When we arrived at Hurst marina last year, the first thing I did was arrange to have the engine, generator and throttle system inspected. Was not sure about the previous maintenance history, so wanted to find out if there were any “gotchas” lurking. This inspection resulted in replacement of the raw water pump on the genny, and a recommendation to replace the main engine throttles and throttle cables. The throttle control was “loose”, and there was significant stretch in the cables. The price for the throttle work was kind of high, a consequence of the size of the boat and the necessity to run new cables, and the price of the new Morse shifters (turned out to be cheaper to replace the shifters than to repair them). Given the size of the estimate, we therefore decided to wait for a few weeks before addressing the issue, as this would give us time to explore options.
One option that was now on the table was an electronic system. We had these on a previous boat and really liked the way they handle. As well, the electronic systems have certain safety parameters built in such as shift-speed limiters, delays for certain kinds of operations, and the ability to "lockout" control stations to limit inadvertent speed changes. The modern systems are very reliable, and in the future could be linked with our thruster in a joystick system, or we could easily add a station at the stern to help with docking. Some time spent on the internet indicated that the price for such a system would not be a lot more than the manual one, provided I could install the system myself.
I first spoke to the marina, as they were a Mercury dealer and might be able to supply a mercury-based product. However, they were not interested in pursuing the project. I then contacted Marine Electric Technologies in Orillia, who was a Canadian dealer for Glendinning systems. Initially, they were reluctant. The owner explained to me that these systems are not always DIY, and he did not want me getting in over my head. He was was especially concerned about twin engine installs, as he mentioned that getting the engine synchronizer to play nice is tricky. Our boat is a single engine, with a low-tech Caterpillar engine (think bulldozer) that is controlled using two push-pull cables (no electronics). Since the install was the simplest possible scenario, on the simplest type of engine system possible, I was able to purchase the required components. All of this happened last summer, at which time my plan was to install it in the fall before haulout.
As it turned out, the system did not get shipped to us in time, so it spent the winter in my basement. This gave me time to familiarize myself with the components, and to plan the install. Turns out the hardest part of the whole exercise was finding a place to mount the actuator, which is the box that interfaces with the engine. A schematic is shown below.
The front firewall in the engine room was already full of various things and would not be a suitable mounting location. I wanted to place the actuator where it would be out of the way, and not likely to be damaged by someone moving around in the engine room. The install guidelines also mentioned planning and install with the shortest cable lengths and minimum bends. This left three possible locations in the engine room.
Placing the unit behind the engine seemed to be best, as this would allow for protected cable runs, access for calibration, and provide a dry area. Unfortunately, this is an area where it would interfere with transmission access, and present the risk of damage by someone moving around in the region for maintenance (the main DC distribution box is here). However, this was the best location I could come up with, and so I made my plans accordingly. I made measurements for cables, wires, connectors, fasteners etc. based on this location, and devised a system of supports for the actuator. Over the winter I gathered the parts I thought I would need, and got the project planned out.
I made one attempt to ask for help on the Mainship group on Facebook. I asked those in the group who had electronic shift where on their boats the actuators were placed, hoping I could use this info to help in my placement decision. I did not get any helpful comments, instead I got some troll-like answers telling me that electronic throttle controls were bad, and I should not install them. Thanks for nothing. A couple of other owners were interested in details though, so I may reach out to them directly about my experience. Anyway, on with the show.
Fast-forward to the spring, and I’m on the boat scouting out the engine room. I check where the existing cables run, among other things, and all of a sudden “click” I realize the best place for the actuator. Under our stairs is a storage area. In the fall, when I was snooping around on the boat for this project, this space was occupied by a washer-dryer. But, this unit was removed shortly afterward. It did not work, and so we removed it to send for repair, as we felt it was cheaper to drop off for repair than to try to get a repairman on the boat. In the end, we decided to get rid of it, as it was 20 years old, and for the cost to look at it, we could buy a new unit for much cheaper. Over the course of the winter, we abandoned plans to buy a new one, as we felt the space would be more valuable for storage. When I realized there was space to put the actuator under the stairs, I am sure you could hear my brain go “chunk” from the next room.
