The Yamaha Marine U.S. Business Unit took five journalists off-site from the Discover Boating Miami International Boat Show to demonstrate its prototype automated docking system, DockPoint.
“It’s an aid to help the boater,” said new product introduction manager Dan Meeler. Once a skipper is confident about docking, the theory is that he or she will stay in boating and hopefully move up to a bigger boat.
Developed at Yamaha’s new Marine Innovation Center in Kennesaw, Ga., DockPoint uses GPS coordinates and inertial navigation software with data-roaming technology. The skipper programs an initial GPS coordinate and labels it on the plotter. When DockPoint is deployed, it uses a midpoint between the dock and the boat’s location to determine the approach the dock.
The system can store up to 100 locations.
When the boat enters a 10-meter-diameter “circle of trust,” the system takes over and moves the boat into a slip or alongside a dock. DockPoint was demonstrated with a Grady-White Canyon 336 center console with twin Yamaha 450-hp XTO Offshore outboards.
DockPoint will be available in spring of 2024. Retail pricing hasn’t been released.
