Replacing old Hynautics with new Flexball Throttles Onboard the Wild Card Crayfishing Vessel

This commercial crayfishing vessel was previously using Hynautics hydraulic throttle system to control the Doosan V180TIL Engine and ZF Gearbox, however, the ongoing issues with the Hynautics including leaks and incorrect throttle response meant the system either had to be repaired or replaced to ensure it was reliable. A cost analysis was completed, and there was very little cost difference between repairing the existing Hynautics and replacing with a set of Flexball Electronic Throttles.

The Flexball 4500-MM12 was the system chosen. MM12 represents:

• 1^st Letter: M – Mechanical Engine
• 2^nd Letter: M – Mechanical Gearbox
• 1^st Number: 1 – Number of Engines
• 2^nd Number: 2 – Number of Throttle Stations

Therefore the 4500-MM12 was chosen to allow for mechanical control of the Doosan V180TIL Marine Engine and mechanical control of the ZF Marine Gearbox. Two throttle control stations were placed, one in the main cabin, and a second behind the cabin on the deck. Flexball throttles can support up to 4x control stations.

Installation is easy, with all throttles controlled via CANBus and connected in a “daisy chain” fashion. The Actuator Control box mounts in the engine room, and because the MM system is used in this application, there are two levers on either side of the control box. One controls the 3x gearbox positions (forward/neutral/reverse) and the other controls throttle, from idle to full throttle. Each has a black hand screw on the side which allows for the electronics to be disconnected and the engine and gearbox controlled by hand manually in the event of an emergency.

A short length of morse cable is then used in for the mechanical Flexball system to connect to the engine throttle and the gearbox selector. Flexball also have options for Electronic control of both engines and gearboxes in different applications for all different makes and models.

To calibrate is very easy, and can be done on the vessel post installation, where positions for the engine throttle (idle and max) are set as well as the 3x gearbox positions are set. A guide on setting up the Flexball throttle calibration is available under the “Our Work” Section of our website.

The client is extremely happy with his new Flexball electronic throttles, as they are proving to be extremely reliable and easy to use. The response on the throttle is extremely light compared to the heavy and inaccurate hynautics.

Base plates for the throttles are also available which re-use the existing hynautic mount pattern, to ensure that no new holes need be mounted into the dash panels. View the product here. 

The Flexball throttles are IP68 rated and are suitable for external use on a vessel.

View the Flexball 4500-MM12 here.