Not really substantive, but why no "push button" start/stop on Formulas?


FastMarkA

FastMarkA

Member
I have a new 350 CBR coming my way next summer, and I'm very excited to get it.

Fully realizing this is nit-picky and perhaps a top contender for the first-world problem category, but any thoughts as to why Formula doesn't put the key ignition switches out of sight and offer start/stop buttons at the helm?

I think the absence of a "dangling key float" brings some elegance to the dash.

This really surprises me as Formula does a yeoman's job of focusing on details and finish in general.

So long as I have a way to start the boat, it's not a huge problem, but I'd love to tuck away those keys somewhere.
 
I think this is a yin and yang thing with the key, I kind of like them. They can be seen and get put away when boating is done.

That said, many larger cruisers use a main key switch down below which once turned ON, supplies power to ignition switches at the helm. In this case there are no keys used at the helm, only at the master control panel
 
I like the "dangling key" thing too! My guess is since you would need a key fob to activate the ignition switch when you are in the boat near the helm, these very expensive electronic fobs would not survive well in moist boating environments, especially if sprayed with water or dropped overboard. Actual keys would be much easier and cheaper to replace.
 
also... push button start users usually have to engage the break pedal before the engine will start. no brakes on a boat. however, I'm sure the clever ones out there could use neutral position of the throttles as the bypass for the brake pedal. as I'm sure we all have encountered at least one time when you go to start the boat and nothing because the throttles weren't in the full neutral position.
 
A "key fob" idea would be cool (like my car, it could turn on the lights and stereo as I approach it on the dock), but I was just thinking of old school "key switches" which are usually housed in the boat's electrical breaker panel (Sea Ray has done this for years; this idea is certainly not "mine").

The key switch needs to be turned on, and then there's a rocker switch on the dash to start and stop the engine(s).
 
Imagine what would happen, if you were out in the middle of the lake/gulf/ocean -- when the battery on your key fob died. Just saying. :)

FastMarkA said:
A "key fob" idea would be cool (like my car, it could turn on the lights and stereo as I approach it on the dock), but I was just thinking of old school "key switches" which are usually housed in the boat's electrical breaker panel (Sea Ray has done this for years; this idea is certainly not "mine").

The key switch needs to be turned on, and then there's a rocker switch on the dash to start and stop the engine(s).
Click to expand...
 
I have always wondered this too. Make sense to put the keys down on the panel and push buttons at the dash. The only reason I would see to have a key fab would be if you didn't have keys anywhere in the boat...
 
Hate to admit this, but my buddies SeaRay (34 Dancer), a few years older than mine, has this feature.

So it is totally doable, Formula just for whatever reason decided to keep the Old School approach

Maybe it is better for unknown reasons....
 
Mine has it... sorry for the bad pic, It was all I could find. (but it is volvo)

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I have seen it on a few of the bigger Formulas with Volvos (like dasoli's).

I grew up boating on my father's Sea Rays...our 1995 400 Express had it (and all of the subsequent boats).
 
Must be a cost issue as to why Formula has not installed this feature on smaller models or something to do with Volvo vs MerCruiser systems.
 
I had push button on my 370 and my 400ss...

Still needed keys to in the cockpit to activate the 'ignition'. For that matter my last 2 SeaRays had push button as well and those go back to '08.

I think this is more a Volvo/Merc decision than Formula. I will say that my 400 has the 'key' fob instead of a hard key that has to be turned to activate the ignition. Pretty slick but there have been times that I left the boat thinking the ignition was 'locked' only to come back and find it was 'turned on' and anyone could have taken the boat!
 
boatweiser said:
... but there have been times that I left the boat thinking the ignition was 'locked' only to come back and find it was 'turned on' and anyone could have taken the boat!
Click to expand...


I did this for a year, then was told by the volvo mechanic that once the fob turns it "on" it stays on until you wave the fob near the switches again. So once on, the fob does not need to be near or around the boat like a car fob does. It just stays on, even if you leave with the fob.
 
Someday we'll all probably get microchips implanted which can be programmed to unlock our vehicles, houses, boats, jets, etc. Until then, it looks like I'll be carrying a floaty with two keys for my Mercruisers... :)
 
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