Diverters....Manual or Hydraulic

[Ranz1]

Which do you guys have and why????

[sidewound]

I got the hydrauilic. I liked the control on the wheel I would have had a hard time mounting the manual lever in my boat. With the notches the manual is easier to get back in the same spot every time and of course less moving parts. I like the hydraulic cause I can run the hand throttle, steer and adjust the diverter all at once. If I'm not chewin gum that is. LOL
Peace Man!:cool:
CESAR

[BarryMac]

Hydraulic, a couple of reasons, I like the looks of the control on the wheel and that's what the boat came with...:D
gjb

[OkieDave]

manual. cheaper, easier, less maintenance, more precise as to where its at once you learn where it needs to be for max speed and most importanly, safety. on a fast boat, a little too much up can spell disaster.

[Nubbs]

I went with the manual on my boat. It's cheaper, takes less space because you don't have to mount the hydraulic pump, and no hydraulic lines to worry about. I also didn't have to worry about the diverter not working because the pump quit or broke.
Just my .02.
Nubbs

[napabob]

7 position manual control, minor maintenance. You have the option of adding hydraulics, hydraulic control and trim indicator in the future.
http://www.placediverter.com/
I opted for the manual stringer control because my boat is 1975 model and I did not want to install a state of the art system, just one that would give me the added control as described on the diverter web site. I also added a small polished rudder to help with no wake steering on river and lake outings.

[flat broke]

I used to run manual, but have switched over to Hydrualic for this season. The manual sucked for me in my Spectra because I had to reach down to actuate the diverter and that made for some less than safe instances where I'm reaching down when I come up on rough water.
Put the hydraulic in so I wouldn't have to move to adjust the ride.
Chris

[Taylorman]

Im about to get hydraulic. The steering wheel mounted switch allows you to not move to move the diverter. Can't wait to get it. Im buying the American Turbine diverter.

[LVjetboy]

I've used both. I installed manual on my old Bies, had Ron put manual in the Dragn when it was built (what I was used to) then later switched to hydraulic. Here's my thoughts...
Manual:
It's cheaper, nearly maintenance free and a bit easier to intall. You can move it quicker and learn the notch for best speed. Right arm gets a good workout.
Hydraulic:
To me, floor space is a biggy (what little there is) and stepping over the shifter was a pain. Although a bit harder to install, if you use a quality switch and make your fluid connections leak free, there's no maintenance either. A thumb switch on the steering wheel incredibly easy to use compared to yanking a shifter. Quick trim beeps with both hands on the wheel while crossing that occasional roller or rough spot.
I've found the difference in diverter speed not important for how I boat. The one drawback, no notches to judge top speed, is no longer a factor since I installed an up-stop. And adjusted the stop for max speed. Now I launch full down, hold the "up" with my thumb for 4 seconds (3.5 probably enough but just to be sure), by the time the divertor hits the stop the pump's loaded, the jet's well on plane and ready for warp speed. I concentrate on driving with both hands on the wheel...no need for notches. Transition from full down to up stop's smooth and as fast as the jet wants.
The drawback with an up-stop is no huge rooster, but I really don't miss that. No more sunglasses on the bottom. :)
jer

[78Southwind]

I went with Manual first but when I looked at how much space it was going to take up I went back and bought a Hydraulic.

[Squirtcha?]

Manual stringer mount. I like the positve lock, and it was cheaper. It's all I've ever used (including my last diverter) so I'm very used to it.

[1Bahnerjet]

since I replaced Cable (Rex Marine) manual is Easy, before I thought I needed Hydraulic.
http://www.***boat.com/image_center/data/500/43Scan668_August_08_2003-med.jpg

[ChetCapoli]

Originally posted by LVjetboy
A thumb switch on the steering wheel incredibly easy to use compared to yanking a shifter. Quick trim beeps with both hands on the wheel while crossing that occasional roller or rough spot.
I concentrate on driving with both hands on the wheel...no need for notches. jer
Jer you said it all right here. It's also pretty amazing at how many mention the word "cheaper"....:D What does money have to do with you guys??? To think i thought i was the only one who clipped coupons! I gotta laugh at that one.
I would think if you had a smaller jet where the seats are on the floor you might go with the manual. It's kinda hard going fast and having to look down for that notch i would think if you had to though. If you have a bigger boat and the floor is like a foot or so away you should go with a hydraulic as you would need a long arm to shift. For the extra couple bucks i would go for the hydraulic as to convert to it later it's pretty pricey.
CHET

[Squirtcha?]

I agree with one thing Chet. It'd be more expensive to convert afterwards, than to purchase the hydraulic in the first place.
I don't have to look down at mine though. I've shifted it enough times, I know where my notches are.
I've seen the hydraulics with broken reservoirs before and that alone was enough to make me buy another manual shifter.

[calperf19]

Hard to change settings at top speed that's why I changed, Felt like I was doing a two hundred pound forearm workout with the manual. Call me a wuss but I did it for over ten years with the manual. Wanted to see how ther other half lived!!!! Drove my Bro's boat with the hyd. unit and it was too cool.
My 2 cents BK

[ShowDown]

I wouldn't think that it would be all that hard to build an electric control system for your diverter and thus eliminate the reservoir and pump. Has anyone ever tried this? I used to own a high end car audio store and my guys used to build a lot of cool things with power antenna motors, power window motors and bellcranks. Just a thought.

