the fuel tank and then down past the rudder post enclosure and then under the bed through a chase that only has one cut out, through the dripless area and into the rear of the engine compartment.
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My Hunter 280 had a single lever control. It was OK, but I did not care for it.
My O’Day 322 has 2 levers. The throttle moved forward/ aft. The transmission lever is mounted cross wise. Down is FWD and up is REV ( IIRC ). I would have preferred to have thr shifter opposite the throttle, as it would be more intuitive if if forward was FWD and back would be REV. But I think the leverage needed for this transmission required the larger shift lever.
At the beginning of the season, I have to look at the sticker to remember which way is FWD
Greg
My O’Day 322 has 2 levers. The throttle moved forward/ aft. The transmission lever is mounted cross wise. Down is FWD and up is REV ( IIRC ). I would have preferred to have thr shifter opposite the throttle, as it would be more intuitive if if forward was FWD and back would be REV. But I think the leverage needed for this transmission required the larger shift lever.
At the beginning of the season, I have to look at the sticker to remember which way is FWD
Greg
Made the switch to single lever dual function controller from two lever pedestal mounted controller last year. Would never go back. Mounted the controller behind me at the helm. Easy to reach back with one hand. Great for single boat length spins in tight marina.
