Sierra RK19100 DPDT Rocker Switch 12V 20A Illuminated

The Sierra RK19100 is a marine-grade rocker switch built for the jobs where you need to run a motor in both directions from one switch. It's a double pole double throw setup wired on-off-on, and the action is momentary, so it springs back to the center off position the moment you take your finger off it. That's exactly the behavior you want for jog control. Trim tabs, a windlass, a jack plate, a power anchor. Anything where you tap up, tap down, and don't want the circuit to latch on.

This one sits in the Contura XIV rocker format, so it drops into a standard rectangular panel cutout that a lot of marine helms are already set up for. The actuator is black with red illumination, which means you get a clean lit indicator at the dash after dark without blowing out your night vision. On a boat that runs before dawn or comes back in after sunset, a lit switch you can find by feel and by glow is worth more than it sounds.

Electrically, it's rated for 20 amps at 12 volts DC. That covers the vast majority of small reversing motor loads you'll wire on a typical outboard or I/O rig. The double pole double throw layout is what makes the reversing trick work. In plain terms, flipping the rocker one way sends power to the motor in one polarity, and flipping it the other way swaps the polarity, so the motor spins the opposite direction. Off in the middle cuts both poles. If you've ever wired a trim tab pump or a two-wire reversible motor, this is the switch that handles it cleanly.

We've wired plenty of these into helm panels over the years, and the install is straightforward if you respect a couple of things. Give yourself clean, tinned connections on the terminals, use heat shrink on every crimp, and keep your wire gauge sized to the run and the load. A 20 amp switch is only as good as the wire feeding it. Put a properly sized fuse or breaker on the feed side so the switch and the motor are both protected if anything ever shorts. It's cheap insurance and it saves the switch. And on a boat, corrosion is the enemy, so dielectric grease on the terminals goes a long way toward keeping the contacts happy season after season. Because the action is momentary, remember you have to hold it to keep the motor moving. Let go and it stops. That's the safety feature, not a bug, so nobody accidentally leaves a trim pump running.

Sierra builds this line to stand up to the marine environment. Salt, spray, vibration, and the general abuse a boat dishes out. Their parts are engineered to meet or beat the original equipment they replace, and Sierra supplies a lot of OEM engine builders and boat manufacturers, so the quality baseline is set for real-world duty rather than a bargain-bin panel switch. If you're replacing a tired reversing switch that's gotten mushy or stopped lighting up, or you're building a fresh panel and want a switch that matches the on-off-on momentary function, the RK19100 is a straight, sensible choice.

One thing to keep in mind. This is a momentary reversing switch, not a standard on-off toggle for lights or pumps that need to stay running. If you want a switch that latches on and stays there, this isn't the one. But for any two-direction motor job where you want jog control and a lit indicator, it does exactly what it's built to do. And if you're not sure whether your motor wants a momentary or a maintained switch, give us a shout before you wire it in. We'd rather help you get it right the first time.