Wireless docking control for motor yachts

Safe docking.
From where you can see the quay.

The last ten metres decide the day. Shipcontroller puts engines, thrusters and windlass in your hand — so you stand where you see the gap, the fender and the line, and bring her in calmly. Even short-handed. Even in a crosswind.

See a docking, step by step Find your remote
Shipcontroller EZVector remote held in hand above a calm marina
Docking · Mooring · Anchoring Designed & manufactured by Naocontrol
Eyes on the gapSteer from the stern, the bow or the side deck — not from behind a windscreen.
One handEngines and thrusters on a single joystick. The system does the combining.
Time to prepareWith DPS the boat holds position and heading while you set fenders and lines.
No surprisesThe remote vibrates the moment it detects a loss of engine control.

01 — The last ten metres

Every owner knows the moment. The wind picks up just as you slow down.

Docking a motor yacht is rarely hard because of the boat. It is hard because of what you can’t see, can’t hear and can’t reach from the helm. These are the moments Shipcontroller was built for.

  1. You can’t see the stern from the helm.

    From the flybridge or the upper helm, the quay, the swim platform and your neighbour’s bow are all in the blind spot.

    With Shipcontroller

    Take the helm with you. Walk to the stern, the quarter or the side deck and steer from where you see the gap.

  2. Your crew is on the bow with a line — and can’t hear you.

    Shouting over engines and wind, hand signals that mean something different at each end of the boat.

    With Shipcontroller

    Be where the line is. Go forward yourself, judge the distance with your own eyes and correct with a touch of thruster.

  3. The wind pushes the bow off the moment you slow down.

    Two throttles, two gear levers and a thruster — all at once, while the gap closes.

    With Shipcontroller

    One joystick. Push it toward the quay; engines and thrusters are combined for you to move her sideways.

  4. Fenders and lines aren’t ready — and you’re already inside the harbour.

    Circling in a crowded fairway, or drifting toward the boats next door while you run around the deck.

    With Shipcontroller DPS

    Let the boat wait. Position and heading are held automatically while you prepare in peace.

  5. Stern-to, anchor down, reversing into a narrow slot.

    The windlass is at the bow, the helm is amidships, and the gap is at the stern.

    With Shipcontroller

    Anchor and engines in one hand. Drop the anchor, watch chain length and depth on the display, keep her straight.

  6. The lines are on — but she drifts off before they’re tight.

    One person on the cleat, nobody at the helm.

    With Shipcontroller

    Hold mode. One button runs both thrusters gently toward the quay while you make fast.

02 — A docking, step by step

Five steps. One person. No shouting.

How a typical docking looks with an EZVector remote and Shipcontroller DPS — from the harbour entrance to the last line.

  1. 01 DPS

    Wait outside the berth

    Stop in the fairway. The boat holds position and heading while you set fenders and lay out lines — no circling, no drifting.

  2. 02 DOCKING

    Take your position

    Walk to the stern with the remote. Speed and depth are on its display; a vibration warns you if the water gets shallow.

  3. 03 PIVOTPOINT

    Line her up

    Turn the yacht on the spot until the stern points into the berth. No forward way, no guesswork.

  4. 04 SWAYEASE

    Move in

    Astern or sideways in small, controlled movements. When a gust arrives, a double press gives the thruster its second power level.

  5. 05 HOLD

    Make fast

    Both thrusters press her gently against the quay while you secure the lines. Then put the remote back on its wireless charger.

Available functions depend on the remote and the boat’s propulsion. DPS is an optional module for EZVector and DockerPro.

03 — Smart manoeuvres

You decide where. The system decides how.

Moving a twin-engine yacht sideways normally takes two throttles, two gear levers and a thruster, all at once. The EZVector algorithms translate one joystick movement into the right combination of engines and thrusters.

Port engine astern, starboard engine ahead, bow thruster to starboard. The yacht walks sideways toward the quay.

