Joystick Piloting – true joy for outboard owners

by Jonathan Revitt on 9 Jul 2013 Mercury Marine can now offer outboard owners the ultimate – joystick piloting.

Providing drivers with 360-degree movement at their fingertips, joystick piloting takes the stress out of docking, manoeuvring in tight spaces, and operating in choppy and windy conditions.

The joystick’s intuitive design lets anyone, from experienced captains to novice boaters, handle large boats with ease and confidence.

Requiring only one hand, the joystick is not only easier to use than traditional bow thrusters, it’s significantly quieter.

Designed for boats with dual, triple or quad outboard rigs, Mercury’s new joystick systems can move the vessel in any direction – including sideways, diagonally or spinning on its own axis – with a simple touch of the joystick.

Such manoeuverability is possible because the system steers the engines independently of each other.

But that’s only one part of the story.

Mercury technology provides a range of additional advanced features, which ensure Mercury’s joystick piloting system is the industry leader. These include the Skyhook virtual anchor, VesselView engine information display, and an integrated autopilot system.

Skyhook pinpoints the boat’s position via GPS then controls the engines to maintain the boat’s position and heading. It’s ideal for staying over a favourite fishing spot, or when you have to wait to dock or refuel.

Two other features, Auto Heading and Waypoint Sequencing make navigating to a final destination simple.

With a built-in digital compass, Auto Heading allows the captain to maintain course and make precise corrections with the touch of a finger. If the journey requires multiple stops, then Waypoint Sequencing allows the operator to plot the boat’s course fast and efficiently.

Mercury’s joystick piloting system also comes with a redesigned VesselView information display, which provides up-to-date information for more than 30 engine parameters, including fuel level and range, oil temperature and pressure, water depth and more.

Joystick Piloting for Outboards is a natural extension of Mercury’s industry leading technology. Five years ago Mercury brought joystick control first to pod drives with Zeus, then to sterndrives with Axis joystick and now to outboards.

The latest joystick control system can be installed on boats powered by two to four Mercury FourStroke Verado 250 or 300hp engines and is ideally suited to boats at least 7.6 metres in length.

For more information, contact your nearest Mercury dealer, who can be found at www.mercurymarine.com.au