Outboard Motor Controls

[MJRubera]

Has anyone installed a remote control head and cables for an outboard?

Handling the tiller and the outboard controls is difficult. To shift I actually have to turn and face the motor. If my wife is at the tiller, she can't reach the shift lever so both of us are in the stern, me on the motor and she on the tiller. And having her go forward on deck to dock is out of the question.

 

[sinnettc]

I don't have any experience with it but is this what you're looking for?

http://www.powertiller.net/

A less expensive option might be to trade sides when she's on the tiller? 8^D

 

[philwsailz]

If your motor is one that is set up for remote throttle and shift, I hghly recommend it. On a previous boat of mine, I droppped by a boat shop and managed to pick up a used throttle shifter assembly, complete with a tilt and trim switch. It came from a Johnson outboard bass boat motor, and I had a Johnson electric-start kicker, so the stuff mated up. I mounted the control low in the cockpit on the face of the starboard seat. Ran the cables through a PVC tube I bonded in through the transom...

Now the really slick part was the tilt and trim switch. I installed a solenoid on the little kicker motors's electric starting circuit, and used the TRIM UP switch to energize the starting solenoid, in parallel to the electric start button on the motor. similarly, I used the TRIM DOWN to trigger a 30A relay that shorted the magneto ignition circuit. It is SO nice to start a motor, put it in gear, slow down, reverse, stop and kill the motor without ever having to turn around and touch it. The only issue was the choke on a cold or first start.

 

[MJRubera]

That is very encouraging to hear. Yes I have a Honda 5hp and they offer a kit for remote option. The motor part seem straight forward but the control head and cables looks challenging.

I have some follow up questions. Where did you locate the control head? Where on the transom did you put the conduit? Did you seal the inside of the conduit?

 

[MJRubera]

Thanks for you reply. I looked into the Power Tiller several times. The last time I sent off a request for a quote and never got a reply. So I'm taking a different tact and looking into a control head.

 

[philwsailz]

That is very encouraging to hear. Yes I have a Honda 5hp and they offer a kit for remote option. The motor part seem straight forward but the control head and cables looks challenging.

I have some follow up questions. Where did you locate the control head? Where on the transom did you put the conduit? Did you seal the inside of the conduit?

For my installation, in that instance on a US Yachts Bayliner 250, (the nice racing-hulled sailboat, not the over-grown pregnant tender winnegago Buccaneer) I installed the control head low on the face of the starboard cockpit bench, low enough that the handle did not interfere with a person sitting over it, if necessary. that location made the most sense to me, as on a typical powerboat, the control head is to starboard. Your installation might differ, depending on your normal comfortable seating location and space availability.

The conduit exited the transom more-or-less in-line with the outboard powerhead. I lined everyting up in such a manner that when I drilled the hole through the transom to install the conduit tube, the tube approaced the motor from a position higher with respect to the motor. this allowed me to drill through the transom at an angle, with the outboard end of the tube lower to prevent it acting as a rainwater funnel. I left a little nubbin of tube standing proud on the external side of the transom, with the intention of clamping a rubber boot on to further prevent water ingress, but it proved unnecessary. I did not seal the inside of the conduit. I wanted to be able to easily remove the control cables if necessary.

Is there by chance a link to the remote kit for your motor I could go look at? If I could study that, I might be able to make some further recommendations. Is your motor electric starting? At 5hp, I suspect maybe not, but thought I should ask...

 

[philwsailz]

I just went and looked at your boat picture in your profile. You and I have similar boats now, (mine is an '87 C-22). Were I doing a remote install today, I might consider doing things differently for my C-22 as opposed to the USB-250 I did it on last.

The motor mount has enough travel, and is close enough to the transom, that your transom thru-hole will need to be carefully placed to not put an undue or excessive bend in the cables. Based on the fact that the motor is to port, I would consider flipping the cables in the control head, so that rotating the control arm forward produces a forward boat motion. I would mount the control low on the face of the port bench, just in front of the fuel lazarette. The location of the fuel lazz certainly complicates the thru-hole, doesn't it! I think going as high as possible, just under the floor of the fuel lazz, or outboard to port is about the only two choices. You will want to install the cables with a loop between the transom and the motor's power-head to give you flexibility and to prevent a sharp bend which could kink your control cable.