QUAY TOP VIEW · NOT TO SCALE → LATERAL, STARBOARD

DobleClic

Press once for one power level, press twice and hold for another — 60% and 95% bow thrust, for example.

PulseThrust

Short, precise thrust pulses, or a reduced average thrust from on/off thrusters and engines.

IPS mode

A dedicated control mode for Volvo IPS propulsion, alongside single and twin-engine configurations.

04 — Safety

Wireless only makes docking safer if the link is beyond doubt.

That is where most of the engineering went. A remote that controls your engines has to know when it is in command — and tell you the instant it isn’t.

Encrypted two-way radio

IEEE 802.15.4, robust against interference and approved worldwide. Remote and boat exchange data constantly — not just commands.

Alarm on loss of control

If the remote detects a loss of engine control, it warns you with vibration and light — in your hand, where you will notice it.

One remote in command

Several remotes on one boat, even of different models. Only one ever has control at a time.

Lock by speed

Windlass and thrusters lock automatically above a set speed, so nothing can be triggered by accident underway.

Two-phase remote start

Engines started from the remote require a deliberate two-step confirmation.

Depth alarm

A graphical sounder trace and a configurable alarm, delivered as a vibration rather than a beep at the empty helm.

WindlassGuardian

Protects windlass, rode and anchor from damage while raising and lowering.

Scope calculator

Chain deployed, seabed depth and the ratio between them, live on the remote — the number that decides whether you sleep well at anchor.

Redundant coverage

On large yachts and metal decks, Shipcontroller NET adds bus-powered transceivers for range and redundancy.

05 — The remotes

Three ways to hold the helm.

All three bring the helm to where you dock. They share the same radio, build quality and safety logic — and differ in how you like to steer, and how much the remote tells you back.

Shipcontroller EZVector remote with three-axis joystick

Joystick · The easiest docking

EZVector

A three-axis Hall-effect joystick and the full Shipcontroller feature set. Combined manoeuvres such as sideways movement and controlled rotation are a single gesture.

Control
3-axis joystick, IP67
Display
Sunlight-readable, telemetry
Propulsion
Single, twin, IPS mode
DPS
Yes
EZVector in detail
Shipcontroller DockerPro remote with toggle levers and display

Levers · Display & DPS

DockerPro

Direct toggle levers for engines and thrusters, combined with the graphical display, telemetry and the multifunction modes of the EZVector.

Control
Toggle levers, DobleClic
Display
Sunlight-readable, telemetry
Propulsion
Single, twin and more
DPS
Yes
DockerPro in detail
Shipcontroller DockerOne remote with control levers

Levers · The essentials

DockerOne

Everything needed to dock and anchor, nothing more. Also the ideal backup remote alongside an EZVector or DockerPro, with concurrency control built in.

Control
Levers, dual speed
Display
Status lights, vibration
Propulsion
Most configurations
DPS
—
DockerOne in detail
Compare all features
EZVectorDockerProDockerOne
Encrypted bidirectional radio●●●
Wireless Qi charging, LiPo battery●●●
Vibration alerts●●●
Mechanical buttons, no membrane●●●
Windlass, horn and deck lights●●●
Sunlight-readable display●●—
Navigation data telemetry●●—
Chain counter & scope calculator●●—
Graphical sounder & depth alarm●●—
Hold mode, Autopilot mode, DPS mode●●—
DobleClic, PulseThrust●●—
Continuous proportional control●Stepped—
SwayEase, PivotPoint, ThrustersBalance●——
Volvo IPS mode●——

06 — Dynamic positioning

Let go of the controls. The boat stays where it is.

Launched in 2021, Shipcontroller DPS was the first affordable, general-purpose dynamic positioning system for leisure boats. It holds position and heading within tight margins — and when you touch the remote, you are in command again. Release it, and DPS takes over from the new position.

