Repowering my H26

Fred

Fred

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Sep 27, 2008
517
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
With encouragement from the admiral, I am looking to repower my '96 H26. She is concerned about being able to manage the boat herself should something happen to me. To that end she insists on electric start, power tilt and would prefer remote control. I am looking at the Yamaha 9.9 PowerThrust model with electric start and powertilt. I am still not sure about the remote control aspect. The fact that Yamaha has the F-N-R control on the tiller is already an improvement over my current engine, which has a body mounted shift lever, however it still is located quite low and behind the operator which is difficult for her when anchoring or navigating in the marina. Remote control raises several concerns. 1) complicates the installation (cables, remote control box, etc.); 2) removes the tiller handle and the option of manually steering the motor (unless a rudder linkage is installed); 3) available mounting locations.

Conventional mounting locations for the remote control seem to be 1) on the stern rail (where I currently have my BBQ mounted); or 2) below the starboard seat (still quite low and behind the standing location of the operator)

One off-the-wall idea I had was to remove the engine tiller handle and mount it on the stern rail in a way that it could swing away from the BBQ when not in use. It is more compact than the standard remote control boxes that are available. I'm not sure if the electrical and mechanical connection cables could be extended to achieve this.

Anyone have any experience, advice or novel ideas to share?
 
twodzusfittings

twodzusfittings

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Aug 11, 2011
931
O'day 30 313 Georgetown MD
Thought I saw somewhere in this forum, a rudder/motor connector rod, that allows you to tiller/rudder steer while the engine propels the boat. I believe it has a some sort of a pivot mechanism that allows the motor to be lifted and tilted without having to disconnect. Now where I saw this on the forum exactly I cannot recall, but perhaps using the search tool, you might be able to find it.
 
Ward H

Ward H

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Nov 7, 2011
3,761
Catalina 30 Mk II Cedar Creek, Bayville NJ
Fred said:
One off-the-wall idea I had was to remove the engine tiller handle and mount it on the stern rail in a way that it could swing away from the BBQ when not in use. It is more compact than the standard remote control boxes that are available. I'm not sure if the electrical and mechanical connection cables could be extended to achieve this.
Click to expand
The 2002 Yamaha 9.9 High Thrust that came with my boat had a cable extension and the tiller end mounted to a bracket on the stern. First thing I did was to remount it on the OB so I could steer, shift and control the throttle with one hand while using the tiller with the other to get into/out of my confined slip.

When that OB failed us several times the Admiral insisted on a new OB before she came on board again. We got the Yamaha 9.9 High Thrust XL Shaft with electric start and power tilt. Really glad we did. She can now lower the OB into the water and start it easily. In an emergency she knows she can steer the boat with the tiller only and to pull up to the side dock to tie up and not try the tricky maneuver into the slip.
In a real emergency she knows to just point into an empty slip and hit the air horn until help arrives.

The 25" shaft allows the OB to be mounted high enough that the tiller is easily reached by only slightly reaching behind the stern allowing me to remain seated and facing forward while keeping my hand on the throttle.
 
dewhunter

dewhunter

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Sep 28, 2008
66
Hunter 26 Ghost lake
The power tilt and electric start take a lot of work out of boat handling on the dock and at anchor. I have never needed the outboard to steer with the tiller to get into tight or complicated places so I have no experience. Here is a photo of my set-up. I also have a tiller extension so sitting on the rail seat and driving works well. G
 

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Fred

Fred

.
Sep 27, 2008
517
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Dewhunter ... That's a mounting location for the remote that I haven't seen before. Thanks

What is the cable and plug for at the aft end of your cockpit seat?
 
dewhunter

dewhunter

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Sep 28, 2008
66
Hunter 26 Ghost lake
The plug is for cockpit lighting. I made an 16 inch long led light and mounted it to the bimini support hoop to provide light after sundown. I don't have a photo of it, but here's a look forward from under the bimini.
 

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Doug J

Doug J

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May 2, 2005
1,192
Hunter 26 Oceanside, CA
John23883 said:
Lucky for me, my motor was stolen before I even got to use it, so I got this Nissan remote unit and connected it to the tiller.
Click to expand
John,
Where did you get those metal brackets that are used to bolt the motor mount board? Did they come with the boat. I need to find a couple of those. My boat has what looks like pieces of cutting board material stacked up, used as spacers.
 
Fred

Fred

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Sep 27, 2008
517
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Doug... Must be standard as my H26 has the same SS brackets.
 
Fred

Fred

.
Sep 27, 2008
517
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
John23883 said:
Lucky for me, my motor was stolen before I even got to use it, so I got this Nissan remote unit and connected it to the tiller.
Click to expand
Thanks for the pics John. I've never seen the linkage mounted in front of the motor on an H26.
 
Fred

Fred

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Sep 27, 2008
517
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
John... your control lever is shown in a horizontal position. Does it move that far from vertical or did you off set the handle by 90 degrees?
 
J

John23883

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Jun 8, 2004
278
Hunter 26 Illinois
Doug J said:
John,
Where did you get those metal brackets that are used to bolt the motor mount board? Did they come with the boat. I need to find a couple of those. My boat has what looks like pieces of cutting board material stacked up, used as spacers.
Click to expand
They did come with the boat. I also have blueprints of the metal parts I made for a friend if you want them. You should be able to get a local shop to make them a lot cheaper than that.
 
J

John23883

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Jun 8, 2004
278
Hunter 26 Illinois
Fred said:
Thanks for the pics John. I've never seen the linkage mounted in front of the motor on an H26.
Click to expand
The Nissan/Tohatsu outboard has a bracket on the front to mount the modified eye-bolt to. The slightly opened eyebolt and matching end on the rod slip together and twist around and are as easily removed for trailering or to get out of the way.
 

Attachments

J

John23883

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Jun 8, 2004
278
Hunter 26 Illinois
Fred said:
John... your control lever is shown in a horizontal position. Does it move that far from vertical or did you off set the handle by 90 degrees?
Click to expand
Yes, it moves to horizontal in full forward. While sailing, that allows it to be out of the way while sitting on the cockpit seat. All in all it seems to be the best location for the remote. This allows me to operate it with my foot or knee while keeping my hand on the tiller in those times when we have to stand and keep a look-out. As stated, I never had to reach down into the motor well to hit reverse or slow down in a hurry at a slip. I wouldn't want to have to do that.
 
Fred

Fred

.
Sep 27, 2008
517
Catalina 28 mkii 745 Ottawa, Ontario, CA
John23883 said:
Yes, it moves to horizontal in full forward. While sailing, that allows it to be out of the way while sitting on the cockpit seat. All in all it seems to be the best location for the remote. This allows me to operate it with my foot or knee while keeping my hand on the tiller in those times when we have to stand and keep a look-out. As stated, I never had to reach down into the motor well to hit reverse or slow down in a hurry at a slip. I wouldn't want to have to do that.
Click to expand
That seems very practical. I was looking at a Yamaha 703 controller, it didn't seem to have that range of motion.
 
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