Yacht Controller or similar?

Hurricane said:
Thanks Jimmy
If he reads this, I would like to hear his solution.
Not sure I'll do anything because SWMBO and I can handle most situations on our own but I love this kind of mod.
I wonder of it would work with the MTU control panel.
Maybe another project.
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The way all of the yacht controllers work ( and indeed the throttles) is the same.

The throttle is a potentiometer, and this varies a control voltage that is then interpreted by the clever box that manipulates the real throttles on the engine.

Assuming your throttle has Neutral, First detent forward, First detent reverse ... and then progressively faster but we are not bothered about that ...

Each of these has a reference voltage.

What I did ( and the commercial units do the same thing) is apply a shunt across the potentiometer using relays to change the Neutral voltage to tier the first forward voltage, or the first reverse voltage.

This is best done using a fine adjustment potentiometer. With the engines off you determine the fwd and reverse voltage.

Still with the engines off you apply your potentiometer and adjust it until on gives the forward voltage, and the other the reverse voltage.

To make it work you then switch in the required pot to adjust the reference voltage ... and the engine engages.

The principal is very very simple.

I then got a multi channel tx / rx board that allowed more than one channel to operate at one time - which hence allows you to have forward on one engine, reverse on the other and at the same time trigger the bow and stern thrusters.

The whole lot cost me about £150.

This is part of a thread, so that is another detail for now, but it is not difficult and the commercial price of £7000 is a p*** take. Their defecne is they have a patent. How you can patent the ability to remote control something is beyond me.
 
Hurricane said:
she used the boat hook and ran the lazy line through it whilst she walked down the side deck.
By the time she had got to the bow the skipper was there to pull the last bit in.
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By pulling the last bit in, you mean pull MOST of the bow line in, I reckon?
Because by walking along the deck holding the line with the hook, you are actually pulling the lazy part of the bow line to the front.
In fact, depending on how long the lazy line is, and how near to the boat side it's attached to the dock, you risk to foul it in the u/w gear.
That's particularly true with fin stabs, but I've also seen folks pulling the lazy line straight into the prop/rudder.

For this technique to work effectively, you must ask the dock hand to keep the bow line a bit tight also after your deck hand grabbed it with the hook.
This way, it's possible (albeit not easy anyway, depending on barnacles/crusts/knots) to reach the bow having also recovered the line while walking the dock.
And yes, for this purpose the hook with the roller that BartW posted can help.
But most of the times, the deck hand drops the line in the water as soon as you grab it with the hook, which brings us back to my initial point... :ambivalence:
 
Rick lets look at a slightly different method of stern-to mooring that works whether you are berthing at your regular berth or one unknown to you.

You prepare the boat when still out in open water by having one long fixed and one shorter extending boat hooks ( that you have checked slides and locks easily) on the stern seat for easy access.

The mooring ropes if they are not already attached to the dockside (your home berth) should be coiled over the windlasses with the end you are going to throw to the marinero easy to see so that Gill throws them without getting nervous when all folks on the dockside are watching.

Gill throws one end (one which has a large loop if poss) and the marinero places the loop over the mooring fixture. Gill pulls back the slack and makes off onto the cleat but leaves plenty of slack in the line.

Repeat for the other side.

All this time you are on the helm holding the boat steady.

The marinero will then pull the lazy line towards him and Gill clips on a large snap hook device with rollers which is attached to a line of approx. 2 metres in length.

Gill walks very elegantly along the side deck pulling the rope/hook up to the bow and attaches the end of the rope to the side rail with a snap hook which is attached.

At this stage Shirley comes up to the helm and I go to the bow to handle the heavier bow line.

Because we left the stern lines slack I can pull in the lazy line runner and the bow line and make off on the bow cleat.

No mess down the side of the boat as the lazy line was under the surface of the water at all times.

Should I need the boat moved forward a little (say due to an on bow wind) using our Sen blue tooth headsets I can say to Shirley 'touch ahead starboard' etc so I do not have to yank and tug on heavy ropes.

Then when I am ready I tell Shirley to turn off the engines and I go to the stern and tighten the stern lines using the stern winches .

