All this throttle talk...

[Bill D]

All the talk about the new throttle control on the 2016 models has got me thinking about how much I love the Gaffrig setup on my boat. I don't think that I would like having the gate position tied to the throttle again. Being able to adjust them independently gives you so much control. Really, the only time I don't have the gates full open in one direction or another is when docking. And depending on conditions, it can be very useful to have the throttles set at a high idle (1-2k) and just edge the gates between fwd and rev.

I can adjust them with a single finger, don't have any issue with synching or fall back, and they look great. I agree the factory setup sucked, but I'm afraid I would just have to switch the new ones out too.

 

[OrangeTJ]

Those Gaffrig's do sound sweet. How much did the setup cost you, if you don't mind my asking? Did you have them installed or was it a DIY project?

 

[Bruce]

I also would like to know more about the cost.

 

[Bill D]

The throttles were installed on the boat when I purchased it. The original owner installed them as a DIY project. His complete write up on it is here on the other site. He was a bit of a "mod-aholic"... some of you may recognize the u/n Jasonstl. From his documentation of things, it sounds like the worst part was getting everything adjusted. I've done a bit of adjusting myself, the throttle control was slightly off between the 2, and I can relate. There are more than a few places to make adjustments, and being a bit OCD, I think I would spin myself in circles trying to get everything right the first time.

It looks like a set of 4 handles and neutral switches would run about $900.

 

[GiddYupJoe]

The throttles were installed on the boat when I purchased it. The original owner installed them as a DIY project. His complete write up on it is here on the other site. He was a bit of a "mod-aholic"... some of you may recognize the u/n Jasonstl. From his documentation of things, it sounds like the worst part was getting everything adjusted. I've done a bit of adjusting myself, the throttle control was slightly off between the 2, and I can relate. There are more than a few places to make adjustments, and being a bit OCD, I think I would spin myself in circles trying to get everything right the first time.

It looks like a set of 4 handles and neutral switches would run about $900.

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That's funny, when you mentioned this in your first post this is the exact boat I was referencing in my mind. You have one nice boat right there. I followed that entire thread on the other site when it was all being put together.

 

[Julian]

My LX210 used to have separate gate and throttle controls....I prefer the single handle control a LOT more! And the drive by wire throttle was awesome....but took a little getting used to as the throttles are at an angle (many of the newer boats are at an angle already) and the movement between neutral to "in gear" was not far (not as far I was used to). I kept leaving it in gear - which was close to vertical. I got used to it quickly though. If the gaffrigs give much better throttle control, then that would be welcome.

 

[Bill D]

Yeah, as far as I know there aren't too many Gaffrig conversions. Haha. It's a super nice boat. I spent last weekend installing my LED's (pictures to come next weekend) so I got a first hand look at all the upgrades he made. All the work was done very well with attention to detail. His documentation of the mods was a big selling point for me when I was boat shopping.

 

[Bruce]

@Julian, the difference with the LX210 was that it had three levers. Both engines were either in forward, neutral or reverse. You could not put one in forward with the other in reverse. This limited manuverability.

This Gaffrig setup allows even greater control than what Yamaha offers. It allows you to precisely set the RPM, similar to the E-Series, but also allows precise control of the reverse bucket. It does have the inconvenience of having additional levers. My guess is that when underway you would simply use the throttle levers but when docking you would set the throttle to a reasonable level and focus on the shift levers to precisely maneuver the boat into place.

 

[Bill D]

A great example came up several weeks ago. We were out on the lake when a heavy front blew in. It came up quickly and we didn't have a chance to get the boat back to the trailer, so we headed to a friends dock across the lake. When we got to the dock, the wind was howling across the starboard bow of the boat. As we pulled up to the dock I was able to leave the throttles at about 3k and control my movements with the gates. I was able to hold the boat in position while my crew secured our lines. I'm sure that a more experienced boater could have pulled it off with the stock controls, but it was so smooth using just the gates.

Like my original post said, I'm still unsure why you would want the gates anything but wide open with the engines above idle. Actually it makes me curious... at my highest no-wake setting (~2k), with the gates wide open I'm usually between 6-7 MPH. Whats a standard set up run at 2k?

 

[Evil Sports]

Those look great but Im sure they would be intimidating to most new or non boaters if you asked them to take the helm in a situation. I really dislike the current stock throttle set up

 

[Bill D]

Yeah, my wife gets flustered every time I ask her to move the boat... "Is it the little one, or the big one?"

 

[Bruce]

@Bill D, can you feel the neutral position on the shifter levers?

 

[Bill D]

Yep, there's a definitive "click" when they settle on the neutral switches. But I know mine has a slight forward bias in neutral, so I stay on the reverse side.

 

[treeskier]

I have researched this mod extensively for my ls2000 as everyone is probably aware on the older boats we have a single lever for forward/reverse that controls both buckets and 2 independent throttles. Additionally the throttles assembly (made by teleflex I believe) is notorious for slipping all the way back to idle. Now that I have solved the throttle slippage issue once and for all I really like the single lever for forward/reverse control. On the older boats we don't have any of the fancy no wake function, throttle sync or perfect pass options but with reliable throttles that are separate from forward reverse control I can now maneuver the boat very well at low speed by using the throttles in neutral with momentary use of forward and reverse (no fins). You may want to consider a 3 lever gaffrig setup (2 throttles and 1 fwd/rev) it would be marginally less expensive and simpler to operate.

 

[Bill D]

I have zero problems with having independent levers. They are close enough to each other that I really don't even have to think about grabbing both when I want to. But I like having control of both. In the example earlier docki against a heavy wind, I used the gates to steer the bow away from the dock. It would have been very difficult to do with the steering wheel. I agree though, having the throttle separate from the gate gives you way more control.