Raymarine DockSense on MYB

[BruceK]

Clocked this video last night MYB released to youtube.

I very much like the fact that this system can be retrofitted to a joystick system. As we get older and shorthanded such a system could make a huge difference to both enjoyment and dare I say safety.

 

[jrudge]

It made me laugh.

So if you want to park right in the middle of a huge berth ( with no mooring sign!) then fine!

If there were another boat next to it one assumes it would have said no as the adjacent boat would be close. Likewise with med mooring there is often zero space along the sides. Also with med mooring if the engines are running to hold it It increases the odds of taking the bow line into the props.

In itself is it clever? Yes. I just cant see as described that it can work in the real world where the next boat is right next to you.

It is rather like self parking cars. If you live in the middle of nowhere and a happy that the car has to drive past the space too measure it before stopping and then reversing ( not a hope in London ) then fine, but give it a crowded high street and it simply does not work .

 

[Bouba]

Once the marinas get a sniff of this everybody’s berth is going to shrink in size.

 

[BruceK]

I cant comment on a Med scenario other than to say that doesn't particularly worry me as we dont Med berth. The Med is only a small part of the boating world after all. It is under development still but not so long ago driverless cars were considered a pipe dream and now a fast and arguable current technology. So to scoff at it being real world is a bit conservative imo ditto in vein being Med-centric. I think the tech holds great promise.

 

[BruceK]

Once the marinas get a sniff of this everybody’s berth is going to shrink in size.

Well, we'll all be Med berthing soon then and maybe Jrudge is correct after all

 

[rubberduck]

I can't think of many berths I've been in with 2m spare. Also my experience of boat holding station is patchy at best. It may end up being useful but for now I will keep the fenders.

If & when it is fine tuned I will be one of the 1st to order.

 

[BruceK]

I thought that much as well at first then saw that it can go down to 50cm. Then I noticed the commentator's hair in the wind. That boat held station remarkably well and I imagine a 50cm / 1/2 meter current capability is more than good enough and liable to improve. What's not to like? 50cm. That'll do me my fenders are 30 already :encouragement:

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

Mmm, we abandoned this kind of camera technology in my industry years ago because it was too susceptible to dirt flying around, getting on the camera lenses and disabling the system. Yes, the marine environment is possibly kinder but the lenses could still get caked with salt residue after a rough passage. Will the lenses still work? I have no idea. Also what happens if the camera detects somebody walking on an adjacent pontoon or an object hanging from the pontoon such as a fender? Can it distinguish between a pontoon/quay and an irrelevant object? Also does the system work in low light conditions or rain?

As with most of these technology solutions, they work fine in perfect conditions but in less than perfect conditions they may fail. But having said that, we used to know an elderly couple who gave up boating, much to their sadness, because the wife just couldnt handle lines and fenders any more so I can see this system helping people like that or disabled boaters. However, in the end, there is no substitute for knowing how to moor a boat using the throttles and wheel

 

[BruceK]

However, in the end, there is no substitute for knowing how to moor a boat using the throttles and wheel

Absolutely, no argument. What's appealing though is having to avoid climbing out the cockpit on narrow ledges to reach mid and bow cleats. If you have a boat that can hold station reasonably well, this will allow the second person both time, and if conditions allow to disembark the boat at an easier access point to handle the lines. Getting the boat into the dock is just icing to the cake.

 

[jrudge]

I cant comment on a Med scenario other than to say that doesn't particularly worry me as we dont Med berth. The Med is only a small part of the boating world after all. It is under development still but not so long ago driverless cars were considered a pipe dream and now a fast and arguable current technology. So to scoff at it being real world is a bit conservative imo ditto in vein being Med-centric. I think the tech holds great promise.

But self driving cars are not here and if you have a self parking car ( I have a Range Rover with it) you will see hat whilst in itself clever it does not actually work in the real world of traffic!

Re med boating being a small proportion. For Europe I would says it is the biggest slice by far of motor boats likely to be able to afford the tech. I used to be in La Rochelle. People used to point in awe at a 12m motor boat - it is nearly all sail boats or Merry Fishers!

So as I said clever in its own right - yes - but I cant see it in the real world as shown. If they were that confident it would have been shown in a normal size berth!

Is self mooring a good idea? If you have a joystick boat then probably as long as the cost is sensible. Bear in mind that self parking on a car I think cost an extra £250 so when it does not really work no one cares! I suspect this is big money. A load of special cameras etc.

