Engine stop start located at chart table not in cockpit?!

[Supertramp]

I think an important point is your engine battery. I always turn mine off when the engine stops, and on most boats the switch will be below. So to turn on the engine I always have to go below first to turn the engine battery on (except for very short trips...). So a panel below is no big deal. Different if your engine battery is always on.

 

[Stemar]

I always assume that there's a chance that I'll need the engine in a hurry when under sail. An example from last season: I was guest on someone else's boat and the helm was trying to go one side of a big buoy. He got it wrong and I could see we weren't going to make it, but he kept trying. As it was his boat, I waited a bit too long before telling him we need the engine NOW. Having to faff around below would have seen us bouncing off the buoy. Another times was when my starboard tack meant nothing to a racing boat on port.

Sure, I could be criticised for not acting sooner, but easy access to the engine start made the difference between an incident and an accident. On a not very directionally stable tiller steered boat, having to leave the tiller to start the engine is a bad idea, especially when things are already not going to plan. That's also why the engine battery is always on unless I'm firmly attached to the ground, whether it be alongside or below.

 

[James_Calvert]

Yes, you really need the engine if you've lost steerage way in a failing wind. And are being borne by the tide onto some hazard. But leaving the tiller then is of no consequence.

(Providing your round trip to the starting button is incident free...)

 

[Buck Turgidson]

Takes seconds to lean into the companionway and start the engine. If I need more than seconds I’ve done something wrong.

 

[NormanS]

When I started sailing, any "auxiliary" engine started when it felt like it, and not before. Boat engines were generally hand started, and we managed fine.

 

[NormanS]

I think an important point is your engine battery. I always turn mine off when the engine stops, and on most boats the switch will be below. So to turn on the engine I always have to go below first to turn the engine battery on (except for very short trips...). So a panel below is no big deal. Different if your engine battery is always on.

Can you give a reason for switching off your engine start battery? Mine is switched on all the time that I'm aboard.

 

[dunedin]

………….On a not very directionally stable tiller steered boat, having to leave the tiller to start the engine is a bad idea, especially when things are already not going to plan. ………..

I agree, hence why happy our boat has engine start on deck by wheel (and battery left on when not tied up in harbour).

But if I had a boat where engine panel is below, I might start by spending time and effort on an effective and instant access autopilot, before spending it moving the panel.

 

[Supertramp]

Can you give a reason for switching off your engine start battery? Mine is switched on all the time that I'm aboard.

Force of habit more than anything.

I grew up with long passage sails on a single battery boat where good practice was to turn all the electrics off when not in use. Small battery, large diesel and greedy bulbs. We had no instruments. Now the habit remains despite having separate batteries with battery monitor. I feel happier knowing my engine battery is left fully charged and not at risk of any electrical mishap on the domestic side. I agree that a well sorted electrical system should not need this behaviour but for me it's part of the sailing routine.

I have sailed on boats which didn't isolate the engine battery when not running and witnessed flat battery and reluctant starting. I am perhaps overcautious!

With regard to the OP question about where to put engine control panels, I see much advantage in seeing any warning lights or dials at the helm. But many cockpit systems hide or restrict the panel from line of sight. But for me I don't mind popping below before starting the engine (and making a quick visual check of oil pressure and engine battery charge voltage) .

 

[Stemar]

I agree, hence why happy our boat has engine start on deck by wheel (and battery left on when not tied up in harbour).

But if I had a boat where engine panel is below, I might start by spending time and effort on an effective and instant access autopilot, before spending it moving the panel.

I had a tiller pilot, but it wasn't a lot of good under sail, especially if things were a bit blustery and bumpy.

When I started sailing, any "auxiliary" engine started when it felt like it, and not before. Boat engines were generally hand started, and we managed fine.

Most of us managed fine when we didn't have all the safety features of modern cars, but I wouldn't want to be without them. Nor GPS nor a host of other things. As far as I was concerned, moving the engine start/stop to the cockpit wasn't particularly difficult and it added convenience and safety. Just like bringing the mainsail lines back to the cockpit - not essential, but convenient, and one risk, that of going forward in bad conditions, removed.

 

[NormanS]

I had a tiller pilot, but it wasn't a lot of good under sail, especially if things were a bit blustery and bumpy.
OP by


Most of us managed fine when we didn't have all the safety features of modern cars, but I wouldn't want to be without them. Nor GPS nor a host of other things. As far as I was concerned, moving the engine start/stop to the cockpit wasn't particularly difficult and it added convenience and safety. Just like bringing the mainsail lines back to the cockpit - not essential, but convenient, and one risk, that of going forward in bad conditions, removed.

As it happens, with my present deck saloon yacht, with all controls duplicated inside and out, I can, if I want, start the engine from outside. Yes, it can be convenient, but there's no way that I would claim that it contributes to safety.
Starting from cold is invariably from inside, simply because the inside speed/gear control has "revs without gear" which the outside control doesn't.

 

[Stemar]

On Jissel, the throttle/gear lever was in the cockpit and the cold start/stop pull and "ignition" inside. It was impossible to manage both at once, and the engine required far more throttle to start than was healthy to run at when cold.

 

[jamie N]

Slightly different perhaps, but on my small boat the starter is at the tiller and the throttle controls, with the engine battery isolator by the engine. Due to a previous problem, where the starter button shorted out whilst the engine was running, destroying the engine ring gear and the starter motor, I've fitted a 2nd switch with a cover for the starter, ensuring that once the engine's running, the 2nd switch is set to OFF, so that the starter button has no energy to it.