When researching your options for finding the right boat throttle control, what do you consider? Engine compatibility? Price? A certain look for your boat’s console? There are more than a few aspects to think about, but with a critical piece of boating equipment like this, there are five key factors that differentiate between choosing the best or just choosing from the rest.
Get the Best Boat Throttle Control: The Top 5 Reasons to Run a Hot Foot
Consider These Factors When Choosing a Boat Throttle Control
They may not be as pricey as your engine or your electronics, but your boat throttle control is no small purchase either. Whether you’re ordering a new ride from the factory or upgrading an older model, consider the advice below to help you get the best throttle — one that you can enjoy the entire time you own your boat.
1. Safety Designs
If you are looking for the best safety features built into a boat throttle control, the Hot Foot is the original foot throttle that stands apart from all the other options. Unlike traditional hand lever throttles, safety is inherent in the Hot Foot’s design. The Hot Foot allows you to accelerate your boat just like your car and any time you cannot put pressure on the pedal, the boat decelerates. This provides an added bit of protection beyond your kill switch. It also keeps your hands free for extra steering control, adjusting your trim or jack plate position, and any other quick tasks where it can be helpful to have a hand.
2. Optimal Performance Features
Foot throttles also provide an advantage when it comes to your boat’s performance. They work well with most outboard and inboard engines and are a great performance booster to use with jack plates. In just about any application, they can provide a sizable improvement to your boat’s fuel efficiency and acceleration.
3. Materials, Reliability, and Reputation
There are all kinds of boat throttle control options on the market, but if you want the best and safest throttle you can get, it matters what the product is made of, it matters how it is known to perform, and it matters how committed the manufacturer is to the end-user.
With the Hot Foot setting the standard for how foot throttles are made, along with how they are improved for better safety and performance along the way, there’s good reason why you’ll see them used by so many boaters and anglers (including most professional anglers). They know they can rely on the product as it’s built with durable materials like cast aluminum, stainless steel, and teflon. They also know they can rely on T-H Marine because we fish and boat and want the same quality out of our products as our customers do. It’s why we developed the original Hot Foot in 1977!
4. Ease of Use
Though we recommend professional installation for foot throttles and any performance part that directly affects your safety, using the Hot Foot is easy. Simply push down to accelerate and ease up on the pedal to slow back down to idle. You’ll still need to hand shift to your reverse gear and back to idle, just like a car, but a foot pedal makes it easier than ever before to go fast, make adjustments to get optimal performance, and slow back down when you need to.
And, for an even easier time using your throttle, the Hot Foot also has accessories for access and comfort.
5. Accessories and Special Features
Boating in rough water that can bounce you around? The Hot Foot has a toe clip that can help keep your foot’s position on the pedal.
Need to accommodate different drivers or driving conditions? The Hot Foot Slide Mount gives you over 5” of adjustability, safely secured while also easy to use with its quick release pin.
Do you like to go barefoot boating sometimes? Try T-H Marine’s Chill Trax pad for a stylish, comfortable, and useful extra bit of traction for your foot.
With each accessory and feature, we’ve built in something better for our experience and yours.
Accelerate Your Boating Experience
From safety to performance and comfort, the Hot Foot is built and accessorized to be the best throttle you have or ever will have in your boat. In fact, if you’ve never driven with one before, it may be hard to go back.