At this stage as all the fairer sex do she goes off to the loo and then puts the kettle on.

I try to ensure that Shirley does not have to handle dirty ropes situations where she could trap her fingers nor where she has to pull any heavy lines.

The lazy line runner mentioned above was purchased from www.bluewatersupplies.com of Jersey who are having problems with their website at the moment.

Mike will get Gill to be very relaxed on the helm very quickly though bringing the boat into the marina and actual berthing may take a little longer.:)

We are trying to be on the boat for Easter but am not sure if it will be back on the water after the servicing etc.
 
BartW said:
we use a boat hook with a roller, like this,
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I have not seen that before and I would buy one immediately if I did see it. Maybe something for petem to add to his range?;)
 
DougH said:
Should I need the boat moved forward a little (say due to an on bow wind) using our Sen blue tooth headsets I can say to Shirley 'touch ahead starboard' etc so I do not have to yank and tug on heavy ropes.
.
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I guess that will all work unless you haven't got boats either side to hold you steady. Is Shirley capable of using the thruster and/or throttles to hold the boat steady if you are being blown sideways?
 
Deleted User said:
I have not seen that before and I would buy one immediately if I did see it. Maybe something for petem to add to his range?;)[/QUOTE

Certainly one for Pete.

There is a whole range of handy gadgets which are made by a Swiss guy which I have only seen sold by the Jersey Company.

If you read this Pete and are interested I will get the Swiss guys details when next on the boat and send them to you.
Click to expand...
 
Deleted User said:
I guess that will all work unless you haven't got boats either side to hold you steady. Is Shirley capable of using the thruster and/or throttles to hold the boat steady if you are being blown sideways?
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If we are in across wind situation without boats either side we keep the stern lines shorter than normal and then apply small amounts of forward drive to keep the stern in tension from the dock.

Shirley is very capable on the thruster/engine controls and does a super job without fuss.

She spent a few hours with Mike at Sea Teach in Cala d'Or a few years ago and he worked out a programme just for her. Superb bit of instruction.

I know I keep saying this but I will be eternally grateful to Mike (Hurricane) for finding and posting about the SEN Bluetooth Head Sets. The VERY best money I have ever spent.
 
DougH said:
If we are in across wind situation without boats either side we keep the stern lines shorter than normal and then apply small amounts of forward drive to keep the stern in tension from the dock.

Shirley is very capable on the thruster/engine controls and does a super job without fuss.

She spent a few hours with Mike at Sea Teach in Cala d'Or a few years ago and he worked out a programme just for her. Superb bit of instruction.

I know I keep saying this but I will be eternally grateful to Mike (Hurricane) for finding and posting about the SEN Bluetooth Head Sets. The VERY best money I have ever spent.
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Very good explanation, Doug
The key thing to remember is not to tie off the stern too tight - then the bow lines are much easier to pull in.
if you keep them loose, the boat will naturally drift out as you pull the bow lines in.
Generally, we then both end up in the cockpit winching back to the quay.

I know I keep saying this but I will be eternally grateful to Mike (Hurricane) for finding and posting about the SEN Bluetooth Head Sets. The VERY best money I have ever spent.
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Actually, we are still using the headsets that I made (DIY).
But we have been invited out to dinner next week with the blind guy whom I made a DIY set for.
You may remember my MBY article - it was there that I first mentioned the Sena ones.
My blind friend was so impressed with the function of the DIY ones that he has now taken the UK agency for the Sena ones.
I believe that he is (literally) selling hundreds of them.
He sells a pair for (twin pack) for £299 - fantastic value.
This is his website
http://www.sabreleisure.co.uk/
I noticed that he is now also advertising in MBY.
I've ordered a pair from him so our old DIY ones will soon become redundant - I'm not sure they are working properly now anyway but the certainly proved the point.

If you look back at my posts on the subject, it took me a long time to find a suitable solution.
The requirement was to have a headset without wires that you just put on your head and use - anything more complicated just wouldn't get used.