I know this is still going to be doable, but I need to study my boat a little further to get some insight into any other issues. Location of the thru-hole tube ois going to be the key issue that needs addressed for your or my boat.

 

[MJRubera]

I would rather keep the bench clear but it would make installing the control head a lot simpler. My preference is to mount the control on the gunwale. The stern pulpit is attached about even with the forward edge of the gas lazz. There seems to be enough fore and aft space to the handle to move without hitting anything. The question is the width of the gunwale. I need to crawl into the space and take a look. I’m also thinking of using the lazz as a place to route the cables. PVC conduit run fore and aft just under the hinge would be out of the way and also a straight shot to the transom. I’m going to the boat Saturday and I’ll take pictures of the various options for both the control head and the cable path.

 

[MJRubera]

It seems the best location for the control head is going to me on the deck between the stern pulpit attachment points. There is plenty of clearance underneath and easy access to the transom. I'll post some pictures if I can figure out how to do it. I'm new to the whole forum thing.

 

[MJRubera]

Pictures of layout below and above deck

 

[MJRubera]

Try again:
The first picture is the area under the deck looking aft on the port side. The transom is the patch of reddish color in about the center of the picture. The attachment points for the pulpit are also visible.

The second picture is topside looking down on the deck between the aft cleat and the stanchion. The rectangular shape is the template of the cutout for the control head.

The last is the outboard showing the clearance between the transom and the motor.

There is plenty of clearance all around so it seems like the best location.

 

[philwsailz]

I had not considered a PVC tube totally through the lazz, but with proper sealing to prevent fumes from gettig below I think you have an EXCELLENT idea.

Just as a matter of preference, I would not want to put the controls up in that section of the gunwales, SOLELY due to aesthetics, but from a mechanical standpoint it is an excellent location. For sure understand, this is only my personal opinion...

I thnk you are absolutey on the right track though! Which control are you intending to use? I found the ones available from Honda at their site, but also realize there are other choices. A binacle-style control is what you appear to be thinking, based on your photo of the mounting location, and the more I think on that, It seems a rather ship-shape and proper installation, if done inside-of/between the railing stanchions.

I thinkk something like this might look good!

 

[philwsailz]

Or this for flush mounting, only such a unit with a single lever...:

 

[MJRubera]

I'm now committed to the plan. I went with the single lever, dual function control head. It is compact and simpler to use. I also pickup the remote kit for the Honda motor. I did a "dry" run on a laminated board using the supplied drilling template and it seems to be just right. I plan to start the installation this weekend. The weather is going to be great and with Good Friday off form work, I'll have the extra time if needed.

 

[philwsailz]

Keep us updated and take lots of pics!

I find it funny that the pic I posted first is actually the controller you intend to use. Weird....

From experience, I will tell you that you will absolutely love it. The only time you will turn around will be to start and kill the motor. AND, I bet you can figure out a way to mount a remote kill switch.

I find myself occasionally using the motor-steering to get out and away from the dock, but it is rare, and with the control you are adding, you will probably find it unnecessary; it really frees you up!
Congrats, and all the best of luck in the project!

 

[MJRubera]

Throttle Project

The project is finally finished. As with any project, the actual time and effort was considerably more than anticipated. So here are a few things to lookout for if contemplating a similar installation. First make sure you have enough clearance between the control head including the handle to the side of the gunwale. The space is limited and the control handle needs to be as far outboard as possible. Also allow for the arc of the handle. I found that because of the slant of the stern pulpit, the handle just grazed the tubing.

I ended up having to enlarge the cutout to get more clearance both to the gunwale and the pulpit. I then needed to fabricate a spacer to close up the opening and mount the control head.

I determined the length of the control cables using the measurement guideline from the manufacture. I ended up with 10 foot cables. The remote control kit has all the necessary part to connect to the cables. Although it took longer than anticipated, in the end it came out fine.

 

[philwsailz]

Well done. That looks pretty sharp.

I really had anticipated that there would be tighter radius turns in the cable, but that looks like nothing is bending too tight. I also like how the controls are handy, yet out of the way. That is a system/install that is a lot less in the cockpit than the last one I did on the U.S. Yachts 25 where I used an old side-mounted flush helm control.

 

[MJRubera]

Thanks for your comments.