They do a majority of large classsed ship systems. Think cruise ships, tankers, etc. I'd say a good amount of the very large 40m plus yachts use these as well. Our are electric not pneumatic. http://www.kobelt.com/products/controls/electronic
I have 3408's 1996 so i am pretty sure the brains are similar. I had it happen and turned the sync on by the time I got where I was going it was operating correctly.
Kobelt Pneumatic controls were on many a yacht in the '90's including Delta, Christensen & Broward Marine along with Jastram steering systems. I've been around a number of P.N.W. work boats with Kobelt pneumatics paired with their articulated rudder flap system w/Wagner power packs. Jastram bought Wagner Marine a few yrs back and Jastram & Kobelt are still going strong in B.C. with their hydraulic power packs and steering systems but maybe not so much with their electronic controls?
I will say they have a service branch in Ft Lauderdale who was ordered parts and is on board now replacing and recalibrating. Amazing support via phone to identify. And the new circuit board was $320.. Not much in terms of boat dollars.
Ok maybe I spoke to soon. New card didn’t work. They are going to try again in the morning and if it doesn’t work we will have to bite the bullet for a new system. Ouch! Leaning towards mathers if it goes that way. Anyone else have retro refit experience with other systems?
I ve never used Mathers but have heard many horror stories Morse has a very nice electronic control system which is pretty reasonable. I used them for about 8 years. No delays. Once had an issue where one side shut down, because a mechanic had moved the cable between the service and the ZF gear increasing friction. Never heard of a Morse causing an accident, unlike Mathers
I understand ZF took over Mathers. Teleflex has a nice system. I was warned against them but have a few Happy Cat customers with that stuff. T D has a nice system also. As much as I hated the old Mathers, ZF seemed to fix all problems and has a solid platform these days. Again, My knowledge of the Kobelt systems are zip. Maybe it would be an easy upgrade with a similar product.
DON'T. ZF is a solid system and easy to retrofit go this route. I've had issues with Teleflex before, but was sorted out by Smith and Wick.
Yes, except now it doesn't stick in gear at the last throttle setting like it used to! Also not all models are from Mathers, the control heads that are larger and chrome seem to be the most durable. I really like Sturdy, but don't see any aftermarket kits to install them, always see them as OEM installs.
I think we have figured out that the rpm and overheating are two different issues. We had Zf and glendenning onboard today. The boat also has electric steering. Meaning fly by wire to the hydraulic steering pumps. This also goes through Kobelt CPU. I don’t think Zf or glendenning has this? So doubly up on repair efforts.
OK... Now I'm pissed off. So Kobelt CPU is possibly dead and they want to put a new system in. The new system is 6 weeks out not including install. And our hands are somewhat tied to Kobelt because of the electric steering. We might try a hail mary and sent the unit back to Kobelt to see if they can find an fixable issue. Aghhh...