Outboard governor

TmMorris · 04 July 2021, 16:46

I've a 4hp yam 2 stroke and a 15hp yam 2 stroke and my children are 9 & 10 and old enough this season to learn basic boat craft.

The biggest risk to finally setting one off on their own to follow me is that of loading on too much throttle than intended and the all too typical panic freeze.

To limit that risk I thought it best to fit some very basic and easy to remove mechanisms to the outboards to halt the throttle movement beyond a sensible point while they learn.

For the 4hp it was simplest to take a small brass lighting connector and thread it onto the cable by the carb and screw it up to act as a simple stop where desired. The 15 uses a different mechanism so I whipped up an aluminium plate that fits to a pair of redundant bolt holes (possibly for the electric start system) and then screw in a smaller bolt to an existing thread on the throttle mechanism to act as a stop against the plate.

This is only going to be used while the girls learn the basics but can anyone spot if there is any particular risk that I've overlooked?

Fenlander · 04 July 2021, 17:08

Neat idea.

Dad never needed to restrict the throttle for me back in the day as it was a Seagull...a 4hp Evinrude that coughed its way across the harbour... or just 40hp pushing 35ft of timber. None of them exactly sprinted away!

This was my girls first shadowed "solo" some 13yrs ago. Looking back a tiller extension would have been good. Funny that it's with the same model outboard we've now returned to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjlLenzaDb4

TmMorris · 04 July 2021, 17:31

Lovely video.

I learned outboard craft on a dory with a 20 then a 40 but with remote engine co tells and a wheel there just wasn't the same 'freeze' risk that you get with a tiller system. And I e never had an issue with a tiller on an outboard due to the dinghy sailing.

Getting them comfortable with the basics without that throttle risk seems prudent. They'll be nervous enough without doing something that is harder to mentally recover from when just starting out.

The plate and stop seems a very simple and safe solution but you never know when someone else can spot an obvious issue that you may have missed.