Two products recently introduced by Mercury Marine — Active Trim and Mercury’s next-generation Joystick Piloting system — have been nominated for DAME Design Awards, the marine industry’s international design recognition for new marine equipment and accessories.
A total of 67 products have been nominated for DAME Awards, and winners will be announced November 15 at the Marine Equipment Trade Show (METS) in Amsterdam. Nominated products will be on display throughout METS from November 15-17, and winners are determined by a team of independently appointed judges.
The nominations follow recognition two weeks ago for two other Mercury products, VesselView Mobile Bluetooth module and app, and Electronic Steering Helm, which earned Innovations Awards at the International Boatbuilders Exhibition and Conference in Tampa, Florida.
Mercury’s next-generation Joystick Piloting System gives boaters more confidence when docking a boat or maneuvering at low speeds by providing 360-degree fingertip control over the boat’s steering and propulsion. Integrated Precision Pilot Pad functionality makes Joystick operation more intuitive. The new Joystick’s mode indicator indicates the route, heading and skyhook modes and shows how to change heading in 1- and 10-degree increments. A new LED light ring changes color to indicate status of Joystick operating mode. Enhanced reverse thrust for Mercury Verado outboards provides better control, and auto-calibrating IMU (Internal Measurement Unit)/GPS make the system easier to install.
Active Trim automatically trims outboard and sterndrive engines. It’s compatible with Mercury FourStroke outboards from 40 hp to 400 hp, two-stroke motors with SmartCraft and all gas and diesel MerCruiser sterndrives with SmartCraft.
The key to Mercury’s Active Trim is its exclusive and patented GPS-based control system. Mercury’s Active Trim controls the trim using boat speed and engine rpm. This approach avoids potential problems, such as engines trimming up instead of down if the propeller breaks loose in a hard turn. It also avoids issues with the engine trimming up too early or too late when the boat is getting on plane. Trim control on high-performance applications is also a benefit of the GPS-based system.
Finally, Active Trim has five selectable trim profiles that accommodate nearly any boat application. Simply run the boat and select the profile that is best suited for that application. These profiles allow an operator to further personalize Active Trim to his driving style and/or compensate for changes in boat load, operator preference and weather conditions, while maintaining full auto operation.
