Mercruiser Skyhook

Mike Francis

New Member
Aug 15, 2017
6
Boat Info
2008 300SLX
Engines
350 MAG MPI
Bravo III
Axius / DTS
Just bought a 2008 300 SLX which has Axius and Skyhook installed. Apparently Skyhook was disabled back in 2008 when the boat was new, and after some research seems to have been a "legal decision" by Sea Ray at the time to disconnect the system. Does anyone know how to activate the system?
 
It was a Mercruiser issue, not Sea Ray's. Mercriuiser fairly quickly solved the product liability concern with Skyhook. I believe the remedy was to install a garbage truck back-up alarm on the system so everyone with 1/2 mile knew the boat was running itself when they heard the beep - beep - beep. The boat should have been recalled by the dealer to install the alarm and reactivate Skyhook.

I suspect if you talked to a Sea Ray dealer and explained that your Skyhook was never retrofitted that they would get you a kit and install it for you. Should be free since this was purely a Mercruiser recall, not a warranty issue.
 
Awesome good idea thanks for the reply.
I have this same problem...and still have no resolution. My 2009 boat has Axius Premier but lacked the audible warning horn ultimately required by Mercruiser in order to enable Skyhook. I've since had the horn installed but the dealer was unable to complete the activation despite having techs on the phone with Mercury for several hours.

Can you share the VesselView software version you have installed? I'm curious if it's the same as what I have...
 
Should be free since this was purely a Mercruiser recall, not a warranty issue.

Sadly, not free...harness + warning horn is a couple hundred and local MM quoted 8 hours of labor to install and activate.

I ordered Searay OEM parts and Mercury harness and took to a different Merc-certified dealer for installation/activation. Unfortunately they were unsuccessful in getting it activated (with Merc's help).

So now I'm somewhat forced to give MM a shot at it as Mercury simply won't talk to end users on this issue...
 
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You guys need the 1000# elephant to give you some leverage. Call Sea Ray customer service and ask them to help with MM.

It is absolute crap that Sea Ray will sell a product to a dealer, then the engine maker, only because they are afraid of product liability, required the dealer to disable part of the reason you guy bought that particular boat in the first place (incidently, Skyhook worked perfectly), your boats were never recalled for the "fix" Mercruiser came up with, and now you have to buy the wiring harness that your dealer removed from your boats and pay an inflated labor cost to have the system re-connected.

Our dealer had a 43DA with Skyhook, they were required to deactivate it, then the "kit" came and they reinstalled it....took 1.5 hours ....not 10 hours labor which is what MM is trying to charge you. I saw the instruction sheet for the installation and I don't recall the details, but it was a single 8-1/2" x11" sheet of paper showing what terminals to connect which wire to.

My point is...Sea Ray has more leverage with Marine Max and Mercruiser than anyone. Be polite, professional, and non-threatening and be sure you tell the customer service folks you talk to that you love your boat, but you are very disappointed that you are in the position of having a very expensive charge ahead of you because the selling dealer didn't do his job.

Good luck with it.......
 
just looked up this system and it seems to rely on electronics to have your boat maintain station keeping and at "anchor"
If you can`t maintain position with normal controls, you need more training
If you don`t know how to set an anchor, you need more training
 
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just looked up this system and it seems to rely on electronics to have your boat maintain station keeping and at "anchor"
If you can`t maintain position with normal controls, you need more training
If you don`t know how to set an anchor, you need more training

Doc, you are 100% correct that this should not be something to "replace" good seamanship. But, it can be a tool to help make certain aspects easier. Here's an example... when I'm trailer boating, there will be times where at the end of the day, waiting to get back on the trailer, there could be a dozen or two boats floating around, jockeying for position, while waiting for their turn on the ramp. You're constantly maneuvering the boat to stay in, essentially, one position for sometimes a half hour or more. If I could press a button and sit back and relax... I would do that in a heartbeat! I'd still be watching for other boaters getting too close to me, but that would be a great "makes life easier" thing.
 
just looked up this system and it seems to rely on electronics to have your boat maintain station keeping and at "anchor"
If you can`t maintain position with normal controls, you need more training
If you don`t know how to set an anchor, you need more training
While you are entitled to your opinion, the OP was asking a technical question about a boat system. As such, your comment doesn't contribute constructively to the thread. If you'd like to discuss your opinions on (newer) boat technologies, including those you don't understand, I'd suggest starting a new thread and allow this one to remain focused on the original question posed.
 
BtDoctor, I guess you haven't had to wait on a bridge for 45 minutes to open. I have been on boats with it, it's great.
Yes I have from 17 feet to 41 feet , not a problem.
Seeing it was disabled from the factory that would tend to show its not that reliable in operation and was a liability issue . I`m sure there are reports someplace that describe the accidents or incidents with this system that caused the system to be disabled by dealers
 
Seeing it was disabled from the factory that would tend to show its not that reliable in operation and was a liability issue .

When it first appeared as an option, it was essentially silent while in operation. The thought was that people could be on the swim platform, or swimming around it, and not know the engines/drives were running (although obviously those aren't completely silent). So it was disabled until a new feature was put in place... the "garbage truck backup alarm", as Frank so eloquently (and accurately) explained it. :)
 
For those of you who have the disabled Skyhook, if you do pay for or get Mercruiser to reactivate the system for you, be very sure you get the dealer to update the software for the system before you try to run the system.

Initially, the throttle limits for Skyhook were inappropriate and down right dangerous. The software controls the drives to select forward, reverse or neutral, to set the direction of each drive and to apply throttle input as needed to hold position.

Here is an example of how it reacted: The 43DA mentioned in post #6 above had Cummins QSB engines. The dealer's service manager and I took the boat out to explore the various features. Great running boat; handled like a sports car on the water. We took the boat about a mile off the beach in open water and set Skyhook. In flat water or with normal 1-2 ft seas, Skyhook eased into gear, the drives articulated as needed and the boat held position. then, a 50 ft charter boat passed us 1/4 mile away. Its wake was substantial and he was plenty far enough away to be safe, but Skyhook just knew the boat was off position and it corrected according to its programmed parameters. The max engine speed in the program was 1800 rpm. as the wake washed under us, Skyhook did it thing. We were holding on or we would have been thrown all over the boat....1800 rpm with full deflection on the drives will bury one rubrail in the water, then as the wake passed, the opposite thing happend as Skyhook tried to correct position in the other direction with the same result on the other side. When we got back to the slip, we disconnected the battery cables to prevent some unsuspecting salesman from hurting himself or a customer on a demo ride. This defect was already known to Mercruiser because a TSB dated a month prior was received in a few days advising the dealers to disconnect Skyhook until a software update could be issued.

In its original configuration, Skyhook was dangerous so be sure you have the latest version of the system before you pay for the installation.
 
Thanks, Frank. I had "heard" that there was more to this than just the alarm part, but didn't know the whole story and was reluctant to say anything for that reason.
 
I would not be surprised is some owner thought everyone could go swimming and not be concerned about it drifting away untill somebody got chopped by the props during a "re-positioning"
 

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