wave maker

Hi everyone:

can anybody fill me in on the electric throttles/shifter found as an option on say (for example) a 2002 cobalt 360 with 496 HO Bravo3. Its all new to me and I was wondering about known issues/reputation/serviceability etc and how they work. I am in the process of looking to buy and am trying to educate myself. Any and all replies are appreciated. Thanks

mcollinstn

They work well, and are reliable.

But let's look at the "usual application" for these electronic controls.

They are usually found on cruisers. They lend themselves very well to multiple station installations (such as a pilot house AND a flybridge, both with controls) and can be easily tied into an electronic synchronizer. They usually allow expansion modules to be used to automatically control trolling valves and other things found on bigger boats.

What they are not normally found on are performance boats. There is a bit of "lag" in the throttle response which makes them unsuitable for running in "big water" where you have to "work" the throttles when leaving the water and reentering from large waves. Probably not a dealbreaker in your circumstances, but they do have a slight lag.

The shifter modules are fairly powerful, but when used on a Bravo, there is always the chance that you will not be able to "feel" the clutches going bad or the shift linkage binding up.

When Bravos start to fail (when they do not do so explosively), you can usually feel the shift linkage getting tight, or being stiff coming out of gear. Also, you don't ever want to try to force a Bravo into neutral when the motor isn't running.

Electronic controls will "mask" a stiff shift linkage, and will also try to ram the drive into neutral if it dies while idling in gear and you want to restart. Neither of these can be considered a "good thing".

All in all, though, to answer your question - they are reliable.
Just not so much an option I would want on a performance boat.

MC

Raylar

I would not really consider a Cobalt 360 as a real high performance boat , more of a nice beautiful gentleman's performance cruiser. The DTS electronic throttles in this boat are really quite reliable and the distances and routing of manual throttle cables and shift cables in a big hull and structure like the Cobalt 360 is a bigger problem over the longer run and thats why I am sure Cobalt Boats opted to set this model up with DTS electronic throttles. You can check with Cobalt, but I don't think they even offer this model with manual throttle cables.

You won't go wrong with a Cobalt when it comes to fit , finish, looks, features and resale, great boats!

Just my thoughts and suspicions.

Best Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

mcollinstn

Yeah, I was picturing the performance-oriented Cobalt 343 in my mind. I looked up the 360 and it is definitely a "suitable candidate" for the electronic controls. They do, however, sell the 360 with Zero Efforts as standard.

MC

wave maker

Thanks very much for your help. It makes a lot more sense to me now. Unfortuneately, I missed the Cobalt 360 and am now considering saving some more and trying for a Formula 370 SS (or possibly another Cobalt).