The usual type of throttle control on
motor and
sailing yachts is called a
single lever throttle. As the name suggests, there is one lever that controls the direction of the
drive. When the lever is moved forwards or backwards from the neutral position, the drive is engaged in forward or reverse gear and accelerates. The
propeller rotates depending on how far the lever is pushed forwards or backwards. Two
Bowden cables are attached to each lever, which lead to a respective motor. The first cable tells the
gearbox the direction it should move and thus determines the rotational direction of the
propeller.
The second
Bowden cable controls
fuel injection and thus the speed. In addition, there is a device on the lever so that the throttle can be
accelerated without
coupling the drive, for this purpose there is a button on the lever. Alternatively, the lever can be completely removed.
On a
ship with several
motors, each motor has one lever. Operation is very simple, making user error practically impossible. However, abruptly
switching from forward to reverse is very damaging for the
gearbox.
Learn more about Motor Controls...
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