Location of side mount remote control

"Is there some sort of rule of

"Is there some sort of rule of thumb for the exact location of side mount throttle,shift remote control? Do you measure distance from steering wheel or dashboard? I ordered a pretty clean looking used remote from ebay and still have to cut it into the gunwhale. I have about 5 inches between steering wheel and gunwhale. The boat has been literally rebuilt so I have no old marks from the old remote and it is basically like a new installation. Just don't want to make a mistake with respect to location of cutout if you know what I mean? Thanks, Tom"

Just make sure you can full mo

Just make sure you can full movement of the handel

"I'm just not sure if the

"I'm just not sure if the throttle cable is long enough and I just don't want to make a mistake by cutting into gunwhale to suit the length of cable. I guess I am overthinking but mistakes cost money and I don't want to be repairing mistakes. (sorry but it's kind of frustrating and I have made quite a few)lol I do not have any seats and I am working on installing the floor so it is kind of tough to determine what the proper distance would be for the remote control. I just don't want to end up reaching behind my right shoulder to try and shift and want to make sure it does not interfere with the wheel. Thanks, Tom"

"With the cables connected rou

"With the cables connected route them and connect to the control to see where you can mount it, you want to position it so your knuckles dont hit anything and as mentioned you have full movement. you may need to have a spacer behind if you have bulging upholstery or items on the panel. No tight bends on the cables !! and You may need to get longer cables.

What happened to the old control ? where was the old control mounted ? You'll also need to make sure there is enough space behind the panel."

"Sorry that I did not respond

"Sorry that I did not respond sooner Brian but had to work all weekend! There is no bulging upholstery, just a reconditioned and painted gunwhale. I am estimating that the gunwhale is approximately one half inch thick. The cables are fairly straight back to stern but I would say they end approximately 16 to 18 inches away from center of dashboard. I ordered the remote control and it is being ground shipped from California. It has been over a week since I ordered it and hope it comes soon so I can get a better idea of what I might need to do.
The old control was for an old 85 horsepower Evenrude outboard and I have since refiberglassed and painted entire gunwhale so there are no signs of where the old control was mounted. The old control was mounted on the side of gunwhale and there is plenty of space between gunwhale and outer hull. It also has original hangers for steering cables and control cables to be routed and hung and the hangers seem to be far enough towards the aft not to interfere with controls. The shift cable is 14 feet and seems to route nice and neatly and is perfect length. However, the throttle cable which is 14 feet and because of the way it routes around port side of engine seems to be to short by what I am estimating to be a foot. Anyway, I guess I will have to wait for control to show up before I can try to figure out what is going to happen next. Thanks Brian, Tom"

"What engine are you using now

"What engine are you using now ? If not Evinrude or Johnson with the new control, you'll need new cables. E/J Cables only work with E/J engines. Your on the Mercruiser Forum, did you put a sterndrive in ?.. not that it really matters, should be in the Mercury Mariner Thread, if going that route"

"Brian, I am using a 1988 3.7l

"Brian, I am using a 1988 3.7lx 180hp Mercruiser four cylinder engine which I just rebuilt last winter and a 1988 Alpha One r/mr 1:84 ratio drive. The boat had an outboard which I removed and refabricated entire transom to accept the Alpha One outdrive. I kept the controls from the boat that I took the engine and drive out of which was a 20 foot Thompson. The remote control was in rough shape but the cables were in fairly good shape. The only problem is that I am not sure the throttle cable will be long enough depending on where I were to locate the new remote control that I just bought on ebay for $100.00. At the same time I don't want to start cutting holes in the beautiful gunwhale that I just busted my #$%& and figure out that it is not in the right location. I think that I have already figured out that the throttle cable is too short because it will only let me mount the remote at around 14" out from bottom of steering wheel. Just don't want to have to reach back behind my right shoulder in order to try and move shifter/throttle. Basically, I think I worked through my own question by trial and error but I think I might look at a few boats and see how they are set up with respect to distance from helm and captains seat. Thanks for trying Brian, just thought you guys might have this information and it would even help to know what the approximate distance is for most of the guys boats here on the forum. thanks, Tom"

"You want to sit in the driver

"You want to sit in the drivers seat.

put your arm and hand where you feel it to be most comfortable as if you had your hand on the shift handle. Now make sure you have enough clearence to the front (dash) so when the handle is a full throttle it clears the dash with enough room for your hand and then some. I would say handle + hand + 2-3 inches....

Here is a very rough pic to assit in measuring the length of the cable. It will work for both cables just be sure to measure either to the carb or the shift bracket and as I wrote in the pic measure it with nice easy bends in mind.


"

Also there is no approximate d

Also there is no approximate distance for this.

It is different for every boat length.

The key is where the seat is in relationship to the dash.
Hopefully there is enough room to comfortably locate the control box between the seat and the dash. Its a crap shoot based on the seat location.

