Cockpit Controls ?

[matt ciarpella]

I'm adding a control station in the cockpit of my 31 and am not sure exactly what parts I will be needing to make this happen. If anyone here can help me out with this I would greatly appreciate it!
This is what I have :
Morse s controls at the helm
Additional Morse S control at the secondary station
330 cables
Its my understanding that I will need a Dual station Change over gear box. There seems to be 2 maybe three different styles
I don't know how many of these I will need for two engines ( gears and throttles)
I don't know how many control lever selector units I will need either ( one per engine?)
I'm not sure if this is even the best way to do this using what I have or if I am missing any other components.
Again any help is appreciated

[Yannis]

Matt,
Are you doing this so that you can dock aft-in more comfortably and safely, as oposed to having to do it from the fb?
If so, have you thought of also adding a windlass control too, or is the deployment of the anchor not a necessity where you dock?
Or is it so that you can back down on a fish ?
Thanks.

[matt ciarpella]

Both. When trolling, the up and down to make spread adjustments or assist with fish on has become an irritant when the boat decides to steer itself in the wrong direction or when I need to bump in and out of gear.
I have a toggle switch controlling an auto pilot pump for steering, which worked great for last year but its just not complete without gear/ throttle control. This is all mounted outboard of the starboard motor hatch on the semi permanent portion of the motor box.

[Bruce]

Matt,
You currently have dual lever controls or single lever controls.

[matt ciarpella]

single lever. Each operates the gear and throttle for each engine

[matt ciarpella]

to clarify it is two levers that are dual action, one for port and one for the starboard engines

[matt ciarpella]

This is what I'm working with Bruce.

[matt ciarpella]

After much luck and many calls, I finally spoke with a rep at Sea Star who was familiar with the components required for dual stations using the Morse MT 2/3 single lever controls.
page 91 of the Sea star Solutions catalog indicates two change over boxes for the gears, two throttle adapters for the throttles and one selector switch. The installation was not hateful, just need to be sure to match the cable layouts in both change over boxes.



I snagged a used Kobelt toggle switch off an old tug going to the scrap yard for the steering, which is activated by an autopilot pump and a few relays.



I found the steering alone last year to be a game changer as far as fishing the boat and managing the rods. I expect the controls will only solidify the option as probably the best upgrade I have made to my boat. Just figured I would share the idea.

[Stephan]

That looks excellent and is the answer to many of the benefits of an express style boat in my opinion.
Would you make a soft cover to snap over the controls when running. I have one of the "wet" B31s and believe that part of the boat will regularly get doused when running an a sea.
Nice work.
Stephan

[Tony Meola]

[quote="Stephan" I have one of the "wet" B31s and believe that part of the boat will regularly get doused when running an a sea.
Nice work.Stephan[/quote]

You are joking right? The only one that might come close to dry is Bob Lilco's Phonex.

[Carl]

Just a word to the wise...time goes by quick and trolling can cover alot of ground when busy.

If you do not have a totally unobstructed view ahead of you...well just remember to keep an good eye out and remember to check those blind spots often...seems a full clear ahead always has boats run and stop at just the perfect wrong spot...or that sneaky Lobster Pot that hides between waves.

[pschauss]

You need to be careful to place the cockpit controls in a location where no one will bump into them. Thirty years ago I was working on an environmental survey for the Shoreham nuclear power plant. We had a 40' Chesapeake Deadrise (single screw) with throttle and shifter on the side of the engine cover. We were in the process of pulling in a small trawl when one of the crew members bumped into the shifter and threw the engine to reverse, wrapping the net and chains around the prop.

[Amberjack]

[quote="pschauss"]You need to be careful to place the cockpit controls in a location where no one will bump into them. /quote]

....or a line can catch on them. One time I hopped off our sailboat with a stern line in hand. The stern line caught the engine control and "clunk" the boat kicked into gear and started out into the channel--with the kids asleep up forward! It took a flying leap to catch the lifelines and pull up over the stern to get it under control again.

[matt ciarpella]

All valid concerns. With that said,the primary use of the lower station is momentary control of the boat from the cockpit while trolling. Additional to the large radar screen mounted in the over head electronics box on the bridge, I installed a 12V camera mounted on the bridge and a removable lcd screen mounted just under the brow in front of the controls which gives you a great view of whats ahead. The selector switch disengages the lower controls when not in use thus eliminating accidental engagement of the gears by passengers. But as your examples indicate, one must always be aware of his surroundings..... and passengers.

[Tony Meola]

If I remember correctly, years ago when lower stations were common, there was a way of locking the throttles and Clutch so that someone could not use them. Not sure that can still be done but it is a consideration if possible.

[Rawleigh]

When I was in college and working as a dockmaster at a local marina, I had a father and son come in to rent a slip in a rented sailboat. They had trouble getting along side the gas dock, so I knew it would be interesting. All of the slips had very tall pilings as we regularly docked 60+ foot motor yachts. Needless to say the father was having trouble backing into the slip. The son was on the bow and stood up on the lifelines to try to get a line over the outer piling instead of around it, while the father tried to throw me a stern line so that I could try to control the boat and keep it from hitting the neighboring boats. The father slipped off the bench seat in the cockpit as he threw the line and landed on his back in the bottom of the cockpit with his feet up in the air! In falling, his elbow hit the gear shift and throttle at the same time! The sailboat took off out of the slip at full throttle while the father was still lying on the cockpit sole with his feet in the air and left the son hanging onto a piling about 8 feet up in the air! If you have ever seen one of those children's games with the little woodpecker on a spring that slowly pecks its way down a metal rod, you will know exactly how the poor son fared. I am sure I will have to answer for this to Saint Peter, but I laughed so hard I almost peed in my pants! Later i did feel sorry for the son as he extracted splinters and pieces of barnacle from his front!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3YSnNAIHDg

Back on topic, that is a really nice job on the controls.

[Amberjack]

The selector switch disengages the lower controls when not in use

So that's what that switch is--makes sense!

[John F.]

Matt-

That is pretty slick. I really like it. Are you in Baltimore? My boat and I are on Kent Island. We should meet up. I'd like to see what you've done.

John

[matt ciarpella]

John PM sent