Boating Drive By Wire
 

So I work for a company that has many applications of "wire" technology. A small subset of our industry is creating control systems that use actuators, wires, switches, etc for communication. One specific example is the apache helicopter which implements "fly by wire". Essentially we have replaced all mechanical components to use electronics. So I was thinking:

Why hasnt drive by wire controls become relevent in todays boating world? They are relatively inexpensive systems consisting of actuators, wires, etc...I know the high dollar boats use them but why not the lower end?

Probably Cost.
 

Being a former Cobra pilot, which was all mechanical and only about 3 million a copy (last model AH-1F), probably cost. When the Apache came out, it was about 16 million a copy for the basic model. Mechanical was easier for crew chief to fix, fly by wire was a nightmare that went up echeclons(sp?) of divisions too fix. Marines still use the Super Cobra. Gotta love mechanical!! IMHO

I assume you are aware of the Mercury DTS (Digital Throttle and Shift).

aka Throttle by wire and Shift by wire....

http://www.mercurymarine.com/_media/...fort_guide.pdf

i wasnt aware. what are the price points on that system?

I am not sure, but it comes standard on all Verados, and was/is an option on 496 and 8.2HO engines.

New Ilmor's and most diesels are as well.

interesting...thanks for the info.

I am real curious to see how these systems hold up over time in the very damp, high humidity environment that boats exist in. I would think over time, the electrical portion that senses position would get corroded and stop working or be erratic.

I did a little more digging, and it seems that all the new MPI black engines (big block and small block) are DTS equipped standard.

The Merc 1100 and 1350s also use DTS.

Merc had this technology on the Verado back during development of it back in 2000 and earlier.

i heard that about the ILMORS. is that a standard option or an upgrade?