Earlier this week, I visited the Cummins global headquarters for marine sales, marketing and engineering in Charleston, S.C., primarily to try out the company’s new Cummins Inboard Joystick.
Introduced in February at the 2014 Miami International Boat Show, the Cummins Inboard Joystick is an inboard-based helm control that works with a bow thruster or a bow and a stern thruster. The thruster(s) play an integral role in the product’s overall value because they were specially designed for extended running time — as much as three times longer than conventional thrusters, according to Cummins.
The Cummins product can be used with four of its engine platforms: the QSB6.7 (250-550 hp), QSC8.3 (500-600 hp), QSL9 (285-410 hp) and QSM11 (300-715 hp). All four of these engines meet EPA Tier III emissions standards.
Sea Ray and Carver have already announced their desire to make the Inboard Joystick an option on appropriate yachts, and Cummins says many more boat companies are interested in the helm control. A 51-foot Sea Ray 510 Fly with the Cummins Inboard Joystick was on display at the Miami show.
“The market has been shifting toward joystick control for a long time, but now there are more players than ever before,” Cummins strategy and marketing leader Robert Mirman told Soundings.
Click here for the full report with video.
— Chris Landry
