Looking closely, the development of pleasure boating in recent years has been absolutely consistent, with the technological progress of boats developing according to the needs of new vessels and, in parallel, contemporary owners. For this reason, it does not surprise us at all to see more and more boaters who, in the berths of our Genoa marina, are now accustomed to mooring with a joystick. And no, we are not just talking about the largest boats. Here, not far from the superyacht moorings, smaller units also moor every day, and an increasing number boast a joystick to facilitate maneuvers in the spaces of marinas and ports. In our view, there are mainly three reasons that have made these controllers so widespread: first of all, the obvious technological evolution of pleasure boating, which follows and rides the wave of digitalization; secondly, the progressive growth in hull sizes, which in recent decades have become on average longer and wider, making mooring maneuvers more delicate; finally, the ever-decreasing time spent by owners at the helm, due to the fragmented use of the boat – the long vacations of the past are no more – and the reduction in overall time spent navigating. This also explains the desire for a little extra help from technology to arrive in port without stress. But what does mooring with a joystick actually mean? On which boats can this controller be mounted, and what are the concrete advantages?

A brief history of the joystick on boats

Mooring a pleasure boat with a joystick was pure fantasy until the very early 2000s. Those control levers were nothing more than video game controllers, and little else. However, someone in the nautical industry was already thinking about introducing these small control sticks to pleasure boating, starting with Volvo Penta and Cummins: we can state, however, that the actual commercialization of joysticks for mooring our boats began around 2010, driven mainly by Mercury and Yamaha. Today, for instance, all the major manufacturers of outboard motors offer the option of controller steering, particularly for the larger engines.

In the beginning, the joystick was therefore introduced on IPS, pod drives, and obviously on outboards, and more specifically on twin and triple engine setups. This allowed for a small but significant revolution: while the two, three, or four engines at the stern of a boat are usually linked by a single tie bar that restricts their movements, with a digital controller it is possible to operate each engine individually and differently. It then becomes possible to set different steering angles, apply more or less power from a single engine, and so on. This is practically impossible with a traditional helm, but very easy when relying on a joystick, and especially with an underlying system ready to translate every minimal movement into autonomous but perfectly coordinated engine actions.

And that was only the beginning. From outboard motor controllers, we moved to those for bow thrusters, to moor with a joystick with even greater ease, relying on controlled lateral movement. Finally, joysticks were also introduced for single-engine boats, even for those that do not have an outboard at the stern.

Today, it is indeed possible to mount joysticks on almost any propulsion configuration. But how does a boat’s joystick actually work?

How the boat controller typically works

Those who have never tried mooring with a joystick might struggle to understand how a simple lever can replace the typical work of the helm. Stripping away everything that often surrounds this controller – from cameras to automatic mooring systems – it might be enough to say that every movement of the joystick is reflected in a consistent movement of the boat. No interpretation necessary, no counter-intuitive moves: I push forward, the boat moves forward; I push back, the boat moves backward; I rotate the lever, the boat rotates on its axis; I move the lever sideways, the boat moves laterally, without moving forward or backward. In short, embarrassing moments among the marina berths seem like memories of the past, even for those without great expertise, and even for those dealing with a small crew or less than optimal visibility.

Mooring with a joystick: the advantages

Let’s now look at the main advantages of mooring with a joystick: it is certainly no coincidence that this lever is appearing – as standard or as an option – on the dashboards of many vessels of all sizes:

• More precise maneuvers in port, even in tight spaces;
• When paired with multiple engines or bow thrusters, the joystick allows for maneuvers that would otherwise be impossible;
• Mooring with a joystick allows for the great simplification of mooring operations, to minimize stress and risks to the boat;
• The learning curve for a beginner is much shorter when relying on this type of controller;
• The joystick represents the fundamental interface for taking advantage of a long series of interesting functions for the boater, thanks to systems that integrate GPS and sensors.

Not just in the berth: other interesting functions

There is no doubt: slow and precise navigation has never been so easy and accessible. Mooring with a joystick becomes simple and safe, especially when this controller is accompanied by other interesting technologies. Consider maneuvers in port with motor cruisers, where visibility from the bridge is not the best: combining the use of the controller with images from a 360-degree camera system allows for the elimination of any blind spots. On larger boats, it is also possible to implement systems that largely automate mooring, thanks to the teamwork between cameras, sensors, and AI algorithms.

It is also worth remembering that the slow, easy, and precise navigation of digital controllers is not only useful for mooring in marinas: the joystick also becomes useful for setting virtual anchorages in the anchorage, or for setting slow speeds for fishing, and so on.