[Chris J]

They make electric cable window operators for cars. The poblem is they were not designed for the high moisture you will encounter while boating. Don't know that they're any cheaper either. You already have 6-12 quarts of oil in your motor, so I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the pint thats in the diverter pump. No since trying to re-invent the wheel.
Cost is usually the main reason to go with the floor mount. While floor space and control on the steering wheel favor the hydraulic. You proabably already know which matters most to you. Very few boater switch from hydraulic to manual if that means anything.

[JET-O-VATOR]

I bought the electronic trim jet-o-vator and like it so far but its not a plce diverter. but its just a car window motor that controls it. has anyone had a problem with this style diverter? i had to do a quite a bit of trimming on it to get any roost or even my bow out of the water a played with that thing for a few days then said f*ck it and started grinding.

[dupers]

I've had both! They both have there advantages. I liked the manual because you knew exactly where the jet was just by looking at the handle. The drawback was that it took up floor space. I now have a different boat with a hydraulic and it works great also. I just have to look over my shoulder once in awhile to see where its at. Either way, you can't go wrong.

[bp]

i started with a manual on my previous boat, converted it to hydraulic in 1989 after i broke the handle on the manual. had the toggle switch close to the steering wheel, and it was so much better than the manual control. as far as positive lock, i've never had it move at all with the hydraulic system, except when buttons are touched. on the swtd, i installed the hydraulic pd in '97 with the steering wheel button. i wouldn't have anything else.

[mud duck]

I had an electric motor driven diverter in my Taylor. Never had any trouble with it. Switch was on the dash. Then in my Ultra it has a hydraulic diverter. Have had to fix the lines outside the transom three times now. However, the buttons on the wheel are easy to use, maybe to easy. :D

[drysumpjet]

I always used a manual. One feature I always liked with the manual is when I am idling off plane and I see a wave/boat wake that has the potential of coming over the bow, I can make an immediated accurate adjustment to raise the nozzle, then with a little throttle, raise the bow to prevent that irritating sheet of water coming up over the bow:D
I often wondered how quickly the response time is with hydraulic systems.

[Joe B]

Im glad someone started this thread. I have been considering trading in my jetovator for a pd. I think I will go with the hydraulic. I have the teleflex control with a trim switch built in and I love it. I think the manual control would clutter up my boat.
The Cp Performance site claims the hydraulic unit will travel stop to stop in around 2 seconds, which is about like my jetovator.
joe

[riverbound]

Hydraulic for me, no stringers in my boat plus there is very little floor space to begin with.

[LVjetboy]

"I always used a manual. One feature I always liked with the manual is when I am idling off plane and I see a wave/boat wake that has the potential of coming over the bow, I can make an immediated accurate adjustment to raise the nozzle, then with a little throttle, raise the bow to prevent that irritating sheet of water coming up over the bow."
This works with hydraulic too, you may have to react a bit quicker. You mention a great technique...trim with throttle to keep the bow up over those wakes. When I was at BR with a couple wake barges nearby, I floated with the trim up just in case. Of course hydraulic has the advantage of firing the engine with your right hand at the same time beeping full up with you left thumb if needed. Up trim with a little throttle saved my lap from a load of water many times over the years. But it took a few laps full of water before I figured that one out :)
"I often wondered how quickly the response time is with hydraulic systems."
I just measured mine and it's about 2-2.5 seconds full travel with no load (in the garage)...so a bit slower maybe 3 seconds full thrust? That's full travel so small trim changes are just as quick as grabbing a handle and moving it a couple notches. Mine's a little slower than stock because I had my lines done at a local hydraulics shop (cheaper than Place...Chet should love that) and the fitting id's slightly smaller than the plastic and brass cr*p you get from Place. The plastic and brass leaked on me.
jer

[Taylorman]

Id like to see the steering wheel mounted switches that everyone has. Post pictures if you have them.

[LVjetboy]

I'm sure most have seen this but since you ask...
http://members.cox.net/lvjetboy/RexTrim.jpg
jer

[drysumpjet]

Jer,
Thanks for the reply on the response time. Now thay I think about it, the hydraulic cylinder on the nozzle is small in comparison to a trim tab or an outdrive cylinder, anotherwords, a small volume of fluid results in a lot of movement. I may convert to hydraulic in the future, this may be the answer to replacing the manual cable every 2-3 years.
Just wondering, does anybody make a sender for a hydraulic diverter a that could provide a signal to a dash mounted trim guage? If not, there may be a market for one.
Joe

[Taylorman]

Place makes a trim gauge kit for their hyd diverter.

[flat broke]

Originally posted by drysumpjet
Jer,
Thanks for the reply on the response time. Now thay I think about it, the hydraulic cylinder on the nozzle is small in comparison to a trim tab or an outdrive cylinder, anotherwords, a small volume of fluid results in a lot of movement. I may convert to hydraulic in the future, this may be the answer to replacing the manual cable every 2-3 years.
Just wondering, does anybody make a sender for a hydraulic diverter a that could provide a signal to a dash mounted trim guage? If not, there may be a market for one.
Joe
If you were going to run a gauge for the trim angle, I think I'd run a bluewater type gauge (linear design) like what you see for K-planes or trim on offshore style boats.
Chris

[rivercrazy]

On my former boat, I had a trim guage with a Hydrolic PD. It was a standard Faria trim gauge. It worked great