This new revolutionary joystick docking system avoids stress and increases enjoyment when driving a boat

Next generation of marine automation: New Revolutionary Joystick Docking for Single Diesel Sterndrive. It makes docking so much easier. Everyone should experience this.

It allows you to defy the elements by removing the dynamics of wind and current, as well as maneuver in tight spaces, enabling safe and easy boat docking in challenging conditions. The new assisted Docking system enhances your control as captain. From moving in straight lines without manual compensation, to rotating around a fixed point – docking your boat is now easier than ever before.

Volvo Penta releases a revolutionary joystick docking system for single diesel Aquamatic sterndrive installations – integrating steering, bow thruster, gear and engine speed into one easy-to-use joystick control. The company is the first in the industry to integrate the steering of the diesel sterndrive with the control of the bow thruster on a single engine installation.

Docking a boat can be stressful. Now, similar to the joystick control found on larger multi-engine-installation vessels, easy single-hand control is available for smaller single-diesel-engine boats with Volvo Penta Aquamatic sterndrive installations. The captain simply presses the Docking button on the base of the joystick control, and boat maneuvering features – steering, gear control, bow thruster, throttle – are controlled easily with just one hand.

“By combining multiple tasks into one easy-to-use system, we’ve made it easy for people to avoid mistakes,” explains Jonas Welinder, product planner for marine electronics. “Captains have commented on how they’ve gained confidence from this new level of control – especially in tight maneuvers, crowded harbors and strong currents. It’s simply more fun, relaxing and convenient to dock a boat using our Volvo Penta joystick control.”

One feature that makes the new system easy to use is the turn function on the joystick: you simply adjust the boat’s joystick control in the direction you want the boat to move, instead of having to consider traditional factors like counter-intuitive drive direction, gear choice and hands-on actions with multiple controls. This is easy to learn fingertip control, compared to adjusting the steering wheel, gear lever and bow thruster controls independently, while monitoring the drive angle gauge, often all at the same time.

This new Volvo Penta Joystick Docking innovation offers the option to marry Joystick Control with the Volvo Penta Glass Cockpit system, which then integrates Volvo Penta Auto Pilot, all controlled with one joystick. This feature holds the boat’s speed and heading at the press of a button. The boat’s steering is then controlled easily and conveniently through the fingertip control of the Joystick.