  • Holding station while fenders and lines are prepared
  • Waiting your turn at the fuel dock
  • Staying over a fishing ground without an anchor line
  • An extra pair of hands during docking and anchoring
30cmPosition accuracy, RMS, with active SBAS corrections
1.5°Heading accuracy, RMS. Optionally 0.75°
Remote

EZVector or DockerPro

DPS is one of the remote’s operating modes. Propulsion control remains fully available.

DPU

Dynamic Positioning Unit

Calculates position and heading error and commands engines and thrusters. Monitors itself and alarms on any critical fault.

NRU

Navigation Reference Unit

Hemisphere GNSS® V200n receiver and satellite compass, dedicated exclusively to DPS. NMEA 2000 bridge available.

07 — The display

Information where your eyes already are.

A hybrid-technology graphical display with ultra-low power draw and a high refresh rate. It stays legible in direct sunlight and at dusk, and it is where every setting of the system lives — no laptop needed on board.

CHAIN CNTR
38.7m
RATIO4.8
DEPTH8.0meter
Chain counter & anchoring scope
DOCKING
035° NE
SPEED1.4knots
DEPTH6.8meters
Navigation telemetry
AUTOPILOT
A 045°
HDNG045
MODEAUTO
Autopilot, ±1° and ±10°
DEPTH 3.3m
LOW DEPTH
Graphical sounder & depth alarm
OPRTN MODE
  • DOCKING
  • HOLD   DPS
  • AUTOPILOT RC
  • SETTINGS
SEL>Esc
Six operating modes
ENGINE CNTRL
PORTOFF
STBDOFF
PUSH Act TO
ACTIVATE
Two-phase remote start

08 — Compatibility

It fits the boat you already own.

A remote is only as good as the systems it can reach. Shipcontroller interfaces with the propulsion, thrusters, windlasses and data networks of most modern motor yachts — and develops new interfaces for older control systems, extending their working life.

Engines
Most major electronic engine control systems. Station selection and status monitoring where supported. Electric and hybrid propulsion in development.
Thrusters
Bow and stern, electric or hydraulic, on/off or continuous proportional — including the latest brushless proportional units.
Windlass
Up to two anchor windlasses, with most chain counter technologies.
Data
NMEA 2000®, SeaTalkNG®, NMEA 0183®. Compatible autopilots via interface adapter.
Older boats
Electronic engine control refit kits bring drive-by-wire — and Shipcontroller — to boats with mechanical controls.

09 — The system

A modular system, not a gadget.

Every installation starts from the same CANbus backbone. Add what the boat needs, when it needs it.

Shipcontroller ShipView R3 round touch display

ShipView R3

A round 3″ multifunction touch display for the helm: DPS control, anchoring, alarms and depth alerts in one instrument.

Shipcontroller NET radio coverage diagram on a yacht

Shipcontroller NET

Multiple bus-powered transceivers form a redundant mesh across large vessels and metal decks. CANbus runs of 250 m and more.

Shipcontroller electronic engine control refit kit

Refit kits

Electronic engine control for boats that were built without it — the first step to wireless command.

Custom Shipcontroller remote

Custom Shipcontroller

Tailored hardware and software for unusual configurations, gangways, platforms and specialist vessels.

10 — Naocontrol

We design and manufacture the entire system ourselves — the hardware, the embedded software and the applications behind it.
Hardware

Remotes, transceivers, positioning and interface units, engineered and assembled in-house.

Embedded software

Control algorithms, radio protocol and safety logic written by the same team that designs the boards.

Applications

Windows tools for installers and owners, plus OnRemoteSetup, which puts nearly every setting on the remote itself.

Shipcontroller is a product of Naocontrol, member of the National Marine Electronics Association.

11 — Contact

Tell us about your boat — and your berth.

Every Shipcontroller is configured for a specific vessel. The more we know about yours, the more precise our proposal will be.

  • Make, model and length
  • Electronic engine controls
  • Bow and stern thrusters
  • Navigation network and autopilot
  • How you usually moor: alongside, stern-to, box berth

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