The Last Twenty Feet Get Easier: Simrad Teaches the Boat to Find Its Own Slip

Simrad's new AutoCaptain is a system that lets a boat bring itself alongside the dock with no hand on the controls. It sees the approach through a pair of cameras that judge depth the way two eyes do, and software trained on what a berth looks like decides how the boat should move. Those decisions go through Mercury's joystick steering, the same control many owners already use to nudge a hull sideways into tight quarters. The point is that the system is meant for boats built in series, not for one-off custom projects. In a crowded marina in Miami or Palm Beach, with a crosswind and a full cockpit watching, the slip is the hardest part of a day on the water, and this system is aimed squarely at it.

With reporting from Yachting.