Coming soon - Automated Docking Assistance

[Davidasailor26]

I heard about this story from last week’s CES tech trade show - Volvo Penta launches Fully Integrated Assisted Docking System at CES 2021

In the Spring the system will be available for “motor yachts between 35 feet and 120 feet long”.

What do you think - Would you want to be able to point at a slip and have your boat dock automatically, without worrying about tides and currents? Would you be afraid of the failure modes?

 

[Phil Herring]

All I need is someone at the bow screaming at me, which should be cheap to manufacture.

But if it's more functional than that, yeah, I'd try it. It's unlikely to be any worse than I am.

 

[jssailem]

I CAN NOT SEE USING SUCH A DEVICE ON MY 35 FT BOAT.
The the time comes that I can not dock my boat I'll hang up my skippers hat and take up RV'ing.
May I die with my hands on the helm and never have to become an RV'er.

 

[kloudie1]

I think Beany Toe has (had?) a system with joystick control as well.. It has a rotating saildrive (thrust vectoring) and a bow thruster that allows the operator to move the boat sideways even.. I don't think it incorporated the computer assist for putting the boat into the slip, but it did have a computer that decided how to achieve the joystick command..

 

[31seahorse]

The sarcastic response to the original question would be......"Sure, I would love to have a self-docking system! Self-driving cars work so flawlessly." Fortunately, none of us on the SBO site are ever that sarcastic.

 

[Ron20324]

May I die with my hands on the helm and never have to become an RV'er.

We can arrange that ! Next Friday good with you???

 

[RoyS]

I bought a car with self parking. Works way better than me. Lots of fun parallel parking on a busy street with people tailgating, honking and swearing at me as I hold my hands up where they can see them as the car flawlessly backs into a tight space in front of the liquor store.

 

[ontherocks83]

I actually really enjoy docking so I'd much rather spend that money somewhere else and on the occasional circumstance that something doesn't go as smooth as I wanted, I use it as a learning situation and feel even better about docking next time.

 

[PaulK]

It is so totally cool that this system will be able to integrate both your port and starboard engines along with your bow and stern thrusters at the same time to get you in to the dock. What if you only have one engine and no thrusters? How does it know to start compensating for the three knots of current before it makes the turn? Do you tell it that you want to tie up in front of the 80' Feadship, or behind? Does it look out for kayakers getting in the way, or do you still have to do that yourself? Sounds a bit like forward-looking depth sounders -- great if you're going four knots into an unfamiliar lagoon, but not much use outside of certain specific situations.

 

[jon hansen]

my son-in-law bought a new tesla with all the self-driving features. let me take for a nice test drive, curvey road, .......

8 cameras and one radar. it is very very very cool. lives in Wisconsin. lot's of nerd-ball questions, like 'what do you do in the winter when there is slush?' DUH! you turn it off! and hand drive like every one else.
same with all these extreme examples mentioned here. you can always switch back to manual controls.
then you can crash into the dock all by yourself.
sailboats already have computer docking systems, and/or joysticks.

most of you guys love all those toys to help your boat sail. welcome to the new age. it's going to be fun to watch.

Me? i still going to keep aeolus operating in 66' fashion, it's part of the charm of campaigning that old vessel

except for sails, my sails are all new and crisp, not 66' vintage.

 

[jssailem]

I thought about this AUTO DOCKING SYSTEM.

It could be said that this feature exists already. Hire a boat captain to step to the helm and park your boat for you, while you sit back with a cold adult beverage and monitor the process.

For large boats there are "Pilots" who will board your craft out in the water. The pilot will guide the boat through the dangerous waters and slip it up to the dock, even assuring that the boat is properly secured then depart the boat leaving the Captain to deal with the rest of the duties.

If you're up here in the PacificNW, I am wondering if there is a new Gig Career available. It could be set up to schedule your "docking pilot" just like Lyft or Uber. We could board the boat outside the marina and take care of these difficult docking procedures.

 

[Davidasailor26]

If you're up here in the PacificNW, I am wondering if there is a new Gig Career available. It could be set up to schedule your "docking pilot" just like Lyft or Uber. We could board the boat outside the marina and take care of these difficult docking procedures.

Now that I like (from a service provider standpoint more than a consumer). Lots of times I’ve watched someone trying to dock unsuccessfully and thought “if only I could get on the boat and do that myself, it would be so much less painful than watching this”. Imagine getting paid for the privilege.

 

[WayneH]

I don't have problems docking my boat. It's UNdocking that sucks. I still haven't whipped prop walk into shape.

 

[capta]

That would take most of the fun out of boating. I love to dock boats. In South America, the pilot would just point to my wharf and I'd get to dock my freighter myself. Not so in the US, the pilot even used tugs when they weren't needed.

 

[HEINZIR]

I saw a bass boat zoom up to the dock at the launch ramp this summer. He engaged his trolling motor when close. Didn't tie up, just stopped along side about 2 feet away from the dock. He got off the boat and walked up to get his truck and trailer which were some distance away, across the parking lot. The boat stayed parked where it was for the 10+ minutes he was gone in spite of a decent breeze and lots of power boat wakes. I was dumbfounded! Figured it was some new-fangled GPS positioning system built into his electric trolling motor. ???

 

[ontherocks83]

I saw a bass boat zoom up to the dock at the launch ramp this summer. He engaged his trolling motor when close. Didn't tie up, just stopped along side about 2 feet away from the dock. He got off the boat and walked up to get his truck and trailer which were some distance away, across the parking lot. The boat stayed parked where it was for the 10+ minutes he was gone in spite of a decent breeze and lots of power boat wakes. I was dumbfounded! Figured it was some new-fangled GPS positioning system built into his electric trolling motor. ???

I've heard of high end boats having a "sky hook" feature, but that's the first I heard on a bass boat

 

[jssailem]

Probably a regulation capta. Just to spoil all the fun.

 

[chasfrank]

I'm of the group for self parking cars and automatic trailer backing............if I can't do it, time to quit driving. Feel the same about auto parking boats. There's enough of 'em out there that can't "drive" a boat, don't need any more .......

 

[Hunter216]

I saw a bass boat zoom up to the dock at the launch ramp this summer. He engaged his trolling motor when close. Didn't tie up, just stopped along side about 2 feet away from the dock. He got off the boat and walked up to get his truck and trailer which were some distance away, across the parking lot. The boat stayed parked where it was for the 10+ minutes he was gone in spite of a decent breeze and lots of power boat wakes. I was dumbfounded! Figured it was some new-fangled GPS positioning system built into his electric trolling motor. ???

The bass boat might have just used their power poles. Basically a spud(s) that lower down to anchor the boat in shallow water.

 

[Hunter216]

I heard about this story from last week’s CES tech trade show - Volvo Penta launches Fully Integrated Assisted Docking System at CES 2021

In the Spring the system will be available for “motor yachts between 35 feet and 120 feet long”.

What do you think - Would you want to be able to point at a slip and have your boat dock automatically, without worrying about tides and currents? Would you be afraid of the failure modes?

The Volvo IPS drive units aren’t new tech. Basically a lower unit that can rotate so you can vector the thrust in any direction. This stuff has been used by commercial tugs, ferry’s etc. for decades.

The joystick control isn’t new either. That control device has been on heavy equipment for decades.

The control screen that lets you “see” where your going sounds a lot like the nav systems many sailors use on a regular basis.

Precise GPS positioning again used in commercial dredging, cable laying etc.

Volvo just put a bunch of common tech together.

The target market would seem to be wealthy people (based on the size range of the boats) new to boating and likely want a power boat not a sailing vessel. That wouldn’t be me but I would love to try one of these out!