Single lever control for bow thruster

Hi everyone, I hope this will be of interest to you.
I was watching a mature guy in a twin engine motor cruiser trying to dock his boat, he had 2 gear levers, 2 throttle levers and a bow thruster switch.

It was like watching a conductor of an orchestra, real sweet until it all went wrong, the more he tried to correct it, the more he got flustered, he became like a farmer trying to ride a racehorse, in the finish he'd damaged both his own boat and another on the pontoon behind him. Very costly...
That got me to thinking the problem through despite searching for answers from many techie type people at Morse, Teleflex, Seastar or whatever corporate name they choose for this year,disappointingly I got no straight answers and came up against a blank wall.

We've bought another boat and we wanted a bow thruster to make life easier for her ladyship and myself as the years advanced.
I wanted a combined single lever control with a bow thruster switch on it to make piloting the boat simple (I also didn't want to make a public spectacle of myself when docking the boat).
Morse make a single lever control with a trim switch for power boats, the CH series.
I shopped around and discussed my needs with Parks Masterson over at Hopcar marine, thankfully he quickly picked up my thinking and became enthusiastic and supplied me with 2 CH series combined controls and shipped them over to me, in budget, on time.

The result ? ? ?
Absolutely brilliant, simple, efficient one handed control over engine, gears & thruster with no drama's leaving the other hand free for steering.
Our new 'to us' cruiser has a long keel and to make her capable of being moved sideways I also 'fenced' the rudder.
The only problem I found was that the Vetus bow thruster had 4 wires and the CH series had 3, the solution was to fit a rocker switch from lower to upper helm, problem solved.

I hope this is helpful, if you need more details send me a message.

Was it this one?

Teleflex Marine, CH1700 Series Premium Engine Control, Single Station

Hmmmmm. Good idea!

I like the idea of the trim tab use for the thruster. Not enamored with the design though.

Not sure if I could part with my pretty bronze Kobelt controls though.

Irish Rambler said:

That got me to thinking the problem through despite searching for answers from many techie type people at Morse, Teleflex, Seastar or whatever corporate name they choose for this year,disappointingly I got no straight answers and came up against a blank wall.

I wanted a combined single lever control with a bow thruster switch on it to make piloting the boat simple (I also didn't want to make a public spectacle of myself when docking the boat).

Click to expand...

I think that's what some of the newer joystick controllers are about. I've seen adverts for at least one that isn't tied to pod drives, somehow controlling engines, bow and stern thrusters, etc.... and apparently can be tied into existing straight-shaft systems.

I forget the name...

-Chris

I know there are lots of twin engine boats equipped with a bow thruster.. but for the life of me I have never seen the need in a twin.. a single you bet.
I am glad the setup works for the P.O.
I am afraid the trim button up/down would confuse me!, a joy stick is typically not to hard to grasp.. boat goes the same direction you push the lever.

I currently run a single, no thruster.. a twin with thruster would practically park itself!

HOLLYWOOD

Just like single control levers versus separates...whatever you like, or used to and even to a degree the boat setup.

Hard sometimes to jump between all the combos...but if you have basic operating skills...and a lot of people don't and probably never will....it just takes a bit to get adjusted...hopefully not in the most demanding of situations though.

It's very common now for newer boats, especially larger to have multiple control stations around the boat, all using a joystick, for slow speed maneuvering and docking. This is without pod drives. Simply linking engine controls and thruster or thrusters to avoid what the man encountered. And even if the old method worked for you 99 times out of 100 with no problem, this is still worth it. Being able to back into a slip using a control in the cockpit or side dock using one on the side sure are nice luxuries that one soon thinks of as things they'd not want to live without again. This is especially true when short handing.

