bertram31.com

Commissioned my boat in feb of 2011 , 250 hours on the cummins 330 Qsb electronic to date, quiet, no smoke, no vibration, no cackle, jumps out of the water like my Boston whaler,all was perfect till last Monday when the captain was bringing the boat back from port Lucaya and about 40 miles offshore the boat slowed down to an idle, he could not get the boat to go into gear or make the throttles work, had a sat phone on board and called Glenndinning in the carolinas, they suggested numerous diagnostic s to determine the problem,nothing worked, now he has been drifting in the gulf stream for 4hours, earlier that week I tried to engage the cockpit control but it wold not take over the control so I put in on the list when the boat got back to the states,fortunately he finally disconnected it and was able to return to normal control activities and got the boat home,when I called the factory again to see if there was a manual way to control the engines, the only thing that can be done is to adjust the solenoid to lock the engine in forward,no throttle control, so if we are idling at 5 knots in a 5 knot gulf stream we could be there for a while, I have the same system in my bigger boat and never had an issue,I do have a backup unit, the cockpit control was defective,second one in a year, claimed it was soaked, not hard to believe in a 31 ,there are no dry spots in heavy seas,FYI, gun-shy about making any more crossing

This may sound simplistic, but especially on the B-31, would you not be better off/safer with manual throttle and transmission controls? I have seen a 43 Viking clobber a few boats and a dock because of Glendennings that would not come out of gear coming into his slip. That was followed by a million excuses about why, and that it was a "simple repair". Unfortunately not for the boats around him.

I think Walter is on the money. Cable controlls. Electronic stuff is for F18s. They have a ejection seat for when they stop working, a B31 does not. just my 2 cents.

Unfortunately when shit happens it's usually in the middle of the Gulf Stream. Sorry to hear that Marlin. Yes the boat is wet. But any manufacturer making stuff for boats should make stuff to endure wet weather, or it should be installed so that it can stay dry. I'm sure you can get this resolved. Replace it with a different brand? Or go manual. If it's the second defective one, I wouldn't wait for the 3rd defective unit. You'll figure out the bugs. Best of luck.

I would not go thru the expensive ordeal of replacing the engines again,probably have 90 k in them, I'm big on technology and probably most of the bigger stuff has gone to electronic controls,a long time has past since the old chris craft Crash o matics controls

Marlin,
I installed one of the first set of QSB's, in a 31 btw, when they came out. Sent to me by Mark at Cummins.

Everything was new and Glendenning just came out with the controls and sync unit and there was no instructions and no help when hooking everything up.

I got thru it all and had some issues, but for the most part it all worked on sea trial. What came with the engines were cable to electronic control boxes as Cummins original.

I had also converted the gears to electric shift by replacing to spool valve assemblies.

I had offered to the owner to make a jumper harness for the gears should the controls fail and offered the Cummins controls as a pop in alternative should the Glendenning units fail as an emergency get home.

He declined and I still have them all. It was a shame he didn't take them as I had heard about a year later he had problems with the controls and had gotten stuck.

As long as the computers are good, a jumper for the gears and a spare Cummins controller should be spare parts. Even the spool valve assemble is real easy to change for back to mechanical shifting to get home.

Marlin, sorry to hear that. But on the up side it didn't crap out in the middle of a storm, busy ship channel, inlet etc.

I understand technology can make everything so much better and easier...but I go into technology with the understanding that It ALL Can and WILL go Down at some point. If I'm wrong so be it, but if I am right I need to have a plan. Sometimes the plan is just to call service and have them walk me thru...but on a boat out in the ocean....that would not be my plan of choice.

Steyr Motors have an all electronic motor...a system they have full faith in and very proud of it...yet they built in a mechanical override should the electronic system go down.

I haven't heard of a manufacturer yet who hasn't had computer and control issues.

Not to mention the increased risk to lighting and voltage spikes.

If you can prepare a backup, do so.

BTW Marlin, if you would like one of these Cummins controls and they haven't changed the harness plugs, your welcome to it for the throttle, no charge for a backup.

Bruce thx for the offer, I'd like to take u up on the offer and retain your services to show me how to make the swap out if necessary,im disappointed that Glendinning could not offer some solution, let me know when u can come to the house, same place,thx again, what a relief. In my business we have as much redundancy as possible to keep things running, lots of preventative mantainance and alternative planning, that's my culture,

I find it so hard to believe that the Glendenning control systems have been having problems for so long and have not yet come up with some sort of "makes sense" solution. Scares the hell out of me and I think of the disaster I witnessed every time I bring my boat into my marina. What if either engine won't come out of gear? Or what if I lost power for no apparent reason when offshore in the middle of nowhere. The one thing you don't ever want to lose when running a boat is confidence in your equipment. An electronic system without manual back up or built in multiple redundancy, would be like having a fancy life raft that won't inflate when you need it. I hope Bruce has the solution for you.

Glendenning control systems either has a fantastic insurance policy or even better lawyers.

In the manual, does the manufacturer use a statement similar to the GPS manufactures:
"GPS is not to be used for Navigating but used only an Aid to Navigation"

Marlin, sorry to hear of your troubles. I just picked up a complete set of Morse I6000 electronic controls at the Dania Beach Marine Flea Market and was planning on installing them with my diesel repower, but your experiences are going to give me a lot to think about.

Anyone out there have any experience with the Morse i6000's?

Maybe I'll wire a lower helm station with the old fly bridge controls and leave the cables tucked away just in case.

Good luck!

Year before last I took my son and son in law to TSL and we fished on a B31 they had repowered with the Nannis which were electronic engines. Second day out they both went to dead idle for no apparent reason. Capt. had no clue. I raised a motor box and fiddled with what looked to me like a throttle lever and it would go to a faster idle then back down. Smelled burnt electrical. Long idle back to the lodge. They Carlos, who was the head of maintaince back then (now retired) said the motors were impossible to trouble shoot and needed to be converted to anchors. We fished the reat of the time on a B31 with oil slingin' dump tuck motors.

The enemy of good is better.

UV

my cockpit wash down was a TSL style system and every thing got more manual from there. i ran for months at a time with no steering, or no reverse on the port engine, or no idle on one engine. to me a physical manual link gives you more control....not less.

Hi Joe,


Sorry for telling , but please put those on eBay , and switch to the KE 4’s

I have been installing the KE 4 's for years and they can have a lot of water and never fail.

I was the first with the new BY 's Yammers in my boat that came with the new type of controls ........one new set every year.......

Five Angels has mechanical controls on her Yanmars. She has never had a problem.