VETUS BOW PRO with Yamaha Helm Master EX

Helm Master EX is Yamaha's all-in-one control system: electronic throttle and shift, electric steering, autopilot and joystick. Yamaha chose VETUS BOW PRO as an integrated thruster in January 2023. It switches on by itself when the joystick needs it, so you just push the stick.

Four building blocks, one joystick on top

Yamaha sells Helm Master EX in layers: Digital Electronic Control (throttle and shift), Digital Electric Steering (no hydraulic pumps or fluid), Autopilot, and the Full Maneuverability Joystick with a wireless remote. It runs on Yamaha's CL5 or CL7 displays or a compatible MFD.

With the joystick, one hand handles throttle, shift and steering. Push forward or back and the boat goes that way; push sideways or diagonally and, on a multi-engine boat, the system angles the outboards against each other so their thrust cancels fore and aft and leaves a sideways push; twist to pivot on the spot. Yamaha is clear that a single outboard can't move a boat directly sideways on its own. That's where the thruster comes in.

The SetPoint modes hold the boat for you: StayPoint keeps position and heading (multi-engine boats), FishPoint keeps position with bow or stern into the wind or current, DriftPoint keeps heading while you drift, and DriftPoint Track follows waypoints, a depth contour or a distance from shore. The autopilot adds Course Hold, Heading Hold, Track Point and Pattern Steer.

Why Yamaha picked BOW PRO

Yamaha's own engineers published a paper on the integration in 2023. They describe the thruster doing three jobs: cancelling the turning force the outboards create when they push the boat sideways, adding sideways and turning thrust of its own, and reducing heading swing while a SetPoint mode is holding the boat. Yamaha says it runs on demand and at variable speed, matched to the joystick.

The same paper gives Yamaha's reasons for choosing BOW PRO: VETUS's track record integrating with other engine makers, a thruster that's durable and resists overheating, and installation that doesn't change from a standard BOW PRO fit.

• On your display: thruster battery voltage and any thruster faults show on the CL5 or MFD.
• Fails safe: if the thruster raises a warning, Yamaha says the system drops back to normal, non-integrated control.
• Single outboards: with one engine, the thruster is what makes sideways moves possible. The Fisherman featured a Steiger 25 with a single F350 and a VETUS thruster, whose owner called the joystick the one feature he wanted.
• Panel still works: your normal thruster controls keep working alongside the joystick.

The most mature of the five

Helm Master EX has been tested widely, and the thruster integration has been on the water since 2023, including demo boats in Australia and New Zealand.

If your boat has, or is getting, Helm Master EX with the joystick, a BOW PRO is the upgrade that makes it feel complete, especially on single and twin rigs in a crosswind. Talk to us before the boat is rigged so the thruster driver and battery are planned in.

The Yamaha and VETUS parts

We supply the VETUS side and work with your Yamaha dealer on the Helm Master EX components.

Running Yamaha outboards?

Tell us the boat, how many outboards and which Helm Master EX level you have. We'll size the BOW PRO and plan the battery and driver.