Murray M, the 2 controls I used a(upper & lower helm) both are the Teleflex CH7541P type.
Down here in France there's a hire boat company which uses a joystick controls for a 10 berth 50' hybrid cruiser with a sail drive mounted underneath the boat with a bow thruster, great idea on a new build but they suffered so much with breakdowns with first time hirers with no experience that they've locked off some of systems off altogether.
Anyway that type of boat is above my pay grade and I prefer a functional boat and to be able to spend the money travelling.
I absolutely agree that a good skipper docking a single or twin is a joy to watch and likewise when they use springs leaving a dock.
My problems are that
a, the new boat is single engine by my preference for practicality of the cruising I do, and I don't wish to start up that old chestnut of an argument again.
b, my fine French wife and I are not in the first flush of youth and so we prefer to work smarter not harder.
c, there are no pockets on a shroud so we're going Ski-ing in our autumn years, Spending the Kids Inheritance.
d, I'm not a poseur by any means but I take pride in my boat handling skills and just like to get it right with the least fuss and bother to anyone.
These are just my opinions of course and everyone is entitled to their own way of thinking as to what suits them best for their own preferences and circumstances.

ps Hollywood 8118.
Actually the controls are ergonomically mounted that to go right with the thruster, the trim switch is lightly held up with the thumb, obviously held down to go left, both helm stations are mounted/operated the same of course.
If I had a twin I don't think I'd bother with a thruster at all, but as I said earlier everyone has there own opinions and I respect that.

When I first heard the plan, it just seemed like a natural to me. When I'm maneuvering I seem to always have my hand on the throttle/gear control. Why would I want to take my hand off to activate the thruster? With Rover's idea you just use your thumb.

With one hand you control, speed, forward, neutral, reverse and where the bow goes. I like it. Leaves your other hand free to hold the beer as you back into the slip.

I think control manufactures are really missing a good bet if they don't come out with controls designed and marketed for this application.

Not sure how much this adds, but when we went from the old boat to the new we went from twins with separate gear shift/throttle levers to twins with electronic single lever controls. The controls beep when they go into neutral. I find it much easier to deal with, even though I ran the old boat for 8 years.

Viking did the same thing except with their single lever palm beach style controls.There is a button on each lever, look for th elite black dot. j

Great Idea!
An aftermarket set of replacement gear/throttle control levels for Morse with a rocker switch on top the gear lever would be nice.

"I know there are lots of twin engine boats equipped with a bow thruster.. but for the life of me I have never seen the need in a twin.. a single you bet. "

this is exactly what went through my mind. Sounds like he felt he had to use all those controls to his detriment. Sailboat was single screw with no thrusters and we managed just fine. Our current boat is a single with single lever control and thruster. It is almost like cheating! I've learned to walk the boat sideways. I actually like to practice going in and out without the thruster just so I don't loose my single engine handling ability for that instance when the thruster decides not to work.

High Wire,
Actually a Dutch company make a single lever control with bow thruster activated by twisting the knob on top, while I was researching I spoke to a couple of skippers at the Dusseldorf boat show who had them and their complaint was that it was too easy to operate the thruster by mistake which is why I chose the Teleflex system to modify.
Love the boat name.

Carolena said:

"I know there are lots of twin engine boats equipped with a bow thruster.. but for the life of me I have never seen the need in a twin.. a single you bet. "

this is exactly what went through my mind. Sounds like he felt he had to use all those controls to his detriment. Sailboat was single screw with no thrusters and we managed just fine. Our current boat is a single with single lever control and thruster. It is almost like cheating! I've learned to walk the boat sideways. I actually like to practice going in and out without the thruster just so I don't loose my single engine handling ability for that instance when the thruster decides not to work.

Click to expand...

I guess if the boat was a twin with four levers to push/pull one could get confused... but.. the thruster is the lever that only moves port/stbd.. not much confusion there.

On a four lever boat the FIRST thing I would change is to do electronic single levers for each side.. then if the boat was a poor handling beast .. think about a thruster.

HOLLYWOOD

Irish Rambler said:

High Wire,
Actually a Dutch company make a single lever control with bow thruster activated by twisting the knob on top, while I was researching I spoke to a couple of skippers at the Dusseldorf boat show who had them and their complaint was that it was too easy to operate the thruster by mistake which is why I chose the Teleflex system to modify.
Love the boat name.

Click to expand...

Thanks.
A twist knob with a simple unlocking button would work too.

ranger42c said:

I think that's what some of the newer joystick controllers are about. I've seen adverts for at least one that isn't tied to pod drives, somehow controlling engines, bow and stern thrusters, etc.... and apparently can be tied into existing straight-shaft systems.

I forget the name...

-Chris

Click to expand...

