Remote control

OK. I've got a 1985 Century Arabian with an 351 V8 and an Alpha One stern drive unit. It getting a complete renovation / refit / overhaul / restoration. New floor, carpet, upholstery, dash, transom (plywood on the inner side), and finally I will repaint it.

The remote control lever is wobbly and I'm sure the cable could be replaced. Asking around to people that "know boats" I get a surprisingly wide range of advise when I ask about replacing the whole unit and cable.

Some tell me that I need to replace with the exact equipment, especially, I guess, the cable. I know the cable needs to built to length, that is important, I'm sure, but besides that, what is important and unique about a remote and a cable?

Hey, all remotes do the same thing, right? They shift from reverse to forward (an activity that occurs in the drive - Alpha One is as common as they get), they increase the throttle (an engine function - 351 is not unique) and maybe some trim / tilt features. Why all the various cables?

I would especially like to get a simple single lever without the trim / tilt button and put the button on the dash instead. Wouldn't this be a simple wiring issue? To me it seem I could splice from the rainbow ribbon cable currently running into my old throttle and connect to a spring loaded toggle on the dash.

Thanks for your help on this.

Re: Remote control

i feel like its easier to have the trim button on the throttle.. when your pullin in to the trailer i ease up and at the same time can slowly lift the engine at the same time.. .. for the cables im not sure.. someone else can help you with that

Re: Remote control

Ayuh,...

The cables have to be the right length of course,...
And, they have to have the right Ends on them,...
Mercruiser on the aft end,+ Whatever ends for whomever's controller you use on the fore end...

Re: Remote control

Check your PM's (private message),

My 72 Mercruiser had the tilt/trim switch on the dash and I though it was inconvenient, especially when you notice something (reef, snag) and wanted to get the drive trimmed ASAP.

There are several choices for the shifter, Teleflex, Uflex, QuickSilver. Check the shifter before purchasing the cables to make sure the shifter ends of the cables are compatible with the shifter, think I've seen some shifters that use different cable types, IE: universal, #33, or something like that... Personally, I would stick with Mercruiser cables.