Steering Without a Wheel

Most high-tech, “smart” steering systems rely on hydraulics, but Volvo Penta has come up with something different: Fully electric steering, part of the company’s inboard joystick system. It arises from the same technology that animates IPS drives. According to a Volvo Penta engineer, the system uses electric-motor-driven actuators to turn the rudders, rather than hydraulic cylinders. Electric steering lets the user adjust both steering-wheel friction and the number of turns lock-to-lock. Or the wheel can be dispensed with completely, and all steering done by joystick. In docking mode, the system controls the rudders and the bow thruster simultaneously to provide precise helm response.

In some installations, depending on vessel size and rudder loads, one steering actuator can be linked to two rudders via a conventional tie bar arrangement. Larger vessels with higher steering loads use one actuator per rudder; there’s no tie bar, but the actuators are synced electronically to ensure the rudder turn rate is consistent from actuator to actuator. The twin actuators turn at the same rate and at the same angle as if a mechanical tie bar linked them together. They do not replicate an “Ackermann” steering system and cannot be toed-in or adjusted on the fly.

All-electric systems have advantages: There’s no hydraulic oil to top-up, and no high-pressure oil lines to leak. And what’s cooler than to sit at the helm with one hand on the joystick, the other on the engine controls, and drive the boat with minimal movements of each paw? It’s totally 21st century and is perhaps the direction steering will be moving in the future.