Even for the most experienced captains, docking can be stressful. The best way to dock confidently and reduce stress is to have complete control of the yacht, to have clear visibility of your surroundings, and to be in the best position on your yacht to handle lines when needed.
That sounds like you need to be in three places at once, but not necessarily. With the Dockmate wireless remote control system you can easily operate the engines, bow and stern thrusters, PODs, and the anchor winch and horn from anywhere on board using a small handheld device.
With “plug-and-play” connectivity, Dockmate’s remote control allows you to maintain safe command of your yacht’s movement while you are away from the helm.
The result is a more confident, safer and less stressful docking experience, even when you are single-handed, as well as an easier way to set and recover your anchor from the bow or navigate through locks.
Using the included DockControl software, installers can make adjustments to the throttle RPMs in order to ensure improved response time and yacht handling to meet challenging conditions, such as in heavy wind or current.
If a yacht only has a single bow thruster, the DockControl software can be programmed to safely “walk the yacht” sideways by programming the engine transmissions and throttle combined with the bow thruster – just as if the yacht had a bow and stern thruster. Dockmate calls this unique feature the “Stern thruster simulator.”
In addition, if the yacht has two non-proportional bow and stern thrusters, another common configuration, one thruster is oftentimes more dominant than the other, resulting in greater difficulty with moving the yacht sideways and parallel to the dock.
DockControl has a solution for this scenario: the settings can be customized so that a slight press on the joystick only engages one thruster and a harder push engages both thrusters.
Regardless of the size or type of yacht and propulsion, or the number of engines, one thing that every captain understands is that docking is made more complex by the slight delay between engaging the throttle and the moment that the yacht begins to move.
Unlike cars, where there is no immediate burst of power when the gas pedal is pushed and the driver can ease into motion, yacht engines will fully engage immediately when put into gear.
Dockmate has solved this problem with their patented SoftDocking technology which has the ability to provide a measured and fully-customizable engine response, eliminating the difficult-to-predict ‘kick’ that captains often dread when maneuvering in close quarters.
Once SoftDocking is programmed by a certified Dockmate installer to the preferences of the yacht owner, a full push of the keypad button or the joystick will still engage the throttle for standard control; however, a quick tap will initiate a pre-programmed, customizable fraction-of-a-second burst of the propellor, similar to inching a car forward using the clutch.
This completely removes the ensuing stress of engaging the throttle into gear.
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