NAVIGATION
Mel BartlettPRODUCTS
Nick BurnhamThe latest marine engines and innovations
newtech
The Evinrude iDock halves the cost of joystick control
Joy division
Evinrude is the latest outboard engine
manufacturer to jump on the joystick
bandwagon, but just like its innovative
range of G2 engines, the new iDock
system is no mere copycat solution.
In essence, it offers the same core
benefit of simplifying berthing
manoeuvres by allowing the
helmsperson to simply point or twist
the joystick in the direction they want
to go and letting the computer take
care of the steering and throttle
inputs. However, by simplifying bothMY TAKE The increasing popularity of
big twin outboard-powered craft like
the Axopar 37, Chris-Craft Calypso and
Fjord 36 xpress means the iDock might
have arrived at the perfect moment. Hugosteer each engine
independently
(often in completely
opposite directions) is
the key to making a boat
move sideways, this instantly
makes the whole process a great deal
simpler and cheaper than having
to re-engineer a conventional twin-
engined setup with two separate
steering rams. In fact, the boat
manufacturer shouldn’t have to
change the steering setup at all
because it’s designed to work with
a conventional hydraulic helm rather
than the all-electronic fly-by-wire
helms, which most joystick systems
require. Evinrude claims this provides
a higher degree of redundancy as
the steering would continue to work
in the event of an electronic failure.the hardware and software, it can offer
the same basic functionality at a far
lower price point than its Mercury,
Yamaha and Suzuki/Optimus rivals- the RRP for the new iDock system
is just £5,995 compared to more
than £10,000 for its competitors.
The key to this simplification
process began with the launch of the
new G2 generation of Evinrude E-Tec
engines back in 2014. Until then, all
outboard engines relied on a hydraulic
steering ram fitted
to the transom to
push and pull the
engines around a pivot
point. On twin-engine
setups, a tie bar linked the two
motors together so that they could
still be controlled by a single hydraulic
steering ram.KEEP IT SIMPlE
The new generation of Evinrude G2
engines ditches this setup in favour
of compact in-built helical steering
gears. Not only does this make for
a neater, cleaner design without
the need for an external ram, but
it also means that every G2 engine
already has its own in-built steering
mechanism for the joystick system
to tap into. Given that the ability toEvinrude claims its new
iDock is the simplest,
cheapest and most intuitive
joystick on the market82