Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

[TheCat1212]

Here is a good one fore you guys. (Oh, and I already know this is crazy)..... I have a '83 25hp merc. tiller & a 14' alluminum boat. I want to steer from closer to the bow. (Already installed a steering wheel ).
I removed the tiller, along with the 2' cables & wires. I mounted it up front where I will be sitting and cabled with spiral & SS cables back to the motor. The Tiller mechanism is intact. Still works perfectly. The cables are tight (not too tight) with no slack and pull/push at the motor end nice and easy and smooth. But when I connect to the motor, it all binds up. It will not move in either direction. I am 99% sure everything is connected correctly. I AM MISSING SOMETHING AND IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS.
The Shifter/Throttle linkage assembly works fine without the cables connected (shift forward, throttle / shift aft, throttle). Basically all I did was lengthen the cables. Is there anything at the motor that the tiller does that I may have missed? I even have the new cables mounted at the motor exactly where the old ones came off. (on that bracket just in front of the linkage). i thought i would send this now. when the sun comes up, i will try to get some pics... thanks

 

[Bondo]

Re: Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

Here is a good one fore you guys. (Oh, and I already know this is crazy)..... I have a '83 25hp merc. tiller & a 14' alluminum boat. I want to steer from closer to the bow. (Already installed a steering wheel ).
I removed the tiller, along with the 2' cables & wires. I mounted it up front where I will be sitting and cabled with spiral & SS cables back to the motor. The Tiller mechanism is intact. Still works perfectly. The cables are tight (not too tight) with no slack and pull/push at the motor end nice and easy and smooth. But when I connect to the motor, it all binds up. It will not move in either direction. I am 99% sure everything is connected correctly. I AM MISSING SOMETHING AND IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS.
The Shifter/Throttle linkage assembly works fine without the cables connected (shift forward, throttle / shift aft, throttle). Basically all I did was lengthen the cables. Is there anything at the motor that the tiller does that I may have missed? I even have the new cables mounted at the motor exactly where the old ones came off. (on that bracket just in front of the linkage). i thought i would send this now. when the sun comes up, i will try to get some pics... thanks

Ayuh,... Ya need Alot of 'em...

 

[TheCat1212]

Re: Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

here are some pics.

 

[oldman570]

Re: Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

I did the reverse of what you are trying to do on the same motor, make a tiller from a consol steering unit. If my memory serves me corectly, There are some linkage that needs to be replaced along with the mount for the cables to the block. You could check the length of the new cables that you used as the bracket that you have on the tiller cables is mounted at even lengrhs and the are not when mounted on the motor. This would mean that the cables you made, one would need to be longer than the other to get them to work correctly when hooked up to the motor. By placing the motor linkage in FWD and WOT, held by a temp wire to a bolt or other place on the motor, and the tiller in the same position. Then mount the cables to the length needed and measure the travel of them and the travel of the linkage and then I think you will see a diffrence and will have to allow for it. JMO
Oldman570

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

Unless you have a loop at the engine, the minute you try to turn the motor the cables tighten. What you are forgetting that this is not a problem when the tiller is attached to the engine it turns with the engine so cable slack is not required. Look at any remote engine and you will find both cables have a substantial loop to allow the engine to turn without binding things up.

 

[oldman570]

Re: Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

Unless you have a loop at the engine, the minute you try to turn the motor the cables tighten. What you are forgetting that this is not a problem when the tiller is attached to the engine it turns with the engine so cable slack is not required. Look at any remote engine and you will find both cables have a substantial loop to allow the engine to turn without binding things up.

This is very true also. If he measures the tiller cables from the handle to the mounting sleves and then to the very ends of those cables, I think he will find that there is a diffrence in the cable lenghts. and if the cables he is using from them back to the motor are not attached securley on both ends, that will cause trouble also. There is a section in the manufactures service manual that tells how to adjust the cables on the tiller end so it is set so everything will work. This maybe why he is having trouble. The adjusting nuts and furrels are on the ends of the tiller cables and this is where he will have to do the adjusting at. The best bet to soloving the trouble would be to get a manual and try to duplicate those settings. JMO
Oldman570

 

[TheCat1212]

Re: Rube goldburg hookup of tiller at front of boat

Thanks all. in fact i took it out and sure enough i could NOT make left turns because the cable was binding. i have since adjusted the cable lengths, got rid of the tiller all together & replaced it with a push/pull lever like an airboat. Works much better because I went with 4" from fulcrum to cable with approx 24" to the end of the handle so it feels much smoother. thanks again.