If you grew up playing Galaga, Sega Genesis or XBox, you will feel very comfortable boating with the Yamaha Helm Master EX digital outboard helm control.
The Helm Master EX integrates with modern Yamaha digital four-stroke outboard motors down to 150 horsepower. It includes electronic keyless ignition, with a fob that locks all of the boat's electronics when not in use. The helm control automates most steering and throttle functions, allowing a boat captain to concentrate on actually managing the boat and its passengers.
The system's signature feature is a joystick control that enables a captain to maneuver a boat with subtle micro adjustments that were previously not possible with an outboard motor. It is available with Yamaha digital outboards from 150-300 hp. It can be used with single outboards or with multiple outboard setups containing up to five motors.
Ry Landry, product education manager for Yamaha Motor Corporation, recently demonstrated the Helm Master EX on Dixon Lake near Gaylord, Mich. Landry acknowledged that the system is the latest advancement in an evolution that began with the Pinpoint Trolling Motor in 1995.
"It's been a long road to get outboards to do what trolling motors can currently do, but we've finally gotten to the point where some of those very specific trolling motor features have become integrated into this control system," Landry said.
It also clusters multiple features into a single unit, eliminating the piecemeal arrangement that boaters traditionally use in their control systems.
"It used to be we hung an outboard on a boat. Somebody put a control on it, and I bought a trolling motor," Landry said.
If there was a problem with any component, the boater had to know which provider in the chain was responsible.
"Was it the the boat builder? The motor manufacturer?" Landry asked. "Where do they go to when they have a bunch of different bits and pieces from different manufacturers? Now, Yamaha now provides a complete package system that has all those different capabilities in one thing. It works out of the box. If there are any issues or concerns, there's one party that's responsible."
Electronic steering is a noticeable improvement. It contains no cables, eliminating one source of a potentially catastrophic malfunction. It also eliminates a hydraulic pump to run a hydraulic steering system. In turn, that eliminates a constant power drain on batteries and also eliminates hydraulic fluid, reducing weight by as much as 20 pounds.
It takes six or seven complete wheel revolutions from lock to lock to turn a motor from full starboard to full port, and vice-versa. If you're trying to dock a boat or retrieve a skier, you also have to continually engage and disengage the throttle to maneuver a boat.
"If you're docking this boat, especially in the case of a new boat owner, there's a lot of arm movement as I'm shuttling the throttle and moving the wheel," Landry said. "Now, you can do variable lock-to-lock."
Below 1,500 rpm, it takes only four turns to go lock to lock. Below 2,500 rpm, it takes five turns, and six turns below 3,000 rpm.
"You can see how much faster the wheel is when I have four turns," Landry said. "It increases the maneuverability of the boat, but more important, it decreases the stress on the operator because when I'm docking boat, I don't have to work as hard to get the boat positioned the way I want."
On the water, you can program the outboard motor to orient to a single GPS coordinate with a feature called FishPoint. It automatically engages and disengages the throttle to anchor to a spot. That relieves the captain of that hassle and enables him to tend to other duties, such as managing anglers and their lines, especially if one or more is fighting a fish.
Another feature, DriftPoint, allows the outboard to maintain a heading at a desired speed determined by the captain. If you want to troll 2.5 mph into a 10-mph headwind, the motor will automatically take itself in and out of gear and accelerate accordingly to maintain that speed while staying on course.
If you want to troll 2.5 mph with a 10-mph tailwind, the motor will maintain speed and course by taking itself in and out of reverse.
"When all I had was manual controls, I was controlling this while my buddies fished," Landry said. "With this, I'm paying more attention to the surroundings, more attention to where the boat is actually going. I'm not watching my sonar. I'm paying attention to lines out and seeing who has fish on so others can get their lines in instead of operating the boat."
A third feature -- StayPoint -- maintains position and heading. It will keep you within 10 feet of your mark in a 75-foot circle. This is useful while waiting to enter a lock or maintaining position in a line at a fueling dock.
All of these features link to the joystick, which allows the captain to adjust the motor in micro-adjustments for thrust vectoring. You can maneuver even a big boat more nimbly than ever was possible with only manual controls. I did it myself, with a big Skeeter boat powered by a 300-horsepower outboard. I also used the joystick to run several laps around the lake.
Bass tournament anglers are probably not going to be interested in Helm Master EX, Landry said, because their trolling motors provide all these features. Their outboards serve to get them to the next place to employ their trolling motors.
This is more a feature for crappie anglers, striper anglers and walleye anglers, and even more so for striper guides, walleye guides and crappie guides. It's also a very attractive feature for recreational boaters because it enables a captain to enjoy his or her boating experience instead of wrangling a boat.
Helm Master EX costs $9,000 with a specially paired motor. Landry said that 160 boat builders offer the product as original equipment. Landry said that MSRP for Helm Master EX is $9,000, which he said is comparable to the total cost of comparable piecemeal add-ons to other motors, such as electronic controls and autopilot. The difference is that no other outboard manufacturer offers a joystick control.
From my brief experience, it is worth having.