Dometic Optimus 360 2023 joystick control system 2023 Review

It’s the first time that boatsales has seen the low-speed control system in action, so naturally, we were drawn to it to see how it stacks up against similar systems developed by outboard engine makers including Yamaha and Mercury.

The system we got up close with was fitted to a 9.0-metre fibreglass centre console boat fitted with the all-new Honda BF350 outboard engine that is due on sale in Australia in the second quarter of next year.

Like it or not, electronic aids that help skippers become more agile behind the helm are here to stay.

When they launched, joystick control systems changed big boating. Now, instead of having to balance bow thrusters, engine controls and steering to make delicate low-speed manoeuvres, all skippers had to do was take hold of a joystick and move the boat around like it was inside a real-world video game.

Those systems have now evolved so far that Volvo Penta, one of the pioneers of the joystick control system, will now allow skippers to use the joystick to control speed and steering at any speed, not just at low speed.

These systems have now evolved so they are compatible with outboard engines. Electronic shifters and throttle controls, along with a new generation of electronic steering, have allowed engine makers to scale the technology down and bring the same low-speed handling skillset to boats that sit on a trailer.

However, not every outboard engine maker has developed a joystick system. That’s where marine electronics specialist Dometic swings into the picture.

Dometic has developed the Optimus 360 system, a complete helm-to-engine package that plugs into a boat and adds full joystick control.

No rigging changes are needed to fit the Dometic system, with the Honda BF350 engines able to use the same 28.5-inch (724mm) mounting centres as the default set-up.

One of the big benefits of the Dometic Optimus 360 system is the ability to retrofit it to a boat that’s being repowered rather than built fresh.

Depending on the application and the number of engines it is controlling – two is the minimum and four is the maximum – online marine retailer BLA has the Dometic Optimus 360 system priced from around $20,000 for a single-engine application right up to around $40,000 for four engines with all the fruit. 

Note, though, that this does not include the cost of installing the system, and you’ll have to find someone who is authorised to install it.

The Optimus 360 is also modular, so if you want to add a second joystick or a cockpit steering wheel, it’s a matter of plugging it into the existing Optimus network. The system can expand to have up to three separate helm stations.

Price differences also come down to the type of rigging you need to connect your Optimus 360 system with the engine.

The Complete Optimus 360 package includes the joystick controller, an electronic shift and throttle control, an electric power steering system including the hub at the helm and the ram at the transom, a colour CAMtrack multifunction screen for monitoring system health and making changes to the programming, a power control module and wiring.

The Dometic Optimus 360 system is also compatible with a number of autopilot systems.

If you happen to have something like a quad-engined powered catamaran, Dometic’s plug-and-play system is perfect for it. However, for our first experience, we’re limited to a 9.0-metre SeaVee 290 Classic featuring a pair of Honda’s all-new BF350 V8 outboard engines strapped to the transom.

There’s nothing special you need to do with Honda’s 350hp flagship model even if you want to shelve the Dometic Optimus 360 installation for a few months, as the engines use the same 28.5-inch mounting centre for the joystick system as they do for a standard install.

This is in part due to the Honda V8’s narrow 60-degree bank that makes it more compact.

The Optimus 360 joystick is a fairly standard-looking three-axis controller, although it looks more like a gearshift from a car than a pull, push and twist dial.

The system is very unobtrusive. The helm, which can include tilt control, looks normal apart from the joystick to the left of the steering wheel, and the system uses Honda’s new iST drive-by-wire shift and throttle controller. 

The electric motors for the steering system are also tucked away in the transom, completely out of sight. The only obvious sign that you have something different is the bright chrome “Optimus” logo stamped on the steering arms mounted to the transom.

Before you can use the Optimus 360 joystick, the two Honda BF350 engines need to be in neutral. 

The joystick control has a small bank of buttons. There are two basic functions: a “P” to lock in the boat's position, acting like a virtual anchor, and a “H” that will lock the boat's heading. The Dometic system is tied into GPS, so it is easy to set up the boat to drift on a certain compass alignment or even hold station with the boat’s nose pointing into the wind or swell – both handy fishing applications.

Another is the “Take command” button. A press of this, while the engines are in neutral, will activate the joystick and make it the primary controller, either until it is pressed again to switch it off or the skipper turns the steering wheel or rolls on the throttle.

But there’s also a “Boost” button. This will bump the revs up from idle to make the joystick system more aggressive than its default mode – handy if you’re caught in a place that has a lot of wind or current and you need a bit more oompf to control the boat.

Dometic’s Optimus 360 joystick system is very similar to others on the market in that it needs clear, concise and lengthy inputs from the skipper to be effective. It’s better to push, pull or twist and then hold as you wait for the system’s electronics to shuffle the engines from side to side and through forward and reverse gears to get the desired movement.

The system is easy to modulate. Push or pull and the throttle responds in kind so that small movements yield small moves, and big ones get the engines churning the water.

The Dometic system has an inbuilt fail-safe that will allow boaters to place it into a limp-home mode using the service valves on the electric steering units. The fail-safe will either tell the skipper to switch off and tilt up the engine with the non-operational steering system, or shut down all the steering systems meaning the skipper will need to steer using the throttle controls.

The Optimus system is also sensitive to underperforming electrical systems, so be sure to keep regularly replacing your house batteries.

Dometic hasn’t reinvented the wheel with its Optimus joystick control system, but it hasn’t needed to. 

What it has done is to offer a complete plug-and-play package to those boat owners who prefer to hang a Suzuki or Honda outboard engine off their transom but want the versatility of a joystick system, be it for fishing or those last few metres into the dock.

The system we tested is wonderfully integrated with Honda’s new 350hp V8 outboard engine and adds a degree of confidence and control that, in the past, only a few experienced skippers were capable of pulling off.

In the scheme of things, too, if your outboard engine bill alone is going to make a luxury car a viable option, extending to the cost of installing Optimus 360 joystick control isn’t that much more of a stretch.