Two Selectable Power/Transmission Controls into 1 Motor

[keysdisease]

The cables and control mechanism of the unoccupied station do indeed move and create friction, but on a 28 ft boat the total cable length is tiny. The cables to my flybridge are 30ft all by themselves, the salon station cables around 12ft for a total of 42ft per lever. It works fine, smooth and predictable.

With the use of the higher performance cables like the Teleflex Extreme or Morse Supreme dual station controls in parallel work very smoothly. Units in series are not as popular as units in parallel, and I have no direct experience with them.

The good things about this set up are, its conventional, parts are readily available, its redundant, and there is no changer, either station are ready and work whenever you grab a handle. There are also less costly than the Electronic Controls.

The Electronic controls are very nice, I have used the Yamaha ones and it is a very cool setup, very smooth easy feel. They may not be available from your motor's manufacturer for such a small motor and I believe they are rather pricey, even the aftermarket units.

Steve

[MechaNik]

For that size boat Mechanical is perfect. Go for a high quality cable to get the smoothest control on the long runs, but save some money on the short runs if you like.
I prefer series because I think it's important to know what is happening at both stations unless you could lock one out, it's also easier to assume control at the next station if you changed positions.

[rwatson]

Luckily, I haven't bought the engine yet, so I can make a decision based on the ease and expense of dual controls when I buy.

I might have to take the installers advice on series or parallel.

I can see how having duplicated movement is handy if you want to do a quick switch from inside to out. Having some sort of switchover process could be a real nuisance in case of emergency.

[keysdisease]

Not sure I understand this comment. As far as the controls are concerned, they act identically regardless of in series or parallel. Unless you know which way they were rigged, you couldn't tell.

And with either rig there is no way to "lock out" a control

Steve

Originally Posted by MechaNik

I prefer series because I think it's important to know what is happening at both stations unless you could lock one out, it's also easier to assume control at the next station if you changed positions.