I'm sure that Doug (and others on here) agree - simple to operate headsets like these definitely make the whole docking experience a joy rather than a chore.

I haven't done so yet but they are probably useful in lots of other places - working up a mast for example - even out on the bikes - perhaps between the dinghy and the mother ship - etc....
 
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DougH said:
Mike will get Gill to be very relaxed on the helm very quickly though bringing the boat into the marina and actual berthing may take a little longer.:)
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Thanks for bringing it to life with the step by step guidance Doug. Its really helpful.
Gill and I will certainly aspire to getting to that point where we too can communicate calmly into the headsets, efficiently completing the procedure in a well drilled manner and in a totally serene environment.... Let's hope it doesn't take too long!!
In the meantime.... if you are on board after the Easter weekend, keep an ear out for high pitched 'communication' from the cockpit of a P58 near you.... that will be Gills response to my well-intentioned instructions. She has scant regard for maritime hierarchy!
 
DougH said:
If we are in across wind situation without boats either side we keep the stern lines shorter than normal and then apply small amounts of forward drive to keep the stern in tension from the dock.
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If as I understand by stern lines you mean on both sides, I'd suggest you to try an even easier way.
If upon arrival you secure ONLY the upwind stern line, you can keep the bow against the wind for as long as you wish without even needing the bow thruster.
Just engage/disengage (as required, it depends on both the boat and the xwind strength) the opposite (i.e. downwind) engine in fwd.
This way, whoever is dealing with the bow lines can take all the time he/she needs.
Obviously, also the bow line to secure first is the upwind one.
Once the stern and bow upwind lines are secured, the rest is a piece of cake.
 
That looks like a very elegant solution Doug. Following my first ever attempt at retrieving the bow line, which ended in blood loss, I used a boathook and completed the task more safely. I then sat in the cockpit, trying to keep the blood off the teak, and put some thought into a better way of doing it, particular bearing in mind Gills aversion to barnacles, mud and cut fingers....swi-tec.com appear to have got there first! Thanks for the link. R
 
CLOUD9 said:
That looks like a very elegant solution Doug. Following my first ever attempt at retrieving the bow line, which ended in blood loss, I used a boathook and completed the task more safely. I then sat in the cockpit, trying to keep the blood off the teak, and put some thought into a better way of doing it, particular bearing in mind Gills aversion to barnacles, mud and cut fingers....swi-tec.com appear to have got there first! Thanks for the link. R
Click to expand...

If you buy one also get the boat hook head as you will have to replace your one. The new head slides into a sleeve on the lazy line device.
 
Still deliberating over whether to go for a remote. As suggested, will wait to see how we get on before making a decision. Does anyone have any views on the pros and cons between systems? I've been looking at 'Hydronautica' and 'Yacht Controller'. The Yacht Controller remote looks like a simpler design. The Hydronautica remote a little over complex.
 
CLOUD9 said:
Still deliberating over whether to go for a remote. As suggested, will wait to see how we get on before making a decision. Does anyone have any views on the pros and cons between systems? I've been looking at 'Hydronautica' and 'Yacht Controller'. The Yacht Controller remote looks like a simpler design. The Hydronautica remote a little over complex.
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Rick, you are seeing problems that will not be there when you have practised stern-to mooring with Carl.
The biggest cause of discord between skipper and crew is lack of communication. You cannot beat the Sena blue tooth head sets.

We will be on the boat early in April and you and Gill can try our units.

You (and Gill) are worrying about nothing.

The remote control units are not the answer to your perceived difficulties.
 
DougH said:
The biggest cause of discord between skipper and crew is lack of communication. Y
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Agree entirely. You will eventually get to the point where your SWMBO knows intuitively how you are going to handle the boat and act accordingly. If my SWMBO and I communicate at all during mooring manouvres it is via hand signals. IIRC tcm, ex of this parish, used to call this silent mooring mode

Btw you will also get to the point where she thinks she knows better than you. Once you reach this point, verbal instructions are pointless anyway as they are often met with a "you ****** do it then" swiftly followed by your crew disappearing into the saloon and then you're in deep poo;)
 
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