"Thanks so much kghost for the

"Thanks so much kghost for the quick response. It will be a great help in determining where the captains seat and control will work the best. I am installing the floor at the moment and you have shed light on what I am trying to accomplish. I have worked too long and hard and don't want to screw it up. So, what you are saying is that the position and distance of seat in relation to the helm has all to do with the position of remote control. Now I have a chance at installing in a reasonable location.
I will position captains seat at a comfortable distance from wheel and that will help me determine where my remote will work the best. Now I have some chance at getting it where it is supposed to be. As for the cables, at this point that is a secondary concern and I will have to measure after I have gotten control mounted. I feel a little more confident at this point thanks to you kghost. Thanks for the continued support with my restoration project.
sincerely, Tom"

"My opinion is that when stand

"My opinion is that when standing up between the seat and the helm, The control handle is in a very easy, comfortable position and not too far back. Obviously it can not be to far forward as the helm is typically in the way.

Good luck."

"Hey thanks kghost for all you

"Hey thanks kghost for all your support on the control installation. I finally got around to installing it in the boat and connected the cables and it works like a dream. I am afraid however I will have to get a longer throttle cable because it is not long enough to be able to hide inside upper top of transom but I hooked up anyways just to see it work. I bought a really nice second hand control and was happy to know that I could make it work. I cleaned it up real good and lubed all the moving parts with 2-4c and it seems to be working just fine. The way that I figured out where to mount the control was by setting the seat at a comfortable distance from the wheel and standing up where there was still enough clearance for my legs in between front of seat and steering wheel. This pretty much defines where the control has to be. I am rebuilding floor at the moment so I did not have any seats mounted yet, so I guess I was sort of bewildered as to how I was going to approach the whole thing. Anyways, it looks like a factory installation and you would think that it was original factory equipment. It also has a vintage look to it but still has the power tilt and trim options. I guess what I am saying is that it looks fitting in the boat! Large accomplishments made this weekend! It took most of day because I was afraid of drilling in the wrong place. lol Now this 1973 Browning 17.5 v-hull is starting to come back to life again. Got to keep pluggin away though, because there is still much to do. Thanks again kghost for taking the time to help me! This is trully the best marine information site on the internet by far!
sincerely, Tom"

"When I did mine, I went by wh

"When I did mine, I went by where my arm felt comfortable from the seated position (I sit on the seat-back most of the time)"

"Yeah, thats right Hystat, I g

"Yeah, thats right Hystat, I got it to where it felt good at the most centered position. I even took into account that with a bottom slider it would even get around four inches closer to the wheel in the sitting position if necessary. I ordered a new throttle cable from ebasicpower last night so that should be good to go when it comes in. The existing 14 foot cable had a hard bend if I tried to hide the loop in top area of starboard transom, so I bought a 15 foot cable to keep it out of the way! My next task will be to wire the power trim pump from the remote control. Not really looking forward to that and I am sure I will be asking advice when I get to that point. thanks, Tom"

"...will be to wire the po

"...will be to wire the power trim pump from the remote control."

Buy the harness that runs between the shifter and the pump.

"Thanks Guy Gaspar, Just wonde

"Thanks Guy Gaspar, Just wondering where I could locate a shifter to pump harness? I was a little confused about the two buttons on my control! Apparently there is one two way toggle at the top of shifter which operates trim/tilt and then there is another two way toggle at the base of controller which says up and down. Is the bottom switch for trim tabs. I am thinking that the one top button trims or tilts drive but what is the second switch for? The top button has a red, a blue, and a green wire coming out of it. Does that sound right? I wasn't paying attention to the other toggle wires to see the colors so I will post when I get my act together.lol Thanks again Guy, Tom"

Is the one you have a 4 wire f

Is the one you have a 4 wire flat harness that plugs into the shifter arm w/the other end terminating at the trim pump w/2 wires and 2 more wires to the trim/tilt sender wires?

"Guy, hold that thought! I did

"Guy, hold that thought! I did not get a chance to put an eyeball on the harness because I have to get ready for the snow that is forcasted for the Philadelphia area this Friday! (possibly a foot coming) I am a commercial snow plow contractor so I have not had a chance to blink an eye since we have had over 60" thus far. Those numbers are nuts! Would you believe me that I couldn't care less if we get another snow flake this winter. It was great for business although it was blood money also! I also feel for the business owners who have had to foot the bills so far especially in a poor economy. Most of them are leasing the properties where they do business! I don't know how they do it! Anyways, thanks Guy for the help and to answer your question as best I can at the moment (not enough information as of yet) the wire harness does not have a flat harness as you stated but it does go up through the shifter arm (red,blue,green) and there is another two sets of wires that I have to look at real carefully before I can give you numbers and colors.
I know this much: The trim pump assembly has two solenoids joined together with a brass plate of sorts. The trim pump was a replacement and I believe that it was an ARCO J1171. I will start another post when I get you all the info.
Thanks again Guy, sincerely, Tom"

Tom:

My pleasure. Enjoy

Tom:

My pleasure. Enjoy the snow plowing and let us know what you have for a harness. Our 2' of snow is finally melting.