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do all boats that have twin inboards have 4 throttle controls?
i know that i have seen twin i/o's with only 2 throttle controls but didn't know if a twin inboard could have just 2 or not.
the reason i ask is my dad is looking at a boat and he said it is inboards (which he wants). he does not want i/o's. however, when i saw a picture of the boat i only see two throttle controls which led me to believe it may be an i/o. unless they make full inboards that only have 2 throttles???
Hey Hoo,
In a word: NO! Not all twin inboard engines have 4 controls, but MOST twin inboard vessels do have 2 for the tranny, (black knobs) and 2 for the throttle (red). Some Albemarles/Carolina Classic to name a few I have seen, only have one combo unit, and some Shamrocks have combo units. Look at Morse controls web page & you can see what they build. They are usually the standard unit installed on most inboard vessels. Which inboard manufacturer is your father considering? Gavin
More and more new boats will have only 2 controls (for twin engine inboard applications), especially as the electronic binnacle's become more popular. It is not an inboard vs i/o thing, however I can understand how that conclusion was drawn as most would fit that bill.
since you can have a single lever for one motor
it follows that you can have two for two....no
mechanical or technologic obstacle...there is
a FUNCTIONAL issue...for close in maneuvering,
if you put the throttles (2) just above idle,
then throw one gearshift into forward and the
other into reverse, you can almost make the
boat rotate in a circle!....i think you would
lose this finesse capability...if you dont use
it now, you wont miss it............dan
Many of the newer big high-end sportfishing boats such as Vikings come with two single lever electronic controls, usually mounted on each side of a helm pod. These are great to use because they are totally smooth and have nice detents for forward neutral and reverse. In the hands of a skilled operator, they give even better control than traditional four lever set ups. This a whole different creature than the mechanical single lever controls such as a Morse MT-3 that might be seen on some inboards or the Mercury single lever controls on I/Os, which are basically the same as the usual outboard twin controls.
I have twins with the 2 morse controls. It is no problem manuvering in close quarters. I find it easier because I can work the throttle and transmission at the same time -- no chance of kicking it out of gear without throttling down.
Then as mentioned above. Look at the Morse KE-4.
But get ready for the price tag. I have bought part of the system for mock up purposes. It's electronc. I want twin outboards with 2 helms, one for the crows nest. My helm space is very limited due to the way I want the steering wheel placed. [like a sports car, not like a tug] The cost for everything
is $5800.00. $3000 just for the lower.
Having used 4 for a number of years I would vote for 2. Much easier when you don't have to take your hands off the tranny control in order to goose the engine of choice.
twin inboard throttle controls (always 4??) 
