Electronic Shift & Throttle Control conversion ?

[MapisM]

Interesting.
Just curious, is that because it was simpler to keep the original setup than snake the electrical cables necessary for the electronic controls, or because he preferred (as I do!) separate gear/throttle levers, or anything else?

I do understand and accept what you are saying re. being easier for anyone to take control (or even engage a sort of "fight" with the helmsman on the other station...!).
Also that has its pros and cons, though: it happened to me sometimes to ask some friend onboard to do something with the throttles while I was pulling the swim ladder or whatever, and it's easy and immediate for anyone to do so.
Besides, I'm not so sure that these days it would be difficult for kids (used as they are to computers, smartphones, etc.) to find their way through control buttons of electronic levers...

PS: Unless your controls have the "lock" function to restrict any other station from taking over, of course. I've seen that somewhere, but can't for the life of me remember which brand/model.

 

[jfm]

Interesting.
Just curious, is that because it was simpler to keep the original setup than snake the electrical cables necessary for the electronic controls, or because he preferred (as I do!) separate gear/throttle levers, or anything else?

I do understand and accept what you are saying re. being easier for anyone to take control (or even engage a sort of "fight" with the helmsman on the other station...!).
Also that has its pros and cons, though: it happened to me sometimes to ask some friend onboard to do something with the throttles while I was pulling the swim ladder or whatever, and it's easy and immediate for anyone to do so.
Besides, I'm not so sure that these days it would be difficult for kids (used as they are to computers, smartphones, etc.) to find their way through control buttons of electronic levers...

PS: Unless your controls have the "lock" function to restrict any other station from taking over, of course. I've seen that somewhere, but can't for the life of me remember which brand/model.

On my brother's boat is was just easier to use existing cables, which are all nice and free running. If building from scratch you wouldn't do it, but he wasn't! He has single gear/throttle levers, not separate. All OEM on the boat

There are lots of mechanical wires and tensioners between the upper and lower throttle boxes that make the levers move in mechanical synch

My throttles don't have a lock function but if I'm worried about small kids I put the levers into gear on the unused throttle boxes. That disables the "take control" button. The station taking control must have its levers in neutral position, although you then have 3 seconds delay to allow you to push the levers forward to create a "hot swap". That itself is a pretty good kid feature, because even the computer-literate ones would have trouble guessing that trick quickly, and by then I'd know what they had done and could grab control back! This is all ZF hardware. Sounds a bit complex perhaps, but it is slick in practice and I like it.

 

[MapisM]

even the computer-literate ones would have trouble guessing that trick quickly

Doh! Yeah, I suppose you are right.
In fact, I have used those ZF/Cat things you are talking about, but I never swapped helms.
If I should have, I surely would have put the levers forward before taking control for hot swapping, and even if I might have thought of putting the levers in neutral after seeing that I couldn't take control, I would have never thought of the 3 sec delay thing...! :ambivalence: