push button start

[roffey]

Has any one put in a push button start. I have a new boat with a key start and have a spot on a lake. My boat is docked or on a lift and I feel a key is not really required and am thinking of a push button start. Tell me what you think, good idea, bad idea and how difficult it would be to install.

Thanks.

 

[airshot]

Without a key I would think the security of your boat would be in jeopardy, I personally would not do it and I would think your insurance company would not think it to be a good idea either. If your worried about forgetting the key, then find a good place to hide a spare on board. Lots of possibilities there.

 

[Alumarine]

You would also need a way to turn the ignition circuit on and off as well.
The key thing works pretty well for both functions.

 

[redneck joe]

Anyone stealing your boat for real, not just joyriding, can start it without a key.


I added one when my key one wore out and love it. I added a switch on the panel by the blower switch plus a secret one i cant tell you anymore about. So two switches before the push button works. Got one at the autoparts store made for a tractor black rubber covering the button and dropped in same hole where the key went.

 

[airshot]

Yes the "secret" switch is always a good idea. I have one even with my keyed ignition.

 

[roffey]

Never thought about the insurance, good point. Bypassing the key I don't think would be difficult. I just thought when at the beach it would be easer to just push the button and go. Losing the key is not an issue as it stays in the ignition from the moment I get back to the cottage to when I leave, so what is the difference between push and turn. Maybe I should rethink that, LOL.

 

[roffey]

Joe, that's my thinking as well. I am not a motor head but I bet I could hot wire a boat in no time. We did it as teens more of a joke. Mercs are a snap.

 

[bruceb58]

How are you planning on turning on the ignition? Separate switch?

 

[s.hadley81]

Not to be a jerk but what's the benefit of not having a key start. sounds to me like you'd be putting in work with little to no benefit, what's the difference if you turn a switch or push a switch, it's still a switch!

 

[JoLin]

Not to be a jerk but what's the benefit of not having a key start. sounds to me like you'd be putting in work with little to no benefit, what's the difference if you turn a switch or push a switch, it's still a switch!

Well, I wouldn't bother to change over myself. But, it is kind of a PITA to load the boat, move the car up the block to a parking space, climb up on the bridge... and realize that the keys are still in the car.

I have an emergency set hidden on the boat, but that isn't an emergency, so my OCD compels to hoof it back to the car and get the other set. :facepalm:

 

[roffey]

How are you planning on turning on the ignition? Separate switch?

I have two unused rocker switches I cold use.

I agree with above, there's not much difference between turning a key and pushing a button. The only benefit would be not having to keep track of the key. As I stated earlier generally the key goes in the ignition at the start of the weekend and stays there until we go back to town. This was more of a idea than anything else, never said it was a good idea, lol

Thanks for the input.

 

[Scott Danforth]

personally - bad idea

 

[spoilsofwar]

I can see it both ways. I rarely ever remove the key from my boat... Only times I can think of doing it are when the boat has been at a town dock or something and I'm in a nearby bar/restaurant or whatever. Of course I store my boat in my garage so its much different if you're leaving yours in the water at a marina or in the lot.

With a hidden secondary switch its probably just as confounding to a potential thief as a keyed ignition with its key removed... maybe more so.

I have an intelligent key (ie, there is no key at all, just a fob) with a push button start in my '14 Ram and really like it. Pushing the button without pressing the brake cycles through Off-ACC-IGN. Of course boats have no brake pedal so there would have to be a way to differentiate between selecting accessory power and starting the engine. Beside that, I'd like to have this system on a boat.

 

[oldjeep]

I wouldn't go to the trouble to add it personally, last boat the keys were always in the ignition. Current boat has a touchscreen with security code that enables the start/stop button on screen. Kind of a gee whiz feature, but it is nice to just touch the button and it figures out how long to crank.

 

[Scott Danforth]

AutoStart features as well as push button start features on cars require feedback from the engines computer to work properly. Most boats do not have that feature simply from the cost and complexity of installing such features period again personally, a bad idea to add.

 

[steelespike]

We had a 1933 collector car it had an automatic choke and automatic start.
To start you simply turn the key to on and the car did the rest cranking until it started
then would stand by in case you stalled it. an amazingly simple process.

 

[roffey]

We had a 1933 collector car it had an automatic choke and automatic start.
To start you simply turn the key to on and the car did the rest cranking until it started
then would stand by in case you stalled it. an amazingly simple process.

like they have in new cars today, lol.

The more things change the more they stay the same.

 

[redneck joe]

I did it because I had to change it anyway as the keyed ignition was bad. Not a big deal, even for an electrical idiot like me.

 

[Silvertip]

Since you are going to leave the boat "thief ready" anyway -- leave the key in the switch with a zip tie so it is always at the ready. No additional and unnecessary work required. If this engine is an older two stroke, you don't need to "hot wire" anything to start it without a key. You rip off one wire and jump the starter with a screwdriver, pocket knife, or a even a short piece of wire. And there is even a more simple way which I will not go into. Secret switches on a two stroke are easily defeated even when you don't know where they are. In fact one doesn't even need to know there is a secret switch. I/O's with conventional ignition systems are equally easy to start. Just run the system the way it was and avoid issues.

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, My neighbor's Boston Whaler Outrage has the ign keys inside the center console, and push to start and stop buttons on the dashboard. it makes the dashboard look "cleaner" with all matching switches.

Ign keys on boats can prevent theft, if the boat is in a public place, in the daytime and you are not gone very long. Other than that scenario, I cannot see them stopping any real theft attempt.

Larger boats (I/O, IB) usually have access to the rear of the dashboard, and a jumper cable and a screwdriver on the terminal's of the ign switch, can hot wire them.

Outboards with the key in the control require you to go under the OB cowl and disconnect or cut the killer wire and jumper the starter solenoid. Heck, you can simply untie the boat and tow it away.

If the push-button start pleases you, go for it. You should also have a SPDT switch to provide power to the ign wires for any gauges and for the electric choke. I wire ground to the switch as well to kill the ign when the switch is turned off.