Morse Single-lever controls - Am I right to revert to separate levers?

[MapisM]

Read what I wrote
I can't see any point whatsoever in single lever controls on a pleasure boat

Why, would you call Hunton, Cigarette etc. workboats? Or fishing trawlers?
I wasn't talking of racing boats, most of them have an entirely different setup - i.e. pedal throttle.

 

[MapisM]

I recognise that some people still like them but then some people still prefer the horse and cart to the new fangled motor vehicle

LOL, yeah, do you mean like this turbocharged petrol missile?

PS: I'm not sure if the throttles are visible, but take my word for it, they're separate.
And rest assured that it wasn't for cost reasons that they didn't fit electronic single levers...
...also because the billet controls they fit are probably more expensive than any electronic toy!

 

[DAKA]

I changed one of my boats from single to twin lever.

What a nightmare.

forwards = rev the guts out and go nowhere until you remember to put it in gear.................oh sod it max revs and wham straight into gear memo to self remember to reduce revs before putting it in gear.


reverse= take throttle off and try to force backwards ..............but we are still heading straight for that boat, oh sod it remember to put the gear in reverse.
but nothing happens..........force the throttle back but still nothing.

note to sell in order to go backwards you have to take the revs off, push the gear stick back, then push throttle forwards not backwards. oooooooops hit another boat again

Might work on long passages but in a marina with finger berths

 

[piratos]

I changed one of my boats from single to twin lever.

What a nightmare.

forwards = rev the guts out and go nowhere until you remember to put it in gear.................oh sod it max revs and wham straight into gear memo to self remember to reduce revs before putting it in gear.


reverse= take throttle off and try to force backwards ..............but we are still heading straight for that boat, oh sod it remember to put the gear in reverse.
but nothing happens..........force the throttle back but still nothing.

note to sell in order to go backwards you have to take the revs off, push the gear stick back, then push throttle forwards not backwards. oooooooops hit another boat again

Might work on long passages but in a marina with finger berths

Well in my old days with one engine, outboard, sterndrive I was used to one lever for both gear and throttle. First boat with tween shafts - again cobined. Worked perfect.

Now I have everything split, and I have got used to it. One good thing is that whether you are inside or on the fly, you just take over, where as with the combined system you had to changeover. I only once tried the electronic from VP - didnt like it, but might have got used to it as well.

Its long time ago I was driving "fast", and where some people always jump waves at 50+ knots I have a cup of ...something. I still consider to change to the combined levers. First of all I personally like them and second and most important, nowdays my admiral wants to be the captain herself, and she always mix up the handles. Meantime we have come to the agreement, that if circumstances are "difficult" I berth. If we have Sunshine, no wind, no current, she does, and use of throttle is strictly forbidden.

But again diffent set ups to different needs !

 

[MapisM]

max revs and wham straight into gear memo to self remember to reduce revs before putting it in gear.

Oi, was it my boat that you were trying?
Twin lever controls normally have a safety lock, which allows you to put in and out of gear only when the throttle is at idle.
But I removed that mechanism, because I prefer to be able to use gears with the engines running a tad above idle, if I really want to (another thing which is impossible with single levers).

reverse= take throttle off and try to force backwards

That's indeed the key point, you must change your mindset first.
If you think about it, the same is true when you're used to twin levers and you move to single stick boats: when you want to release the throttle, you istinctively pull the lever all the way back/down, not just up to where you encounter a small resistance.
And that makes a mess, if done with single levers.
That's the reason why you can't use them with fast boats: upon take off, you must be able to release the throttle real quick, and without risking to do anything else. Upon re-entry, it's equally important to accelerate fast.
Failing to do so will kill your outdrive(s) much sooner than later, and you simply can't do that with single levers.

Anyway, I will concede that single electronics throttles are easier and more instinctive for maneuvering, to most boaters.
SWMBO still remembers the throttles of all boats we had before the last two, and keeps asking me why we progressed backward, in this respect...
I guess that's the train of thoughts which brought the industry to the development of the joystick!

 

[Red]

Once you have mastered the art of dual levers you will never go back to single levers. It does become a nightmare to newcomers who want to have a go, make sure you have a spare gearbox......

 

[gordmac]

A previous (displacement) boat had separate throttle and gear levers, never got used to it or liked it even after years of use.