The ability to squeeze into small spaces is often an advantage in these kinds of projects.

After removing the wheel steering from our Pearson 10-meter Grit we had a small problem with engine control…there was none. The engine controls had been incorporated into the wheel steering pedestal and that was now gone. It was time to find a replacement.

At this point that we realized that the wheel steering on Grit had to have been a factory installation. There were no patches, plugs or parts left behind from a previous engine control (the Pearson 10M was originally designed for tiller steering with an engine control mounted on the side of the cockpit well). The bad news was that we would be starting from scratch. The good news is that we had a clean slate.

Our first decision was that we wanted a single lever engine control. Having had a similar control on our old boat, we much preferred its simplicity compared to the dual engine transmission and throttle controls that had been on the pedestal we removed. Juggling the wheel, transmission and throttle in tight docking situations had been difficult enough--we didn’t think it would be fun at all with the substitution of the tiller for the wheel.

We began scouring marine catalogs and websites looking for options in single-lever controls. Our first discovery was that this would not be an inexpensive option. The ballpark price across the board was in the $400 range. Our second discovery was that some controls required specific cables or configurations. A quick check at the boat confirmed that we had the most universal of cable-–Morse 33’s. This gave us the widest range of options for selecting the control. After more research we came across what we decided had to be the ultimate sailboat engine control–-the Spinlock ATCU.

Spinlock’s ATCU brings an elegant solution to a cockpit cluttered by engine controls. It also makes it easy to find a winch handle.

The advantage of the Spinlock ATCU is that the handle is removable. This eliminates the shin killer in the cockpit, prevents someone from stepping on the control lever and breaking it… not that anyone out there have ever done that (right!). It also gets rid of the line snagger at the same time. Anyone who has ever had a engine control mounted to the cockpit well can relate to all these benefits. Having the engine control there is wonderful when you’re using the engine, but is a complete pain the rest of the time.

More research revealed that the ATCU comes in two versions. One is a complete kit for installing a new control from scratch. This version mates the Spinlock lever unit with a new Morse or Teleflex control unit (your choice). The second option is for those who already have the control unit. They can purchase just the Spinlock lever unit and retrofit it to their control for a removable handle solution. The best part is that the handle socket is machined for a standard winch handle. This makes it pretty hard to not find a handle on a sailboat!

The first step was determining the installation location. The tiller dictated a forward position. During docking the helmsman would need to be able to comfortably grasp the tiller in one hand and the engine control in the other. Having a crew of right-handers, we wanted the engine control on the starboard side. The cable path down below also supported this choice. It would be very easy for us to reroute the existing cables from their centerline/pedestal position to the starboard cockpit locker. We put a winch handle into the socket and then started holding the control plate in various positions to check for clearance and operation.

With the location decided, we double-checked inside the cockpit locker for any possible interference. The installation requires drilling four holes for mounting bolts and a one-inch hole for the control mechanism. This was not something we wanted to mess up and then have to repair or modify. Satisfied that everything would line up and work properly, we used the supplied template to mark the holes and began drilling.

You don’t want to have to plug this hole. Measure twice, drill once.

With all the drilling complete, we dry-fit the unit to ensure that everything was as it should be. After applying tape to the perimeter, we disassembled everything, applied sealant between the outer lever unit and the cockpit well and then put it all back together again. We’ve learned the hard way that it is much easier to remove excess cured sealant with a perimeter of masking tape than it is with a scraper or your fingernails. Once again, the advantages of ready access to a 14 year-old came into play. Sam2 was locker diving to tighten the bolts and keep everything in line.

The last step in this installation was to connect the engine control cables to the new unit. This was actually the most time-consuming part of the whole job for us. It took quite a bit of trial and error to adjust the cables so that the terminals fit properly into the small sockets on the control unit. It wasn’t difficult, just tedious to make an adjustment and then test the movement of the controls. However, this is a critical step as you want to ensure that the movements at the lever are producing the proper control movements at the engine.

When everything was adjusted, the moment of truth was upon us. We fired up the engine and tested the control by cycling through various combinations of direction and throttle. Testimony to the clear directions, everything worked perfectly on our first test.

The sign of a job well done is if the installation looks like it was original.

Our practical experience since completing the installation has confirmed that this is a great piece of gear. The Spinlock unit has functioned flawlessly and we’ve really appreciated the ability to “clean-up” the cockpit by removing the handle when the engine isn’t in use. Operating the engine with the single lever control is much faster and precise than the old two-lever system, which has improved our boat-handling during docking… especially in tight quarters or wind/current conditions when we need to make a multitude of control changes quickly. We’d give the Spinlock ATCU our highest endorsement as a solid product that performs exactly as advertised.