I did actually talk to Rafiki once about this. His background is motor parts and his view was if you do anything like this use stock car components as they have been tested to death in all weathers.

 

[TonyR123]

we used to know an elderly couple who gave up boating, much to their sadness, because the wife just couldnt handle lines and fenders any more so I can see this system helping people like that or disabled boaters.

Just having the DPS should be sufficient, not the self parking. I use the DPS (or virtual anchor) when waiting say for fuel. Engage it, the boat stays in one place and I go and get a beer . Same can be said for mooring. I have put the boat in and engaged DPS and then gone round and done the ropes.

The self parking bit (like a car) I don't think I would ever use and I doubt it will really catch on unless a std fit. Last few cars have self park and never use them. Alot of the time spaces can be smaller than the boat so you squeeze in and push the boats aside. Not sure a self park boat could deal with this. Also would it allow you to moor up side on attached to another boat (as seems to be done frequently in the UK).

 

[julians]

We've got auto park on our car, it's mostly useless in the real world, clever but useless.

 

[Bouba]

There was a self parking system for boats that involved sensors dockside. But this system is a virtual bumper, so in effect it’s a DPS (virtue anchor) that can react to an ever moving world. So you can put it in place while you get a beer (non alcoholic ) and know that another boat can’t hit you. While I don’t like these things tested on berths so big you could go in sideways, at least it is on a normal sized boat and we don’t have to wait for the superyacht hand me down, which is the usual route for new technology

 

[jrudge]

It’s demonstration in a normal sized berth would counter many comments ( including mine ) on here.

I suspect they chose a maxi berth for a reason !

Mby read this so why not comment or head back, stick another boat next to it and do the same thing?

 

[petem]

Isn't there quite a big difference between being able to park and boat and having the skills to avoid hitting something else?

The former requires the understanding and use of the wind, currents, ground lines, etc.

The latter just requires some basic forward and aft power plus the relatively rudimentary skill of being able to move the boat sideways (see Jon Menzies excellent "How To" video).

 

[alandalus11]

Great system for preventing you hitting something within a certain distance of your boat and all the demo boat had to do was to reverse back into a berth so in my view no big deal there. From what I could see this system will not park your boat for you but just provides a virtual bumper. You will still need all the skill in manoeuvring your boat into a tight berth in windy conditions or against tide. I would be more interested in a system that at a push of a button steers my boat from 90 degrees to my berth and gets me in against all the elements and as yet I haven't seen anything like that.

 

[MBY editor]

It’s demonstration in a normal sized berth would counter many comments ( including mine ) on here.

I suspect they chose a maxi berth for a reason !

Mby read this so why not comment or head back, stick another boat next to it and do the same thing?

There's a more in depth article about this coming in the next issue of MBY but I'll give Jack a nudge and ask him to respond when he's back next week.

As I understand it you can set the virtual bumper to lower tolerances than 1m (I know Jack has tested it down to 50cm but it may go lower than that) so it should work fine in a tighter berth provided there it at least some kind of gap between you and the neighbouring boat.

You are right that it doesn't automatically drive the boat into the berth (perhaps for liability reasons?) but as it works in conjunction with a joystick all you have to do is point the joystick in roughly the right direction and it will make sure you don't make a mess of it.

If you get too close to anything it will just hold station regardless of the wind or tide until you decide whether you need to go forwards, backwards, sideways or twist the bow towards or away from the pontoon. This appears to be far more accurate and effective than the usual IPS hold station feature and in any event should definitely prevent you from drifting or being blown into anything (presumably within the limits of the engine/thruster combination).

That said this is is still a prototype and there will doubtless be a lot more testing and refining to be done before the finished product goes on sale but Jack, who is not easily impressed and has driven/berthed countless different boats and engine set ups, reckons this has the potential to be a genuine game-changer.

 

[TheOrs]

I read in the comments that it would be €20k to €25k...

 

[TonyR123]

I read in the comments that it would be €20k to €25k...

Probably about right. Costs £20k from memory to enable DPS for the volvo system. I expect all they do is configure some software in around 10 seconds (to enable DPS). The rest that is required will be on the boat already.

 

[MapisM]

€25k ain't too bad, I might consider installing the thing on my boat, for that kind of money.
Provided that they give it to me of course, not the other way round!