Orfanello and a couple of his techs are scheduled to complete
SeaStar’s required training this summer, but until then Saunders
works with Blue Water Ships Stores in nearby Foley, the local
SeaStar dealer. William Montgomery is a marine and electronics
technician at Blue Water who is experienced with installing, con-
figuring and maintaining the Optimus 360. He joined Orfanello’s
team on this project.
I know you’re asking, Why did the Grady’s owner want an
Optimus 360 when Mercury has its own in-house Joystick Pilot-
ing System that works great with Verados? Orfanello said there
were two reasons: First, cost—the Optimus was less expensive.
But more important was convenience. The Mercury system has
to have a “personality” set up in its software. Once it’s set up for
a particular make and model, it can be used for all similar boats.
But Grady-White powers its boats with Yamaha outboards,
and Mercury hasn’t set up any personalities for Gradys. Even if
it did, the Bimini 306 is no longer in production. So getting a
personality for the Bimini would have meant shipping the boat
to a Mercury facility for an attitude adjustment—a complex and
expensive endeavor. The Optimus 360, on the other hand, can be
set up—soup to nuts—by an installer anywhere.
Planning is Everything
This job had three phases: First, swapping the tired outboards for
spanking-new Mercury Verados with digital throttle and shift
(DTS). Second, replacing the Grady’s existing hydraulic steer-
ing with the Optimus Electronic Power Steering (EPS). (EPS can
be installed on its own, on inboards and sterndrives as well as
outboards.) Step three, adding the Optimus 360 joystick. Since
the Verados are all digital, it’s not necessary to utilize servos to
convert digital signals to analog, a step that adds complexity and
expense to the install.
Montgomery used SeaStar’s survey checklist to spec and order
the system. Although most of the components are the same for
all installations, there are variables. The survey asks for engine
brand and model, distance between prop centers, rotation, tach
input—NMEA 2000, J1939 or analog—and the drop of the center
engine on triple installations. “You need to choose the type of
helm and mount,” Montgomery said—front mount, rear mount,
tilt, etc. “You need to decide where the Pump Control Module
(PCM) will go; the steering pumps have to be within three feet of
the module.” And, he added, you need to measure the distances
between the different components to get the correct length wiring
and hydraulic hoses. The survey also asks about an autopilot and
whether a second steering station is needed.
Finally, you need to order the correct hydraulic steering
cylinders. In most cases, the installer replaces the boat’s existing
steering cylinders with Optimus SmartCylinders—but not in the
Grady’s case. The Verado 300s have built-in steering cylinders
that are adapted to fit the Optimus system, said Orfanello. The
primary, and most noticeable, adaptation is the addition of a
magnetic rudder feedback system, comprised of a magnet bolted
to the engine that rides above a sensor—Optimus calls it a Smart
Stick—attached to the steering cylinder. As the engine rotates, the
Smart Stick senses the position of the magnet and the computer
crunches the data like it does input from any rudder feedback
sensor. (SmartCylinders have a built-in feedback sensor.)
Once the order’s placed, SeaStar assembles the system and ships
it out. Verado kits are built to order, so delivery takes a little lon-
ger: Orfanello placed his order for the Grady’s joystick on January
12th, and the parts didn’t arrive until March 10th. So if you want
a stick next season, and you’re running Verados, get started now.
The good news is, once the parts have arrived, “there’s really noth-
ing to installing them if you have a mechanical background, and if
you know boats,” said Orfanello. “Most of it is running wires and
hoses; the hardest thing is finding the locations for the compo-
nents.”Location, Location, Location
SeaStar’s schematics make placing the components look simpler
than it is, said Orfanello. Often, things get complicated. On the
Grady, for example, the two power-steering pumps, one for each
engine (or for each pair of engines—on triple and quad instal-
lations, two engines are tie-rodded together) and the pumpRouting cables and hoses (left) often proves challenging as does the installation of pumps and controls inside lockers (right).
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