![]() An integrated electronic compass and dedicated GPS system can provide incredible joystick control with the addition of auto heading to maintain your heading with the push of a button, and waypoint tracking for multiple point-to-point autopilot when mated with an electronic chart plotter. Axius obviates any need for bow and stern thrusters in almost all conditions.įor even easier piloting, MerCruiser offers Axius Premier, which includes a control touch pad and VesselView LCD display. Because the two drive systems steer, shift and throttle independently, the joystick gives you the ultimate in control. ![]() The Joystick Control System makes manoeuvring and docking intuitive and stress-free. Perfect for dual sterndrive boat packages, the Axius system provides you with an incredible level of precise control. The following is a brief outline of what some of the companies are offering in the Joystick engine control market:Ĭatering for the sterndrive market, the MerCruiser Axius joystick puts throttle, shift, and steering right at your fingertips, coupled to MerCruiser’s Digital Throttle & Shift (DTS) system for amazing manoeuvrability and intuitive control. While the application of joystick steering for low speed manoeuvring was originally the reserve of larger diesel engines, it has since been adapted for sterndrives and more recently, outboards. In joysticks that are configured for rotation about the boat’s vertical axis, twisting the stick either counter-clockwise or clockwise signals rotation about the Z (vertical) axis. HamiltonJet and Ultra Jet were not to be left out and developed their own systems for jet propulsion.Ī joystick is generally configured so that moving the stick left or right signals movement along the X axis, and moving it forward (up) or back (down) signals movement along the Y axis. Quick to join were companies such as ZF in 2010, Caterpillar and Xenta and then more recently, Yamaha, Teleflex and Yacht Controller. It was a game changer and set the industry in motion for a whole new range of joystick suppliers. However all that was to change, when in 2008 ZF Marine released their JMS system. Volvo Penta and Cummins MerCruiser were in a position to take over the propulsion market in a big way so it was obvious that unless the other big engine manufacturers could find an alternative system, the day of the conventional shaft drive could have been numbered. ![]() ![]() In a shaft drive boat the gearbox(es) link(s) in with the rudder(s) and bow/stern thrusters to achieve a similar result.Īnother point to consider is that the performance of any joy-stick control system is heavily dependent on the sizing of the thrusters, and that careful consideration should be made when selecting traditional DC model electric thrusters as the thruster operational time is limited by the electric motors thermal capacity before over-heating and shutdown.Ĭhallenging berth spaces now become easily accessible and, by effectively combining direction and thrust, the joystick helps overcome the effects of wind and current. In a pod drive boat all the work is done with the two pod drives and the propellers. Twist the knob, and the boat spins on its own axis. The boat moves in the direction in which the joystick is moved. ![]() Push the joystick to port or starboard and your boat moves sideways. ![]()
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