72 AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2019 | International Boat Industry ibinews.com
TECHNICAL
SECTOR SPOTLIGHT | STEERING & TRANSMISSION
MACHINERY IN EVERY APPLICATION is
becoming smarter, more fuel efficient and
easier to use, and steering and transmission
systems are no exception. At this year’s
round of Autumn boat and trade shows,
visitors will have a feast of new systems
available to make their boats even easier
to handle.
Whether the application is leisure,
commercial or sub-sea, in recent years
there have been a number of significant
developments to convert more energy
into thrust – especially for precision
manoeuvres. Not only are gearboxes,
propellers and rudders being improved in
themselves, but also in the way they are
used. Thanks to advances in positional
electronics, boats can be easily controlled
by simple joystick or handed over to a
computer for auto-docking. Whilst somemay think this takes some of the fun out of
boating, others believe it greatly increases
safety and opens the pastime up to a whole
new audience.
Many of the innovations IBI has
witnessed have filtered down from the
merchant marine, defence and energy
sectors, where there is a constant crusade
to cut costs, particularly when it comes
to fuel consumption and maintenance
stops. Companies are at pains to maximise
efficiency at the propeller, whilst the
big move towards electric and fully-
autonomous ships has focussed research
on steerable pods and long-range batteries.
Some relatively simple modifications to a
ship’s stern gear, for example, can return
energy savings of up to 20%, paying back
the investment within a few months of
service.
For the leisure sector, a greater use
of electric steering and a quantum leap
in sensor technology has allowed for
autodocking systems that not only sense
the boats position, but also cross-check
visually between land and water using 3D
cameras. Propulsion and steering are also
merging in the form of an increasing range
of steerable pods, all of which add greatly to
precision manoeuvres by computer.STEERING &
TRANSMISSION
WITH A HUGE RISE IN THE
POPULARITY OF STEER-BY-WIRE,
DIRECTIONAL PODS AND THE
ARRIVAL OF ALL-ELECTRIC ENGINE
ROOMS, WE LOOK AT THE MOST
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE
DRIVE TRAIN, INCLUDING THE
ABILITY TO AUTO-DOCK
WORDS: JAKE KAVANAGH Automatic docking has arrived, as
demonstrated on this 68ft Azimut equipped by
Volvo Penta. The systems are now being refined
as part of Volvo’s ‘easy boating’ philosophy
ready for a first phase launch in 2020 Joystick controls, as seen here with
Mercury Marine’s Skyhook-equipped version,
are now available for nearly all types of
steerable propulsion, including large outboards