On the boat I took some measurements, using masking tape to lay out things on the floor, and discovered that all the distances worked out. The location would be ideal, since it was protected under a floor, and in a very dry and secure place. As the space was primarily storage, this meant that there was minimal risk of the unit getting in the way of anything, and the cable runs would be in exactly the same place as the existing cables. Score!
The only thing I needed to change was the mounting system, but as luck would have it, mounting was super-simple in the area. I made some supports out of 1 X 3 clear pine, cutting them a little long so I could fit them in on the boat.
Mounting the actuator was the most critical part of the job, and the one I thought would be most time consuming. As I found out, this was the smoothest part of the job. I started by making some measurements, again laying out everything with masking tape. After checking my measurements about 10 times, I made a mock-up of the unit using cardboard cut to the same dimensions as the actuator. I then used this to double check all of my measurements another few times. Part of this involved some crawling around in the engine room to make sure there would be no conflicts. I was especially worried about an electrical conduit that was on the bulkhead in front of the engine. This I checked and checked and checked, as I would be drilling in this area and did not want to mess with any of that wiring. That can of worms was something I absolutely did not want to open.
I installed the components in stages. First the supports. With those in place, I re-did my mock-up to check everything again. All good. Next, I drilled for the actuator using a template I had made out of ¼” plywood. The actuator holes had rubber isolators and I did not want to damage them. As well, because of the weight of the actuator, and that fact that it might be in an awkward location, I had taken a few minutes to make the template in my workshop. That way everything would be precise, and I would have no worries about damaging the rubber isolators. With the template temporarily bolted in place, I again checked measurements.
Now it was time to drill through the bulkhead into the engine room. A couple more measurement checks, then I drilled a small pilot hole using a long bit. This way I could spot the location exactly in the engine room by checking where the bit protruded. All good, I am far from the conduit, and there is lots of clearance for the cables. I then used a 2” hole saw to make the two holes for the cables to pass through. This size is much larger than the cable diameter. The reason I did this is that the cables pivot slightly when the actuator is operating, and I did not want the cables chafing on anything. Also, I had some trouble finding cable flanges in a smaller size. After drilling the holes I installed cable flanges on both sides. The template was removed and replaced with the actuator so I could check the hole placement. All good, time to bolt the actuator in place.
With that done, I ran the various wires (all three of them), which took 6 hours of boat yoga, limbo, and lots of up and down in the engine room.
I did not run the CAN bus cables to the throttles yet, as I wanted to power up the unit and test it first. To test, I had built a support out of scrap plywood so I could support and protect one of the throttles while I checked the system. This way I could observe the actuator directly with the throttle unit beside me while testing.
Power up, the throttle starts beeping and flashing lights. Alarm mode. Uh oh. Tried to put it into troubleshoot mode and failed. WTF. To see if I was missing something from the manual, I ran the calibration procedure on the actuator using some approximate measurements, but after resetting, still had the error.
I emailed Gene the marine electric tech, hoping he could help. This was Sunday morning of the long weekend. Not expecting any reply until at least Tuesday, I cleaned up and put everything for this project away, then started work on some other chores.
That afternoon I get a call from Gene. He had seen my email and called to offer some suggestions. On a long weekend Sunday! Wow! I wrote down what he told me to try, and the next morning got back on the project. Long story short, same outcome. I sent him a detailed summary of what I did, including a short video of the throttle system’s alarm lights flashing and beeping. He called me back later that morning to tell me he had spoken to Glendinning and it turns out they had forgotten to include a component module with the original system. He arranged to have it sent directly to us, arriving at the end of the week.
Got the component, and connected it temporarily to the system so I could test. Everything is good. In retrospect, since I had the system at home all winter, I should have bench tested everything. I have no idea why I didn’t (dumbass), but that is how it goes sometimes. With the system now working, I ran through the calibration procedure for real, using the temporary throttle mount so I could do all without moving around. I ran through the testing checklist twice, everything checks out.
