System for controlling navigation of a fishing boat

A system for controlling the navigation of a fishing boat between a plurality of waypoints, the system comprising:

• a position detector for generating signals representative of the actual position of the fishing boat;
• an electric trolling motor coupled to the fishing boat and producing a variable magnitude of thrust to propel the fishing boat in response to a thrust control signal;
• a steering actuator coupled to the electric trolling motor and configured to control the orientation of the electric trolling motor in response to a steering control signal;
• a heading detector for generating signals related to the actual heading of the fishing boat;
• an input device;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to the position detector, the electric trolling motor, the steering actuator, the heading detector, and the input device, the control circuit being configured to determine the actual position of the fishing boat based upon the signals generated by the position detector and to determine a desired heading based upon a desired waypoint and the actual position of the fishing boat, the control circuit being further configured to generate the thrust control signal and the steering control signal to navigate the fishing boat to the desired waypoint, wherein the control circuit generates the thrust control signal based at least upon signals generated by the input device.

A system for controlling the repeated navigation of a recreational boat around a navigation route, the navigation route including a plurality of waypoints representing successive positions along the navigation route, the system comprising:

• a position detector for generating signals representative of the actual position of the boat;
• a propulsion unit coupled to the boat and producing a thrust to propel the boat;
• a steering mechanism configured to control the direction of the thrust produced by the propulsion unit in response to a steering control signal;
• a mode select device;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to the position detector, the steering mechanism, and the mode select device, the control circuit being configured to determine the actual position of the boat based upon the signals generated by the position detector, to generate the steering control signal to steer the boat between successive waypoints along the navigation route, and to repeat the navigation of the boat around the navigation route in at least one mode of operation based upon a signal from the mode select device.

A system for controlling the navigation of a recreational boat between a plurality of waypoints representing successive positions along a navigation route, the system comprising:

• an input device for enabling automatic waypoint storage;
• a position detector for generating signals representative of the actual position of the boat;
• a motor coupled to the boat and producing a thrust to propel the boat;
• a steering mechanism configured to control the direction of the thrust produced by the motor in response to a steering control signal;
• and
• a control circuit coupled to the input device, the position detector and the steering mechanism, the control circuit including a memory for storing the waypoints, the control circuit being configured to determine the waypoints based upon the actual position of the boat and to store the waypoints in the memory without operator intervention when automatic waypoint storage is enabled, the control circuit being further configured to generate the steering control signal to steer the boat from the actual position of the boat to a desired waypoint, wherein the control circuit steers the boat between the plurality of waypoints representing the successive positions along the navigation route.