FLJ, thanks for the helpful diagram. Hmmm. It seems like FLJ is talking about a different arrangement from the one Rob describes here:
All motor control is on the lefthand stick, with just the rudder on the right hand stick.
That way you can manoeuvre in tight spaces using the left to right movements of the throttle stick plus the rudder, or you can use the throttle and rudder normally for more general point to point travelling on the water. I quite like this setup :) I'm not over enamoured with rudder/throttle mixers due to the fact that the mixer is 'always on' - Using the V-tail mixer with the throttle steer on the left stick gives you the choice of not using the mixer at all.
I would like rudder control and motor control to be independent from one-another. Even if the boat won't crab very well, I'd like to be able to play with it and figure it out as best I can.
OK, so here's what I IMAGINE happens with Rob's arrangement. For the moment, we'll ignore the rudder position, since it's independent.
[throttle stick position]: [result]
centered: all stop
forward: all forward
back: all reverse
right: port forward, starboard reverse
left: starboard forward, port reverse
(ok, here's where it gets tricky...)
forward & right: port engine forward, starboard engine stop
forward & left: starboard engine forward, port engine stop
(and now the really tricky part...)
backward & right: starboard engine reverse, port engine stop. Boat reverses and nose turns right.
(OR...)
backward & right: port engine reverse, starboard engine stop
Let's line these up as if we had the stick all the way to the right and were sweeping it from forward to back...just to see if one makes more sense than the other. Either could be perfectly intuitive, once you got the hang of it.
The "Right Means Right!" model:
forward & right: port engine forward, starboard engine stop
right: port forward, starboard reverse
backward & right: starboard engine reverse, port engine stop. Boat reverses and nose turns right.
(OR...)
The "Just Like A Rudder" model:
forward & right: port engine forward, starboard engine stop
right: port forward, starboard reverse
backward & right: port engine reverse, starboard engine stop
"Just Like A Rudder" model seems attractive, but the port engine has to go from full forward to full reverse within a very short throw space. I doubt a simple mixer does this. After giving it some thought, I wonder if "Right Means Right" isn't the behavior you actually get, Rob?
OK, better get to work on something lucrative to pay for the computer radio I'll need to do what I want...