posted 10-25-2006 09:07 PM ET (US)            

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Wow. What a coincidence. I was at my BRP dealer today inquiring about the the 2007 [top-mounting controls]. The parts guy said that they had the new [top-mounting controls] in the system but it would not be available until BRP had depleted their inventory of the older [top-mounting controls]. I will be repowering in about 2 weeks and really would like to have the 2007 [top-mounting controls]. Can anyone confirm the availability of the 2007 [top-mounting controls]?

Rick

posted 10-25-2006 09:31 PM ET (US)            

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BRP Part #'s for 2007 [top-mounting controls]

5006182--Single lever [top-mounting] control.

5006186--Single lever [top-mounting] control with key switch built in.

Hope this helps.

Rick

posted 10-25-2006 11:04 PM ET (US)            

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binnacle--noun: : a housing for a ship's compass and a lamp

Cf.: http://m-w.com/dictionary/binnacle

Shift and throttle controls are usually either side-mounting or top-mounting.

posted 10-25-2006 11:26 PM ET (US)            

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binnacle is common nomenclature for top mounted engine control unit.

Len

posted 10-26-2006 12:05 AM ET (US)            

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BRP must have goofed up the nomenclature in the translation from French.

:-)

A binnacle is where the compass is located on a ship. On some sailboats there are specialized shift and throttle controls that mount on the side of the binnacle's pedestal. You might call them binnacle-mount controls. But the typical outboard controls that install on the top or front sloping face of a console are top-mounting controls.

posted 10-26-2006 12:16 AM ET (US)            

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Oh, for the love of Pete Jim! Binnacle mount controls is what they have been called for decades. Why do you struggle with the concept of one word having multiple meanings?

I smell another "cable"/"wire rope" campaign coming on...

posted 10-26-2006 11:30 AM ET (US)            

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Binnacle: The stand on which the ship's compass is mounted. Before the 18th century, the word was bittacle, which came from the French habitacle and the Latin habitaculum, meaning a place of habitation. Before compasses came into use, it referred to a lantern stand.

I would argue that binnacle control is a term used universally in the marine industry to describe a control box that mounts on top of a boat or ship's control station or console. A Google search on the words "binnacle control" yields 79,500 results.

posted 10-26-2006 11:42 AM ET (US)            

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I usually refer to top-mount controls as "binnacle mount" controls, as different from "side
mount" controls...

Sadly enough, when I googled "binnacle mount controls", I only got 28,300 returns. :-(

posted 10-26-2006 03:22 PM ET (US)            

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plan b,

i called around and confirmed the p/n for the top mount/binnacle controls.

the dealer that i called said that they are available through auth. dealers.

thanks

steve

posted 10-26-2006 06:36 PM ET (US)            

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Andy,

Page 25 of the Evinrude catalog show the newer style side mount control.
They do not show the Binnacle mount controls.

Page 22 of the 2007 catalog shows the complete lineup including the Binnacle mount controls.

I also have a photo here:
http://www.whalercentral.com/forum/viewthread.php?forum_id=22& thread_id=822#post_3189

posted 10-26-2006 06:39 PM ET (US)            

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Andy,

That would be page 25 of the 2006 catalog that shows the new side mount "Buck Rogers" control.

I left off the 2006 in my first post.... Sorry......

posted 11-02-2006 01:19 AM ET (US)            

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Here is a picture of the actual control. This is a real BRP production version. It just arrived at my dealer yesterday:

The chrome of the handle has some blue reflected into it from the surrounding environment. It is not blue, but rather chrome.

posted 11-02-2006 01:28 AM ET (US)            

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Some interesting features of the new Bombardier Shift and Throttle Top-Mounting (AKA "Binnacle") control:

--Its foot print is larger than the older OMC controls. When you mount these controls they will cover up the existing hole in the console from OMC or Yamaha controls, and probably from other brands, too. This will make re-powering with an E-TEC less of a problem in terms of the new control installation.

--The attachment of the shift and throttle cables to the actuator levers inside the control has been improved and simplified. These controls will be easier and faster to rig to the cables. A plastic hinged cover opens to permit connecting the cables.

--There is a removable snap-out panel at the base (below the ignition key) which permits access to the drag tension adjustment. You can easily adjust the amount of drag on the control movement to your liking with the control in place. On some brands of controls the drag tension is very awkward to adjust and is often left set without regard to the operator's preference.

posted 11-03-2006 07:51 AM ET (US)            

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I think these new controls and Yamaha's new controls come from the same manufacturer. They look very similar to me. Given that the prior generation of Yamaha's controls have a very smooth action, I would expect these to be smooth acting.

In my experience, the weak link in the both the prior Yamaha and BRP controls is the trim switch. In the case of the BRP controls, the trim switch is just plain hard to push for any significant length of time (when tilting the motor). In the case of the Yamaha controls, the trim switch is easier to push but there have been many reports of malfunctioning of the trim UP function of the switch. This happened to me years ago and I when I took the switch apart expecting to find corrosion instead I found that the part of the actuator had become unseated off the cradle for the pivot such that the actuator was not making contact with the UP contact in the base of the switch when pushed. In other words, the actuator and the base contacts were just out of alignment because the actuator's alignment was off. It was a very easy fix once I got the switch apart. Hopefully they've improved the robustness of the design to prevent this from happening.