Brunswick Corporation
Marine steering system and method providing resistance control

Abstract:

A steering system on a marine vessel includes a steering wheel, a wheel sensor configured to measure wheel movement of the steering wheel, a steering actuator configured to rotate a steerable component based on movement of the steering wheel, and a variable resistance device controllable to apply a variable resistance amount to resist movement of the steering wheel. The system further comprises a controller that controls the variable resistance device and is configured to receive the wheel movement measurements by the wheel sensor and determine a resistance amount based on the wheel movement measurements and a corresponding steering response relative to the response capability of the steering system, and then to control the variable resistance device based on the resistance amount.