Yachting USA – September 2019

96 YACHTINGSEPTEMBER2 019

as anchoring, retrieving a man overboard,

collecting crab traps or helping an angler

land a pelagic prize. “We purposefully

dialed back the rpm to a maximum of

30 percent of the engine’s capacity to keep

boaters from using it for other means.”

¶ Such authority settings can sometimes

be custom-confi gured, however, Berton

offers a cautionary note: “When you

start going 5 knots [in a marina], your

chances of accidents are high. The majority

of the time, you’re going less than 5 knots.”

¶ As with any crucial system, these

require yacht owners to set up a sea

trial to familiarize themselves and to

identify vessel-specifi c customizations.

For example, Sheehan says, Dock-

mate installers can dial down the bow

thruster rpm to match the vessel’s stern

thruster or modify the throttle governor.

¶ Overall, yacht owners can expect far less

stressful docking and easier close-quarters

maneuvering—and, potentially, the ability

to do short- or singlehanded cruising.

¶ “People can run their boat, and they

can tie it up by themselves,” Berton says.

“This allows them to enjoy boating without

grief, and it can be a marriage saver.”

SCREEN TIME

In addition to integrating

with vessel controls, Yacht

Controller systems are

compatible with Garmin

multi-function displays and

with Garmin’s OneHelm

integration system. Users can

engage and disengage the Yacht

Controller remotes from net-

worked Garmin screens

while controlling, for example,

the windlass and accessing

information including

speed, depth and heading.

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INSIGHTS> ELECTRONICS> Wireless Controllers

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STYLISH DATA

Anyone who cruises with Evinrude

outboards can bolster their helm’s look with

Nautilus 3.5 color screens ($550 to

$750), available with or without GPS. Preset

pages display engine metrics, and fuel

and fl uid levels, while mode selection lets

skippers adjust power steering and trim

assist. Various homepages show information

ranging from rpm to fuel consumption to

pressure levels. Evinrude, evinrude.com

SONAR-EQUIPPED

Garmin’s EchoMap Ultra multifunction

displays come in 10-inch ($1,600) and

12-inch ($2,800) screen sizes. Both models

have hybrid touchscreen/hard-key

user interfaces and are preloaded with

Garmin’s BlueChart g3 and LakeVu g3

cartography. For anglers, EchoMap Ultra

ships with a GT54UHD-TM transducer,

which delivers standard sonar, chirp sonar

and more. Garmin, garmin.com

WIRELESS JUICE

Scanstrut’s Rokk Wireless-Active ($150)

delivers waterproof, wireless charge-

ability to popular phones (including some

Apple and Samsung models). It has

a helm-mounted dock whose self-aligning

jaws grip and hold the phone as it

charges, through any nonmetallic case. For

safety, Scanstrut’s Rokk Wireless-Active

charging stations also sport a thermal cutoff

feature. Scanstrut, scanstrut.com

INSIGHTS> NEWELECTRONICS> by David Schmidt