Tiller to Remote conversion... 40 hp Honda.

A

Andrew

Well-known member
Dear esteemed folks who know everything...

After running the boat for almost 4.5 years, I am nailing down some adjustments re changing the boat.

I'm hunting less and less out of the boat now so I use it mainly for transportation to hunting spots along the coast. I am enjoying sitting on the beach more than sitting in the boat.

You veterans remember that I painted the boat a dead marsh grass tan... that was dumb because there is very little huntable marsh (where I go) and it's a black duck only program after early season.. boat is darker now... anyway, I am learning.

The boat is big enough to use during the summer for family outings and we're doing that a lot more. So I'm going to build a console (short) and add a wheel and throttle. I like that stick "wheel", I'm going to research that as well.

Can you guys shed any light as to the difficulty of converting a tiller to a remote? I'll want the auto tiller button on the console as well, so a bunch of wires and cables have to be run I realize...

I'm in research mode - any thoughts/advice will be appreciated. This is a good place to start.

Thanks, Andrew
 
I see your plan... a console will get you forward and the wife and kids can than be in the back to catch the spray.

I would just go to the dealer. Won't be cheap, I bet like a grand to do.
 
Andrew,

I converted a 25 merc with electric start over to remote. I added aftermarket ptt at the same time. If you need to add ptt you will spend around 1K, more or less, I did. About $500 to convert it over and about $500 for the ptt. The merc was a fairly easy out of the box conversion. I don't know about honda...

Good luck,
Gene
 
Thanks guys...

Tod, the console is going where I presently stand. As you know, that's where the pivot point is, I don't want to give that up... I don't mind the spray (from the side)... I'm going to have a pad made for the axx seat and I'll be in business.
 
Go to Honda's site and look at their accsy. page. Sometimes tiller motors are already set up to run controls and all you would need is a steering connector and remote harness if you want the key on the console. What about rigging just the stop switch up there? Look for a set of controls on ebay...they don't give those babies away.
 
Gene, for some reason when I bought the motor... the Tiller was more expensive... go figure.

Anyway, it'll be a fun project - but expensive looks like.
 
good idea Lee... i.e. go to the Honda website and search. Ebay is a great idea, my problem is... I don't know what I'm looking for.

1) Steering wheel
2) the stuff the steering wheel is attached to.
3) controls for the throttle, key & electric trim and tilt
4) the stuff that #2 and #3 is attached to whatever the hell that is...

Boating and duck hunting are addictions. Should taken up chess.
 
Andrew, look at Teleflex for steering systems. You probably want to get a hydraulic system. The cylinder goes in the console and is what the wheel hooks to. You will need a remote throttle/shift box that is compatible to your motor with cables that are long enough. I bet you'll knock the hell out of a grand.
 
T - prefer a wheel - facing forward. I stand 90% of the time.

I wouldn't move mid-way on that boat - not in the conditions we go in. It's well balanced based with my 200 #'s in the back and the deeks, etc & gear up front under the dodger. When it gets wavy, the fat lab usually comes back with me because it gets violent up front.

I sat in the cockpit today and determined that there is still tons of cockpit room even with a small console. It'll probably be attached to the 3rd to last station (bulkhead). Will make it something to lean against while sitting/hunting.

It'll be classy, wooden boatish.
 
Thanks Joe... I've been studying that setup as well... Gene from PA turned me onto that solution a couple of months ago... there is a new model... the "III" that has lesser travel in the stick to go left or right.

I may end up getting it. I can see the steering on the left and the throttle/shift to the right.

I got on the Honda website as per Lee's suggestion and see that they sell a throttle/shift/trim combo. Looks expensive but it's designed just for that motor and I like the fact that I only have to drill one hole.

Cool stuff.
 
Andrew,

I've gone in the other direction, and if you are mechanically inclined it is a relatively easy unbolt stuff/bolt stuff on operation.

That being said, with a new motor like yours, I'd pay the dealer to do it.

