Electric or Manual Controls?

[jfish]

Working out the details on a new boat with twin 225 E-Tecs. I have used some of the electronic controls on Yami and Hondas and did not like the delay in response when moving throttles/shifters. For this reason I was thinking mechanical controls on the new rig? However, ran a set of Verados this weekend with electronic controls and there was no delay in response and performed flawlessly.

I think the controls which had the delay were "Glendinning" models while the ones on the Verados I am not sure of the make?

Question?

1. Are electronic controls unique to engine brands?

2. Does Evinrude have electronic controls for their E-Tecs? If so has anyone here used them?

3. Are there any recommendations as to what brand controls are the better than others? (No delay in control response is a requirement)

thanks

[yottyboy]

Working out the details on a new boat with twin 225 E-Tecs. I have used some of the electronic controls on Yami and Hondas and did not like the delay in response when moving throttles/shifters. For this reason I was thinking mechanical controls on the new rig? However, ran a set of Verados this weekend with electronic controls and there was no delay in response and performed flawlessly.

I think the controls which had the delay were "Glendinning" models while the ones on the Verados I am not sure of the make?

Question?

1. Are electronic controls unique to engine brands?

2. Does Evinrude have electronic controls for their E-Tecs? If so has anyone here used them?

3. Are there any recommendations as to what brand controls are the better than others? (No delay in control response is a requirement)

thanks

Unless there is a compelling reason such as a difficult routing or an unusually long run I can't see any advantage over push-pull cables. TFXreme cables in particular are very very smooth. When you get right down to it, electronic controls are still mechanical at each end. They just transfer that mechanical energy to an electrical signal which gets decoded at the other end into mechanical effort.

[jfish]

I have operated several of the same boats with mechanical controls and they all were rather stiff to operate. Tried the electronic controls on the same boat this weekend and that why I'm interested. Much smoother to operate, sync feature, etc....

As far a distance of run and bends it's a typically CC run of about 14-15 ft.. The boat is 25' but engines are on a bracket which puts them a few few further back....

[wkearney99]

Most electronic controls have a programmable delay. Some even have modes to allow for greater delays for different speeds (like a different ramp-up curve during docking). I'll never go back to using a boat without them. But then I'm using a boat with inboards.

[eliteftlaud]

Glendinnings Smart Actuator II works great with E-tec engines.

the actuators themselves are very small and the installation is straight forward.

the controls with the verados you ran into i believe are made by mercury themselves, a lot of engine companies are trying to make their own now. as far as outboards go, Suzuki, Honda, and i believe Evinrude still use third party.

Edited September 28, 2009 by eliteftlaud

[Mike F]

I love the new controls for Yamaha. Smooth shifting,no delay. The sync mode is also really nice.