Now to install the throttles. Again, a few hours of running cable, and removing the old controls, but I got both in place. I then ran through the checklist two more times with Louise at the helm, while I double checked all of the measurements. We then started the engine, and checked the shifting with the boat tied tightly to the dock. All looks good. In the photo below you can see the electronic control unit on the right.
The next day, I had Corey, the senior tech at Hurst, go over my install. We operated the controls, and he checked the cable tensions, and lever throws. He made a couple of suggestions to improve the wire layout near the actuator, which I followed the next day. We did our shakedown cruise a few days later, at which time I made a small adjustment to the throttle cable tension (see the post on our shakedown cruise).
Overall, I love the system. I really like the feel of the electronics, and am very happy with the support I got from Gene. I could not believe how fast he got back to me, and how helpful he was. Really impressed.
Dash switches
When we bought the boat, the dashboard needed some TLC. Some accessory switches and breakers were unlabelled, and there were some issues I wanted to address such as switches operating too many things, and other switches being unnecessary. I needed to add a switch for the throttle system, and the engine start/run/stop switch was worn out. This latter issue was a concern for me all last summer. The switch worked fine, but was very sensitive when shutting off. Just touching the switch would shut down the engine. Because of the way this switch operated, it acted like it had an internal sear (gun owners will know) which appeared to be worn, and so the shut-down position was on a hair trigger. To protect against accidental engine shut down, I used some drawer handles I got at Home Depot to make some safety bars, like on the old Apollo spacecraft.
Over the winter, I planned the layout, and got a dashboard fabricated by a local plastics shop. I added an extra switch for the electronic throttle system, and instead of a single start/run/stop switch, I split the wiring into two switches, START and RUN/STOP. The way this is wired, the START switch gets it power from the RUN/STOP one, which matches the wiring diagram of the old switch. I removed the old VHF switch, as I was replacing the old radio and the new one had a built-in on/off switch. The old panel had a 12 volt outlet on the dash, right beside the engine controls. I found this location inconvenient, so planned to move the location of the outlet and so the new dash did not have a hole for the outlet. Finally, I added a formal label for the RADAR position.
Swapping out the panel was not difficult, but it is one of those jobs where you work carefully and take your time. First thing I did was take several pictures of the existing wiring. That way I could re-construct everything exactly as it was later. I then used masking tape to loosely “group” the wires to each switch, so I would not mix them up.
Then, it was just a matter of moving each switch, one-at-a-time, from one panel to the other. Each time I moved a switch I checked the wiring using the photos, and then tested the switch (each switch circuit is powered by its own breaker, so I could energize each circuit one-at-a-time). The last switch was the engine start switch. This one I checked about 10 times before I energized the engine circuit. Engine started right up and shut down normally.
With this done, I screwed the new panel to the old location. Because I removed some switches and the 12 volt outlet, the new panel was shorter than the old. Part of the plan, since I needed to move the thruster control slightly to clear the depth sounder display. Unfortunately, I re-used the old screws, which resulted in me breaking the new panel. I assumed the old screws were pan head, but they were bevelled, and when I did the last turn on the first one the plastic cracked. Swapped out the screws and the rest went in fine, but now I have to fix my new panel. Welcome to boating.
I used some plastic “lumber” I have on board to close the remaining gap. Later, I will install the 12 volt outlet on the side of the helm, where it will be more convenient. Final step was adding the "safety bars" over the engine switches. With the new set-up these are not really necessary, but I liked having them so I put them back. In the photo below, you can see them covering the engine switches on the right.
Have used the system over three small cruises and am really happy with the system. The "feel" is great, easy to switch between stations, and I love the lockout feature. The only thing I need to do is to get better at the startup routine. The system has a safety feature that disables the shifter on startup, so there is no danger of loss-of-control. I don't always remember to switch to active mode when getting underway, but this will get better with practice. I also learned some things about my engine, and about a few of the electrical systems on board. Will be helpful in the future when things break.
