Integrated Boating Systems

Can Engine Electronics Really Put More Fish in the Box?

RELIANCE ON ELECTRONICS IS UBIQUITOUS in the marine market. The revolution started in the auto industry in the 1980s, when electronic engine controls started appearing on motors. The advent of electronic engine technology was emissions-driven; i.e., manufacturers would only be able to meet government-mandated emissions requirements of the future if they controlled their engines much more precisely, and this required microprocessors. Integrated Boating Systems The marine industry couldn’t escape emissions requirements any more than the auto industry could. Since the technology existed already, marine engine manufacturers modified it to make boat engines run cleaner. But then something happened. Around 2000 or so Brunswick, through its Mercury Marine division, introduced the SmartCraft system, and the way we look at information systems, be they fish finders or oil-temperature gauges, changed. Different manufacturers, using computer technology, came up with practical (meaning able to stand the rigors of the marine environment) networks of sensors, gauges and microprocessors that provided a boater essentially any and all the data — and then some — required to run a boat economically and safely. Naturally, others jumped on the bandwagon. While Brunswick formed its MotoTron unit to handle SmartCraft development — which now extends to software and hardware production, custom racing applications, Cummins MerCruiser diesel, the Zeus Project and more — Volvo Penta joined the fray with its Electronic Vessel Control system, Yamaha its Command Link system and Can Engine Electronics Really Put More Fish in the Box? BY GARY JOYCE R

Bombardier (Evinrude/Johnson) with its Integrated Performance System. (When questioned for this piece, a Honda spokesperson said the company does not comment on products it does not yet have in the marketplace, causing this writer to make an educated guess that Honda will introduce a system that takes its Honda Diagnostic System (HDS) to the next level. Suzuki debuted electronic controls on its 300-hp model this month. Most electronic hardware manufacturers took the software route that used standard ethernet connectivity (the same connectivity you use to hook a printer or scanner to your desktop computer) to daisy-chain existing instruments into a single entity. Few of the motor-monitoring systems were as complete as SmartCraft; most lack navigation integration, though it’s the logical next step since the technological capability is already there. The bottom line: With the cost of operating a boat in today’s volatile fuel market, we need to squeeze every iota of performance and economy out of our engines, and these computer-based applications help you do that. Other benefits of such systems integration include combining and displaying more info on fewer screens (such as speed, GPS and chart overlays on a sonar screen), preplanning trips down to pennies’ worth of fuel based on previous performance data, and accurately maneuvering your craft in specific patterns or to specific locales. As long as you have the hardware, in the form of an electronically controlled engine, along with other sensors, autopilots, cartography, etc., your boat can perform at the touch of a few buttons — and more accurately and efficiently than you can control it manually. THE BRAIN The core of a boat’s systems integration is your engine’s ECM device, the electronic control module. The ECM provides information about your engine’s performance to various displays. There are/have been two protocols (in computerese, the means and method in which information is transferred) established by the National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) — 0183 and 2000. Unfortunately (depending on your point of view) there are also numerous other protocols such as Controller Area Network (CAN) and ethernet that only work with specific manufacturers’ equipment. Regardless, the eventual idea is to