Switching from Yamaha to Mercury on pontoon boat

[HotTommy]

I recently purchased a 2006 pontoon boat equipped with what appears to be the original Yamaha F115TLR outboard and controls. I'm thinking of replacing it with a Mercury 1115F I purchased new in 2016. I need to know how much of the Yamaha stuff I can retain and how much I'll need to replace. I'm not concerned with the gauges but I do wonder about the binnacle, throttle cables and wiring harness. Do any of you have definitive information about such a swap, or can you direct me to where I can find it? I'm also posting this on the Yamaha forum.

 

[Chris1956]

Steering and fuel line will swap. Tachometer will probably work, other gauges will work. Trim switches will likely work, trim wiring, should be adaptable.

Battery can be reused.

Ii doubt the other stuff will work. The engine wiring will have the same functions, but plugs will likely be different.

I am not sure about mechanical controls. Merc and Johnnyrude throttles are opposite, so likely Yammy is different still.

Even gearcase oil pump needs yammy adaptor. Go figure...

 

[HotTommy]

I"ve discovered that there are some harness adapters to allow an existing harness to connect to a different engine. I don't yet know if there is one for my application. In the meantime, I'm curious as to whether the Yamaha throttle action is compatible with my Mercury. Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Chris1956]

A lot of the aftermarket mechanical controls are adaptable for different engines. So, if you do not have a Yamaha-specific control, go the the manufacturer website and see what yours is compatible with.

If Yamaha control, I am not even sure how you can find out. Mercury control will pull shift cable into forward and push cable into reverse from neutral. Merc throttle cable pulls throttle open.

Of course the "throw" of the cable movement may not be compatible.

 

[HotTommy]

Thanks for the comment. Aftermarket throttle controls is another of the things I discovered after starting this thread. IF I can get by with a new throttle and a harness adapter, the rest should be fairly easy. .... But I'm still interested in hearing ideas on this topic.