2006 Pilot 34 Electronic Shifters

[Masoric]

Good Morning all,

I am trying to help my father out. He recently acquired a 2006 34 pilot with twin 240 yanmars. He says the vessel has electronic controls. But I have been unable to find any info on them including the manufacturer.

I am trying to identify if there is a way to adjust their sensitivity, especially for shifting in and out of gear. They seem to be on a hair trigger.

Any thoughts or direction would be appreciated.

Regards,
Adam

 

[DavidM]

Mainship used ZF Mathers electronic controls on my 2006 34T with upper and lower helms. Maybe they used the same system on the single helm twin engine Pilot 34.

Those controls did have some problems and Mainship issued a technical bulletin. The gist of it was to replace the relay that supplies power to the system. Can't recall anything else.

David

 

[Masoric]

Thank you David that is helpful to know. Got to see if i can find a copy of that bulletin.


Regards,
Adam

 

[Bacchus]

By 2008 MS switched to using Glendining controls. Mine on our '07 MS 34HT have been flawless.

 

[sseltzer]

My '06 34T has Glendinning as well. The only issue I experienced was user error. If I do not take control before starting the engine it will not work.

I agree they are quick to react to input.

Steve

 

[rgano]

After using the ZF controls to operate the boat a few times from its boat barn marina a few times before I brought it the fourteen miles home to its newly built lift, I trashed them in favor of manual cable control. Much happier with the simplicity.

 

[Codger2]

By 2008 MS switched to using Glendining controls. Mine on our '07 MS 34HT have been flawless.

My buddy's 2005 OA 48 Sedan has Glendining controls while my 2006 OA 42 has Micro Commanders. I love his but mine, not so much! Too much lag time to transmission engagement after activating the shifters. By that I mean it's really only 1/2 to 3/4 of a second but in a crowded marina it feels like it takes forever! Talk about planning ahead, I would rather have something like Morse mechanicals which engage immediately after shifter movement.

 

[danderer]

I guess this is like anchors. I had a Micro Commander setup that I really liked. Good feel and never gave a problem.

Now to get used to a Mighty Mariner...

 

[Ka_sea_ta]

I have never had an issue with micro commanders, The one feature that I truly appreciate is trolling valve operation... No more ruined clutches because you forgot to disengage the trolling valve...

 

[rgano]

I guess this is like anchors. I had a Micro Commander setup that I really liked. Good feel and never gave a problem.

Now to get used to a Mighty Mariner...

In addition to the distinct feeling of being "disconnected" from the engine at the helm, I did not like the actual feel of the ZK. It's lack of power for probably several reasons, once left me dead at the pier. And besides, why have an extra battery in this small boat as a source of its power as well as an even bigger control box taking up valuable space? I have a lot of experience with too many engine controls in boats and ships to remember, but this one irritated the heck out of me, and I happily chopped its cables out and threw the controller away and just as happily sold the control box to someone who wanted it, paying for the new Morse control.

 

[DavidM]

Thank you David that is helpful to know. Got to see if i can find a copy of that bulletin.


Regards,
Adam

Someone recently posted a link to the archived Mainship web site. It had a section for owner communication which was mostly technical bulletins. I found the attached notice from Mainship discussing the ZF controls. It isn't the whole story because there was a subsequent bulletin perhaps from ZF that described the specific relay to be replaced. But the notice attached should give you a start, maybe contacting ZF would be the next step.

FWIW the ZF notice as best I can recall had to do with the 12V power supply to the ZF controls which had a relay that engaged and supplied power to them. On the Mainship 34T this relay was inside the wiring chase behind the salon AC/DC panel. Evidently the relay was marginally sized and the replacement was probably a beefier model. It was a standard commercial part.

David