Rudder angle indicator.

[PeterKemp]

The SMIS has the option of displaying the angle either side of centre that the motor is at. The motor is a DF250AP IMG-20200501-WA0014.jpg

I understand that one needs to buy/attach a separate sensor. Does anyone know which one to buy / where one gets it and how is it attached?

[Moonlighter]

I have never seen a rudder angle indicator on the gauge, and it is not mentioned in the manual. Was this boat owned by someone else before you got it and you just found this page on the gauge?

Anyway, I have never heard of a rudder angle indicator being connected to a outboard motor, but admit that I still have lots to learn and maybe that is one new thing for me to discover !!

I am not sure why you would even need one on an outboard powered boat? Perhaps you can explain your particular need for this data??

I am pretty sure that rudder angle sensors are something employed on sail boats. Having done a quick search for NMEA 2000 rudder angle sensors, I found several such as this one:

https://www.maretron.com/products/raa100.php

It looks very much like they work similarly to fluid level sensors that work on fuel tanks - in that, they convert electrical signals from an existing (electrical) resistive rudder angle sensors used on sail boats, into a NMEA2000 signal that can be read and displayed on a network display.

Please remember that these SMIS “gauges” are not engine gauges in the traditional sense. They aren’t connected to the engine, they are indeed connected to the network.

They are in fact just a NMEA2000 data display, and they are designed to be able to display a wide range of data that they can only receive when connected to a NMEA2000 network.

The Suzuki SMIS is just a mildly customised Lowrance LMF400 display. So the base gauge can be used for many and varied purposes, including to display lots of information used in different applications than an outboard powered boat.

So just because a rudder angle indicator is an option, doesnt mean that its intended to be used for an outboard powered boat. Possibly, the previous owner was just playing around with adding pages on the gauge, and stuck the rudder angle page on there just for giggles.

[PeterKemp]

I have used rudder angle indicators on several yachts and a barge over over the years.

All very useful when the rudder cannot be seen and nearly essential when the boat is wheel steered. With tiller steering, the tiller is the indicator!

My boat is an Aquador 22c. A 6.7m fast cabin cruiser. The lightness and high windage make it a handful when manoeuvring. Yes, a rear view mirror would help to see the motor through the patio door. But to have a gauge to glance at would be much more convenient and brilliant in a confined marina on windy days.
The (only)previous owner was a Russian guy who used it on Finnish lakes. He specified the 250HP Suzuki whereas most others has 150 Mercurys.
I, haven't yet checked, but suspect the Suzuki gauges may have been programmed with Lowrance software as they would be for a yacht.. As the motor was non-standard in Finland, so maybe are the instruments.
We are locked down where we live (the UK). So, I have the time to research this! In the end I may have to use a mirror and a Turks Head! Not very 21st century!