Charlie
 
Andrew,

For the steering- Teleflex is a great system, I would recomend the no feed back design. EZ-Glide is nice for specialized applications but not the most convenient "cruiser" set up. The new model might be a little better. I would say the EZ-Glide is one of those products that "looks better on paper" than in real life. It is a quality product but I like people to know it's not a universal problem solver.

I would definately go to honda for the control unit, that is probably why you paid more for the tiller, they didn't price out the control unit with the motor, only added the price of the tiller. Do you have PTT on the motor itself? If not I would look at adding it. The unit from Cook Machine will set the motor back and change your balance point as well. Setting the motor back is normally a good thing. With the motor going back, YOU can go front slightly.

Best wishes,
Gene
 
Thank you Eric...

I went on the teleflex website and reviewed the mystery behind the wheel. Looks straightforward.

If any members live near RI and know how to do this stuff, I'd be grateful for an advisor (i.e. cabling the motor itself and removing the tiller, etc.).

I'll trade a duckhunt with Morton and me... you won't get any ducks, but we're a lot of laughs ; )

Thanks guys, I think I understand it now.

Best, A.
 
You may not have to remove the tiller. But you might. I bet changing a Honda is easier than changing a Johnson or merc though. My Navy Seal motor has stuff on the motor for remote and you don't have to remove the tiller..just clip the cables on. Look under the pan where the shift and throttle are and see if there are attachment spots.
 
A:

Go to the Web site (or better yet pick up the phone) for the good folks at Go2Marine.com.

They have very competitive pricing, good service, and best of all they'll work with you to keep shipping stuff back and forth across the lower 48 until you get what you need. If the Honda throttle box is real expensive... and I'd bet my snow shovel that it is... there's a "generic" morse/teleflex throttle box with power t/t controls built in, a couple hundred bucks.

http://www.go2marine.com/product.do?no=86789F

Universally compatible, you just have to know what kind of cable setup you have (e.g. you can set it up to do push/pull, pull/pull, etc. -- call them on the phone and they can 'splain it to you). The box is surface mount (just bolts up to the outside of your console or inside of your gunwale), which is nice b/c of its simplicity, and sturdy as hell--for less than $200. You have to make sure you have room to mount it. There's schematics on either go2s or Teleflex' site that show how big the box is, how much room to allow for the arc of the handle, etc.

The cabling and wiring are simpler than they look. Get the new parts in hand before you take apart the old ones... you'll be able to see how it goes together pretty simply. You need to wire up the wires for the power t/t to the control box, and wire everything else to a Honda OEM part or parts in the dash that will have key, kill switch, warning buzzers, indicators, and whatever else Honda feels like slapping on there. Depending on how many wires you are running, whether you want to run a gauge package, etc., a Honda harness might be a good idea... but I cannot imagine them selling you that at anything less than goldplated prices.

I don't think you need hydraulic steering on a boat this size. It's nice but it's ~3 times the price. We run mechanical (Teleflex Safety QC or equivalent rotary cable setup) on boats up to 22' 150 hp and it's plenty adequate. It's also fewer turns lock to lock, which means something when it's decoy time. We apply the money saved to the best Teleflex cables (throttle and steering) money can buy, which keeps you in business when the weather goes to hell. Stick steer looks neat and works well on a little swamp boat, but in my experience it's a more frustrating, fatiguing way to run a boat over big expanses of rough water... Gimme a wheel to hang the hell onto every time.

I'm kind of with the others on console location... Operating from midships at a small side console is definitively a "try it you'll like it" proposition. I'd rather run decoys from there too... gets you up where you can see, pass things both fore and aft with less walking around, etc. One thing to consider is one of the little aftermarket fiberglass consoles, which bolt to the floor -- you can do a little trial and error with console location that way, without cost other than maybe some new throttle and steering cables... something to think about anyway. They also make something called a "steering pedestal" for RIBs... a little tube-and-bolts thing that looks like the skeletal framework of a console. Wrap in canvas and you'd have the benefits of a console with a lot less weight and space taken up. I'd rather have a full console, but if space and weight are deeply concerning... it's an option.
 
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