Clunky joy stick operation

[Dear Prudence 2.0]

We have a new Freedom 255 with the Yamaha Helm Master Ex, full maneuverability option. I am new at using a joy stick (I know i should not need a joy stick, but…). I expected very smooth engine movement when controlling the boat with the joy stick. Not so! The engines clunk very loudly when changing direction and the boat does not seem to respond as accurately as I expected. Is this a user (me) problem? the boat next to me has twin Mercury 300 outboards and a joy stick. His seem to change direction much more quietly than my Yamaha 200’s.
Thanks

 

[Sauza45]

It takes some getting use to. I have it on a 271 canyon with twin 300. Get out away from everything and every body and play with it. There is level settings 1-5 what setting are you on ,1 is low 5 is high.

 

[Dear Prudence 2.0]

It takes some getting use to. I have it on a 271 canyon with twin 300. Get out away from everything and every body and play with it. There is level settings 1-5 what setting are you on ,1 is low 5 is high.

It takes some getting use to. I have it on a 271 canyon with twin 300. Get out away from everything and every body and play with it. There is level settings 1-5 what setting are you on ,1 is low 5 is high.

 

[Dear Prudence 2.0]

I have been playing with the various levels and 3 seems a good level. I'll go out and practice. Do you find yours smooth once you get use to it?
Thanks for the reply.

 

[gbgrady208]

I have it on my Marlin 300 with F300's and would agree that it's a little clunky. WIth that said, once you get used to it , it effectively moves the boat where you want it to go and most of the clunky activity is when you are doing too much back and forth with the joy stick to move the boat left and right and not giving it enough time to get moving. I've also found that its much smoother when you come into the dock at slower speeds. I agree with the advice provided above to get into an open area and play with it. I also plan to reprogram my settings now that I understand how it works - - at the same time I've procrastinated doing the reprogramming as I have compensated the way I use it for the way it's currently programmed. Mine was programmed on a windy day when the boat was delivered, so it's not quite set for the normal conditions that I see at the marina where the boat now lives. Some people have said it makes a lot of noise and bubbles and doesn't do much - - this is not an accurate representation. While it does make its share of noise and bubbles, it allows me to very effectively move my boat sideways and has eliminated virtually all the stress of docking. I wouldn't want a boat without it and you may want to reprogram it once you get the hang of how it works.

 

[Dear Prudence 2.0]

Gbgrady208 and Sauza45, thank you both for the feedback. It’s good to hear that my issues are more “user” than equipment. I didn’t know about the ability to reprogram though. After more time and practice I’ll be better able to determine if reprogramming would improve it’s performance.

 

[Sauza45]

As said about use a slight movement of the joystick. Wait a second before changing directions, my setting is on level 2. It will move the boat in any direction you need it to go. The harder you move the joystick the more thrust the engines will have.

 

[gbgrady208]

I was out today and tried to pay more attention to what was causing the clunky noises that you are describing. Mostly when changing directions too quickly as mentioned in the most recent post - - in particular forward and reverse. As for reprogramming, your Yamaha screen should have the instructions in the help files. There are also youtube videos on how to program it and it's not that difficult. For smooth operation, go slow and make the slight movements previously mentioned. With that said, if you are fighting the wind to go sideways, it's going to make some noise trying to push the boat sideways. Forward and reverse clunking has more to do with how active you are on the joy stick. And, remember, if you let go of the joystick it puts all engines back in neutral. It's a great system, but took a little bit of time to get comfortable using it.