Patent ID: 7096097

Claim:
A watercraft comprising: a hull defining an operator's area; and a network supported by the hull and connecting: an outboard motor supported by the hull and comprising an engine, a throttle valve configured to control a power output of the engine, an actuator configured to control movement of the throttle valve, an engine speed sensor configured to perform a function of detecting a speed of the engine and generating a signal indicative of the speed of the engine, and an outboard motor transceiver configured to transmit engine speed data from the outboard motor across the network and configured to receive throttle actuator control data for the outboard motor from the network; a remote control device disposed in the operator's area and remote from the outboard motor, the remote control device comprising a throttle lever and a sensor configured to perform a function of detecting a position of the throttle valve and generating a throttle position signal indicative of the position of the throttle lever, and a transceiver configured to transmit the throttle position data across the network, the remote control device also including a memory containing data indicating a correlation of a plurality of addresses on the network with the functions, respectively; and a display device disposed in the operator's area and being configured to perform a function of displaying indicia indicative of the engine speed of the engine, the display device comprising a transceiver configured to receive the engine speed data.