Mercury Joystick Piloting for Single-Outboard Pontoons

Large, single-engine pontoon boats rank as one of the most difficult craft to maneuver at slow speeds, thanks to their shallow draft and excessive windage. Mercury’s Joystick Piloting for Outboards (JPO) for single-engine pontoons can ease the angst.
The system uses bow-and-stern-steerable electric thruster motors along with the outboard to provide 360-degree joystick control. It’s available on new pontoons powered by 175 to 600 hp Mercury outboards with Digital Throttle and Shift (DTS). Move the joystick to propel the boat in any direction. When not in use, the stern motor retracts into a pod. The bow motor tilts up into a high-strength bracket.

JPO for pontoons comes in two versions: basic, for Mercury FourStroke, Pro XS and SeaPro outboards; and premium, designed for Mercury Verados. Premium also includes an integrated digital compass, which, when combined with a Mercury VesselView display, enables the Auto Heading features to maintain the boat’s course while underway. Premium can also navigate to a waypoint on a compatible chart plotter. Mercury expects some builders to offer the system soon at costs from $16,000 to $20,000.
Share
Most Popular

The NFTs Are Coming

Hydrogen and Hydrofoils

Behind the Scenes with Garmin

Use Satellite Data to Catch More Fish

App-Based Boat Monitoring Systems
From Our Partners
Related Posts

The NFTs Are Coming
How this virtual tech might work in boating.

Hydrogen and Hydrofoils
An America’s Cup chase boat combines hydrogen-electric power with hydrofoils.

Behind the Scenes with Garmin
Take an inside look at how Garmin turns ideas into tech.

Use Satellite Data to Catch More Fish
Satellite data saves you time and fuel getting to productive water.