you wrote:

I had my Mathers die on me.  It was due to a manufacturing
defect.  Fortunately I had just finished tying to the dock.  It took me
quite a while, sitting at the dock pouring through Mathers and transmission
manuals to figure out how to operate with out it.  If I had been in worse
conditions, it would have been a mess.  Learn how to bypass all of the
functions as a priority.

Some items to check out:

• There is an interlock that prevents starting the engine unless the
  Mathers is powered up and a station is active.  Immediately learn which
  connection to short in the control unit to over-ride this.  I will be
  installing an emergency over-ride switch.

• How will you control the throttle?  I am not single handing.  I rigged a
  mechanical throttle using some string tied to the throttle and wrapped
  several turns around a post for some friction (simplicity is
  reliability).  A quick disconnect of the Mathers linkage and I can say
  "Engine room, 1000 RPM ahead." and the person there can set the speed.

• Speaking of 'ahead', the Mathers also controls the transmission.  Learn
  how to operate that over-ride.  In my case, I have to remove the solenoids
  and manually depress and lock the corresponding plunger (one at a
  time).  This took a little exploration to find and figure out how to
  operate.  Make it an activity some afternoon.  I purchased spare parts from
  Mathers that I can use to make a plug with a toggle switch to swap into the
  transmission cable to manually switch the solenoids.  This will be good if
  I have power, but the manual operation is basic and important knowledge.

• Where is your Mathers powered?  Whether from your house battery or the
  starting battery, you will lose controls if you lose power.  Have a plan,
  either back-up power or how to quickly shift to manual.

Learning to operate my boat has been significantly about how to respond to
unusual events.  Every time a device fails I learn something new to add to
my preparedness for future events.  I have learned quite a few from this
list.  I hope this one of mine helps some others.

-Wray

Wray West
M/V Anjumal (Cape Horn 65)
Portsmouth, NH
www.anjumal.com

Wray

Your ideas are right on.

I have seen other units, Glendenning, that have a manual choke cable system
which would be used in an emergency. Don't know if one has to disconnect the
Mathers and connect the cable backup system or if they work in parallel to
the Mathers.

I thought about leaving the old cable system in place, but they were rusted
and very difficult to move. So, I removed them. Perhaps one could replace or
utilize the cables as a backup.

I am going to check with Mathers to see what they recommend.

Don Sorensen
MV Esperanza
Seattle/Dallas