If you are looking for a seperate throttle and shift control, this is supposed to be a good one. I like the mounting better than the Livorsi: http://www.incontrolequipment.com/produ ... ?ProdID=15 My daughter's boat has the new Mercury throttle and shift that mounts in the side wall as opposed to the one that mounts on it. It reqires a seperate key switch. It is the best I have used, however it is hooked up to a 75 hp motor and it would be more sensitive with a bigger motor. It is worth checking out though. jim
Jim, Thank you for your post. Last Wednesday before the Nationals I stopped out at the Livorsi factory in Grayslake and took a small tour, as they are enlarging their plant and it's under construction. I saw the dual lever unit they produce for my application, and my only worry is that the unit is 12" tall. I don't know if I have that much sidewall clearance on the 18. I spoke to Edd Rienhart at the show and he said the 20's have higher sidewalls but they do fit on them. The quality is superior, and all the drivers I spoke with either at the show site or Martin Park after the show raved about the Livorsi controls. (The only negative comment I heard is that they are pricy.) I will have to do more research and some measuring before I make a move and purchase them. Bob
I was out last night trying to hold about 17 mph with my son shoe skiing. I noticed that there was a "dead spot" on the throttle control. When I moved the throttle slowly back, there was no response until I moved it slowly further back, and then again as I moved it forward. The shift/throttle controller appears to be a standard Mercury unit for an '05 Optimax that is mounted on the outside of the drivers side wall (a self contained unit with the key and cold start lever attached). The motor is an ex club motor that is still under warranty but the contrlols are new as the motor was originally rigged with a twin. Unfortunetly I wasn't able to get an owners manual with the motor so I don't have much info on the throttle control. Am I able to make adjustments on the throttle control myself? I don't want to start taking something apart without having an idea what I'm looking for. I've experienced throttle controls before that were a bit different, but because the motor is so big and the boat is so light, rpm commands change the speed quickly. A good responsive throttle control is a must. Thanks, Kevin
Kevin, Welcome to the world of low speed precision speed control. What you are trying to do brings out all the faults of the outboard ski-boat and is the basis of why many skiers use an inboard for low speed work and are convinced that an outboard cannot be made to behave in those speed ranges. During the winter of 03-04 my son in law (dynepete on this board) bought a 17.6 with a 150 Evinrude on it. I got a call from my daughter (swivelski1 on this board) saying that the speed control at 16 was pretty bad, and could I come up and fix it. To make a long story short Pete had not towed her much and never towed in a tournament. She won the national swivel ski title that year with Pete at the wheel of that 17.6. Your boat will be easier than theirs. Their boat now has a 75 Merc on it due to local restrictions. It does quite well with that motor as well. The dead spot you are experiencing is caused by mechanical play in the system. There are other issues that can be involved also. You may be trying to operate the motor in an rpm/power range where it is not stable. The 17.6 is known to have speed instability in that range and slightly lower also. The throttle/shift control you have is the cheapest one that Merc makes but I believe it can be made to work. If you decide to change it, I would be tempted to go with the Yamaha 6-0 flush mount as the most cost effective alternate. I have heard that they are quite good and can be picked up on e-bay for a reasonable price. It will have some play also though. I use a set of springs to eliminate the play. On your Merc the spring on the motor end is the easiest one of all. Put it between the big throttle lever on the port side of the motor and something in the rear of the engine like a head bolt. Even better would be to rig it to the cable end that attaches to the big throttle lever. As I recall the Opti has something in the way in that area, but I am sure that you can figure something out. I put a second spring somewhere on the throttle control itself to help return the cable and mechanism. We don't need to beat this to death with exactly how to rig them. What you need to do is have as light (and long) spring possible so that when you retard the throttle handle the springs retard the engine throttle and keep all the play out of the system. If you look at it that way, I think you can visualize how to rig them. If the springs are too strong the throttle will tend to close when you let go at the low speeds. If the springs are too weak the play will not be removed. When the springs are right the throttle will (tend) to stay put at 17. Even when the springs are right the throttle will tend to close if you let it go at high speed. You will have to live with this. As I recall, you are a pilot and will understand that I believe that you should NEVER take you hand off the throttle at high speed, so the issue is moot. This modification may fix the problem. The throttle you have has sort of a short throw and may still be too sensitive. If that is true you will have to change it out to solve that issue. The boat can still be improved for low speed work. That hull tends to be unstable at low speed. A wedge will fix that. It reduces the minimum planing speed and drives the bow down which will both improve the speed stability and reduce turbulence slightly. If it were mine I would have the prop reworked to remove the tip cup. Or if the tip is heavily cupped you might want to try only removing part of it. This will allow the motor to spin at a slightly higher rpm at those low speeds and improve it's rpm stability, and it will reduce bow rise. It will also take some of the turbulence out of your wake. The 17.6 has a slightly more turbulent wake that the 18 at those speeds. The prop is the key to that issue and there is more that can be done. I don't remember where your motor is mounted. I would recommend at least one hole up from the bottom. This will reduce bow rise and therefore improve speed stability and further reduce turbulence. If you want to chat about this, PM me your phone number and a good time to call. jim
The Yamaha 6X3 (newer) or 6X0 (slightly older model) controls are the ones Jim mentions. They come up in ebay and are good controls. Search for Yamaha 6x0 and it will come up If it were mine, I'd do all of what Jim said and then install Perfect Pass. There is some time involved but not much expense except for Perfect Pass.
Thanks Guys. The motor is mounted one hole up and I'm running a four bladed 19" merc prop. The boat holds a speed nicely, it's just the delay in the speed adjustment as I counter for the small gap in throttle play. Big day at the lake yesterday. I took the boat over to the club practise and let the club drivers take the 17.6 out for a spin. They came back with smiles on their faces!! Then later in the day we put the boom on. Jim, thanks for the offer. I'll drop you a line sometime this week after I get home. Cheers, Kevin
Jim, Thanks again for taking the time to chat with me yesterday. I've printed off your instructions above and will take them with me to the cottage to work on the motor. I will take pics of the springs that I will put on the cable mechanism and will post them here if it appears that they might help someone esle. Kevin
Any time. Here is a link to a picture and post by ghind of a Yamaha set up. Your Mercury will look totally different, although the spring will probably be similar: click here He is in Australia and we have never met. Many of his conclusions about how to set up an outboard are the same as mine. He has taken it one step further and added perfect pass which is designed for a pull for power inboard set up. He modified it to work on an outboard push for power set up which the manufacturer never intended. He should be congratulated for that. Your Mercury is pull for power which is the preferred set up in my opinion. There is less friction in the system. I don't want to talk over any ones head here. When I say pull for power I mean that the cable pulls the throttle open. On a Yamaha and Johnson/Evinrude the cable pushes the throttle open. jim
