{"id":6153,"date":"2025-03-14T10:01:01","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T10:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=6153"},"modified":"2025-03-14T10:01:01","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T10:01:01","slug":"mercury-joystick-steering-for-single-engine-vessels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/?p=6153","title":{"rendered":"Mercury Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    Mercury Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels<br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><br \/>\n    <!-- no image --><br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><\/p>\n<div>\n<section class=\"hydra-container\">\n<div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-1-1024x768.jpg?resize=800%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"hydra-image disable-lazyload\" alt=\"Highfield Boats RIB on the water\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-1-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-1-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-1-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-1-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-1.jpg 2000w\">                <\/div><figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Single-engine boats, especially lighter, shallower  types such as RIBs and pontoons, will benefit from joystick maneuverability.<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Courtesy Highfield Boats<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/section>\n<p><iframe id=\"wxuzj5efbz\" src=\"https:\/\/boatingmag.dragonforms.com\/wxuzj5efbz\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:165px;border:none;overflow:hidden;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The new Mercury Marine \u00adjoystick control for a single outboard puts throttle, shifting and steering control in the palm of your hand. Many captains will find that the joystick makes it easier to handle a single-engine boat in tight quarters. Full-lock steering response is realized with a quick turn of the joystick rather than with multiple turns of the wheel, and shifting from forward to reverse is just as quick. The joystick \u00adsimplifies boathandling, matching the functionality of the Yamaha Helm Master EX single-engine system introduced in 2021.<\/p>\n<p>We tested the single-engine joystick aboard a Highfield Sport 700 RIB powered by a \u00adMercury Verado 250 outboard. A lightweight RIB is easily pushed around by wind and current, and thus is a perfect application for the joystick. The same could be said for a pontoon. Tilt the knob forward or back for forward or reverse thrust, and twist it left or right to steer the outboard. The bow of the vessel always follows the direction of the joystick rotation, whether forward or reverse thrust is selected. The joystick is proportional, which means that the farther from the center the joystick is moved, the more thrust is applied. The system is programmed to limit thrust through the joystick, which makes it less likely you\u2019ll dial up too much thrust\u2014we\u2019ve all seen that \u00adhappen around the dock.<\/p>\n<p>Learning to use this control takes some practice. Experienced captains will instinctively reach for the wheel. But once you develop new muscle memory, control becomes instinctive. This joystick also offers some \u00adautopilot functions if the boat is rigged with a compatible MFD and a Mercury GPS\/IMU. The single-engine joystick is compatible only with Mercury Verado and Sea Pro V-8, V-10 and V-12 engine models equipped with Mercury electric power steering. It can be retrofit, but our Merc rep suggests that the ideal time for installation is during a repower, when all the required components can be ordered together. Vessels equipped with electric steering can add the single-engine joystick for about $2,500, and autopilot for an \u00adadditional $3,000. Note that these features are not mutually exclusive. If the vessel has electric steering, AutoPilot can be installed without the joystick, and vice versa.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Next:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/boats\/mercury-joystick-piloting-for-pontoons\/\">Mercury Joystick Piloting for Pontoons<\/a><\/p>\n<section class=\"hydra-container\">\n<div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-2-1024x768.jpg?resize=800%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Mercury Marine Joystick for Single-Engine Boats\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-2-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-2-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-2-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-2-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/uploads\/2025\/02\/BTG225-MHD-Mercury-Joystick-2.jpg 2000w\">                <\/div><figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">SmartCraft OS updates add new features.<\/span><br \/>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Courtesy Mercury Marine<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SmartCraft OS Joystick Update Available <\/h2>\n<p>Mercury Marine recently released a SmartCraft software update that gives multiengine joystick piloting new capabilities. Closed-loop velocity control will automatically adjust throttle and steering if wind or current causes the boat to drift off course during joystick \u00admaneuvers, reducing unwanted fore-aft drifting by up to 74 percent. Speed-based joystick \u00adoperation replaces the previous rpm-based system. The joystick input translates to \u00adactual speed over ground, and if the boat encounters a force such as a headwind or tailwind, the system will automatically increase or decrease throttle to maintain the captain\u2019s desired speed. For V-12 engines, the software update enables slip control, which allows the transmission to slip up to 90 percent to reduce propeller rpm and more accurately control the boat\u2019s movements. The software update is available for boats that currently have multiengine joystick piloting and next-gen digital throttle and shift controls. See a Mercury dealer for details.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/boats\/mercury-joystick-steering-for-single-engine-vessels\/\">Mercury Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/\">Boating Mag<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> \t<BR><br \/>\n <BR><\/BR><br \/>\n    Charles Plueddeman<br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n<BR><\/BR><br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/www.boatingmag.com\/boats\/mercury-joystick-steering-for-single-engine-vessels\/\">Go to boatingmag<\/a><br \/>\n \t<BR><br \/>\n <BR><\/BR><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mercury Joystick Steering for Single-Engine Vessels Single-engine boats, especially lighter, shallower types such as RIBs and pontoons, will benefit from joystick maneuverability. Courtesy Highfield Boats The new Mercury Marine \u00adjoystick control for a single outboard puts throttle, shifting and steering control in the palm of your hand. Many captains will find that the joystick makes [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126,148,584,2561,350,351,352],"tags":[127],"class_list":["post-6153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boatingmag","category-boats","category-docking","category-march-2025","category-mercury-marine","category-nextmarine","category-outboards","tag-boatingmag"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6153"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6153\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/krogragg.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}