Mercury Marine adds joystick technology for inboards

Soundings TradeOnlyToday Magazine

Mercury Marine today announced the launch of Joystick Piloting for Inboards on single-engine tow sport boats.

Mercury said the joystick technology allows the engine to work with bow and stern thrusters to provide vessel control. The system is designed to work with the tow sports variants of Mercury’s new purpose-built marine inboard and sterndrive engines.

Mercury released a video showing dealers and consumers discussing the new technology:

“The migration of our joystick technology, specifically Joystick Piloting for Inboards, is intended to disrupt a segment of the market that has never seen this technology before,” David Foulkes, Mercury Marine vice president of product development, engineering and racing and Brunswick Corp. chief technology officer, said in a statement.

“This is the latest in our evolution of our Joystick Piloting system, which began in 2007 and continues to evolve, much to the delight of boaters around the world.”

Mercury’s new Joystick Piloting for Inboards brings the boat package in line with the latest vessel control technology. Boaters also will have the ability to execute a “power turn” to quickly turn around to pick up a tow sports rider.

Mercury also updated its Smart Tow to accommodate the lower speeds that wake surfers require. This feature allows tow sports boaters to choose a preset launch profile and cruise speed, providing a consistent, perfect ride for the wake surfer or wake boarder.

“We have done extensive testing and VOC with consumers, OEMs and dealers, and the feedback has been universal — this product is exactly what the tow sports market needed,” Foulkes said. “We expanded on our award-winning Joystick Piloting platform and created a product that we feel will greatly enhance the tow sports experience.”

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/ca/

Originally published here.