Recently bought a 26' sailboat; came with a Johnson Sailmaster 8HP from 1999 - model # J8RXEEM. Engine is working pretty well; no complaints there.
Engine is mounted in an engine well behind the cockpit, NOT on the transom. Something like this:
The large wooden well cover flips up for ventilation & access; the smaller wooden panel flips down to pull start/choke/shift/etc. The engine has a tiller control, and is pretty large for the well, so the handle is flipped up -- nowhere else it can go.
This makes control pretty awkward -- you've can't reach the throttle unless you contort your arm back into the engine well and bend it to a funny angle. Meanwhile, you're attempting to steer with the main tiller. If you need to shift forward/reverse, you need to grow a 3rd hand to reach through the smaller access hole.
Looked through the Johnson/Evinrude site (http://shop.evinrude.com/dyn_prodlist.php?k=84236) and see remote throttles -- is it just a matter of buying one and hooking it up? Do I need any special cabling, or just what comes in the package? ("Remote control wiring adapter"?)
Just to be clear -- don't need to physically move the motor at all; looking to make an "inboard outboard" out of it; just need to control shifting & throttle with some kind of lever arrangement & steer with the boat's tiller, like a sane person.
In other news: previous owner suggests leaving the engine well cover open when in use. There are two small cowlings for intake/exhaust, but they apparently don't provide enough air, and the engine starves -- any idea how to correct that? Engine isn't outrageously loud, but would be a lot nicer with the well cover closed. There's no airflow beneath the well; sea comes right up to the bottom of it, so the only incoming air has to be vented somehow, it seems.
Thanks -
Engine is mounted in an engine well behind the cockpit, NOT on the transom. Something like this:
The large wooden well cover flips up for ventilation & access; the smaller wooden panel flips down to pull start/choke/shift/etc. The engine has a tiller control, and is pretty large for the well, so the handle is flipped up -- nowhere else it can go.
This makes control pretty awkward -- you've can't reach the throttle unless you contort your arm back into the engine well and bend it to a funny angle. Meanwhile, you're attempting to steer with the main tiller. If you need to shift forward/reverse, you need to grow a 3rd hand to reach through the smaller access hole.
Looked through the Johnson/Evinrude site (http://shop.evinrude.com/dyn_prodlist.php?k=84236) and see remote throttles -- is it just a matter of buying one and hooking it up? Do I need any special cabling, or just what comes in the package? ("Remote control wiring adapter"?)
Just to be clear -- don't need to physically move the motor at all; looking to make an "inboard outboard" out of it; just need to control shifting & throttle with some kind of lever arrangement & steer with the boat's tiller, like a sane person.
In other news: previous owner suggests leaving the engine well cover open when in use. There are two small cowlings for intake/exhaust, but they apparently don't provide enough air, and the engine starves -- any idea how to correct that? Engine isn't outrageously loud, but would be a lot nicer with the well cover closed. There's no airflow beneath the well; sea comes right up to the bottom of it, so the only incoming air has to be vented somehow, it seems.
Thanks -
