As is well known, the basic units for boat engines originate from applications for cars, lorries or construction machinery. This is why the newer boat diesel units from Volvo Penta, Yanmar and Mercury already haveElectronically controlled injection pumpsforced, so to speak. In this case, the reversing gearboxes have control blocks with electronic valves. The Z-drives, on the other hand, use servomotors.
The machines are then usually supplied with electronic control levers equipped with potentiometers. In this case, mechanical push or pull cables are a thing of the past.The drive is controlled fully electronically, as is the case with all modern cars and lorries today, for example.
So if you own a relatively new boat with a modern diesel drive unit, you can enjoy a number of advantages.
Firstly, the shipyard already has advantages when installing the electronically controlled system, as the power lines between the units are easier to lay than is the case with conventional cable circuits, which have to be laid in relatively large radii.With two control stations and dual motorisation the installation advantage is even greater, as two dual-station units for controlling the gearboxes can also be omitted.
The advantages for the skipper result on the one hand from theSmooth operation of the gearstick and the fact that vibrations are no longer transmitted from the engine room to the driver's cab via the mechanical connections.
The gear levers themselves are also considerably more compact than their mechanical cousins. This enables operation with the fingers of one hand, particularly in the case of dual motorisation. Another plus point is the possibility ofUp to four control stations to be able to install (...)
