Mercury Zero Torque Feedback
Tiller steered boats are labor intensive to steer due to the constant load on
the tiller from propeller torque, and the fact that the operator is positioned
(while driving the boat) in such a way that maintaining control requires
physical effort not customary in everyday activities.
The higher torque of today’s four stroke engines has naturally increased the
load on the tiller as compared to two strokes. Though engine horsepower on
tiller steered boats may not have changed, the difficulty in controlling these
boats has increased.
Having a system that locks out the torque while the boat is not actively
being steered is a desirable feature that has been implemented on larger engines
by engine manufacturers.
The solution is the ZERO TORQUE Tiller System which consists of a hydraulic
cylinder with a control valve that opens and closes following to the operation
made on the handle. The valve closes when the steering effort by the driver is
stopped; as a consequence the cylinder locks the steering position.