Found it. "Yacht Controller" (yachtcontroller.com).

The ad says: "The smart alternative to pods. Easy to install on ANY boat." [Their emphasis.]

Apparently wireless, multi-helm joysticks, remote joystick control.

I can't tell from the ad whether this is about replacing or augmenting an existing joystick controller with their wireless ones... or whether it's about augmenting or partially replacing existing throttle/gear/thruster controls.

-Chris

I guess you pays your money and takes your choice.
I've found that electronics on boats definitely work, but indefinitely, sooner or later there's a new type that doesn't speak to the old, can't get spare parts, repairs etc.etc.
I'm certainly not a minimalist but like to keep things as reliable, simple and effective as possible.

For those who enjoy electronics and multi stations I say go for it and have fun, but for my type of cruising things going beep and failing to work is not an option as both the Irish sea and the Med weather can be as unpredictable as a baby's butt.
As Carolena has said, you can make the boat go sideways with a little practice and my system makes that an even simpler operation by having one hand for steering and the other for all other commands.

Before I shipped the controls to Ramble I of course had to play with them. I was surprised at how nicely the switch just fell under my thumb. Just press the top of the switch and the bow goes to starboard. Press the bottom and she swings to port. It was all very natural and intuitive.

Now I've got to get out on a real boat instead of just pretending to drive Ramblers boat in my office. Yes I made motor sounds, wouldn't you?

Rambler did you ever figure out how many amps the switch was rated for?

Hi Hopcar.
Sadly all the e mails and phone enquiries I made to various distributors and agents of Morse, Teleflex and even the head office of holding company Seastar technical department failed miserably, no single person gave a definitive answer, in fact they were quite surprised and to put it bluntly they hadn't a bloody clue about the rating, and they make the things !
Personally I think it's a damning inditement of those company's and they can thank their lucky stars that I'm not their MD or they'd be looking for other employment after a short interview without coffee.
There, that's my rant over.
Thankfully you were able to see the benefits and we were able to work together to get the desired results.
The switch rating ? I still don't know, but figure it's only activating a solenoid the same as if it were working in trim switch mode.
The success speaks for itself.
My definition now of 'Experts' ? Ex is a has been, and a spert is a drip under pressure.

Hello Mike,
I replied to your private message with all the details you requested but if it didn't come through send me another and I'll use direct email.

Irish Rambler said:

Hello Mike,
I replied to your private message with all the details you requested but if it didn't come through send me another and I'll use direct email.

Click to expand...

IR
I got two PMs but nothing in them.

Thanks

Hopcar,
We're back In Ireland and we have run a full set of tests and the results are fantastic.
Maybe I'm biased because it was my idea but everyone in the marina wants to play with it and everyone's very impressed so it can't be bad.
There is one downside, it's possible to switch the thruster from Port to Starboard without a pause to let the motor stop, frankly it doesn't matter to me because I would never do it but other people may prefer to add a 2/3 seconds delay.
Nope, those okie's at Seastar still can't tell me what the switch is rated for !
I'm a real happy guy and thanks for your help and support.

No worry for me. My thruster stops as soon as I move direction from port to starboard, whatever.

I've attached photo's of the master switch, upper/lower helm switch and the controls themselves to help to clarify the fitting.









Apologies but you will have to rotate a couple as I'm handy with the spanners but not an IT whizz kid.
I hope you find these explanatory and helpful.

Irish, I'm so disappointed in you. That is one ugly steering wheel.

An old trick was to mount the thruster joystick at knee level so you did not have to take your hands off the controls to operate it. Just push it one way or the other with your knee.

Hopcar, I agree it's ugly and actually uncomfortable for any close quarters manoeuvring.
The second mate has priority though on the interior so an electrical ring main, freezer and washing machine come first, I'm a patient man, give me time and it will go.
I've been dropping hints about Santa Claus, we'll see if that works.

Good idea Capt Bill but I'm only a shortarse so I usually stand up when mooring to get a good all round view, I'd never live it down if I touched someone else's boat.

Irish Rambler said:

Good idea Capt Bill but I'm only a shortarse so I usually stand up when mooring to get a good all round view, I'd never live it down if I touched someone else's boat.

Click to expand...

I meant to say knee level while standing.