Helm Master EX Upgrade

Helm Master EX,fitted to your boat.

Coastal Marine does Helm Master EX upgrades at its Shore Drive shop in Virginia Beach — Yamaha's boat-control system, installed and rigged by the same Yamaha-certified bench that handles the engines.

Repower Center

Yamaha Factory Certified

What it is

One hand on
one control.

Helm Master EX is Yamaha's boat-control system. Instead of coordinating throttles, shift, and a wheel, you move a joystick and the boat goes that way — sideways into a slip, or held on a spot while you rig a line. Yamaha calls it their next-generation boat control system, and it is compatible with most digital Yamaha outboards from 2.8L to 5.6L, F150 through XF450.

It is an upgrade, not something you have to buy a new boat for. Coastal Marine is an Elite Yamaha dealer and an authorized Yamaha Repower Center, so the same Yamaha-certified bench that rigs the engines does the control work. What your boat supports depends on which outboards are on it, how many, and what rigging is already there — which is the part worth a phone call before anything gets ordered.

Ready when you are.

(757) 464-4600Text the shop

What it does

Docking, steering,
and holding a spot.

Joystick control

Yamaha's full-maneuverability joystick, available for boats with one to five engines (F150 and up). Docking becomes one hand on one control instead of two throttles and a wheel.

Digital electric steering

Yamaha's bolt-on digital electric steering can be added to digitally controlled outboards from 150 to 350 horsepower on select models — Yamaha excludes some engines by name, so check yours before ordering.

FishPoint & DriftPoint

Yamaha's SetPoint suite of automated fishing functions, including DriftPoint Track — holding over structure or tracking a drift line without working the throttles.

StayPoint

Marks your position and heading and holds the spot. Yamaha makes StayPoint available on twin, triple, quad, and quint installations — not single engines.

Not everything here runs on every boat. Yamaha states compatibility as "most" digital outboards, limits digital electric steering to "select models," and makes StayPoint available only on twin and larger installations. Send us your engine setup and we'll tell you what yours actually supports before anything gets ordered.

Rigging the rest of the helm

A control upgrade usually arrives alongside other helm work — displays, autopilot, boat rewiring, trolling motors. Same bench, same visit.

See what we install

Common questions

Helm Master EX,
asked and answered.

Helm Master EX is Yamaha's boat-control system, which Yamaha describes as its next-generation boat control system. Instead of coordinating throttles, shift, and a wheel separately, you move a joystick and the boat responds — including moving sideways into a slip. Yamaha's bolt-on digital electric steering can be added to it on select engines, and it carries the SetPoint suite of automated functions: FishPoint, DriftPoint, DriftPoint Track, and StayPoint, which Yamaha offers on twin and larger engine setups.

Coastal Marine Sales & Services does Helm Master EX upgrades at 3765 Shore Drive in Virginia Beach, near the Lesner Bridge. The work is done by a bench of Yamaha-certified technicians, including a factory-trained Yamaha Master Technician — the same crew that handles the shop's outboard service and repowers. Call (757) 464-4600 or send a service request with your engine setup.

It is an upgrade rather than something limited to new boats, so in many cases yes. Yamaha says Helm Master EX is compatible with most digital Yamaha outboards from 2.8L to 5.6L, F150 through XF450, and the full-maneuverability joystick is available for boats with one to five engines from the F150 up. Whether a specific boat works depends on which outboards are on it, how many, and the rigging already in place, so call (757) 464-4600 with your engine models before ordering anything.

Yes, for the joystick. Yamaha offers its full-maneuverability joystick for boats with one to five engines from the F150 up, and says it pioneered single-engine joystick compatibility, so a single-engine boat is not excluded the way it once was. One thing to know before you budget for it: StayPoint, the function that holds the boat on a spot, is offered by Yamaha on twin, triple, quad, and quint installations only, so a single-engine boat gets the joystick and the rest of the SetPoint suite but not StayPoint. Send your engine model and year on a service request and Coastal Marine will tell you exactly what your boat supports.

Digital electric steering replaces hydraulic steering with an electric system controlled digitally. Yamaha describes it as a bolt-on that can be added to Helm Master EX digitally controlled outboards from 150 horsepower to 350 horsepower on select models, and Yamaha excludes several engines from it by name. Because 'select models' is doing real work in that sentence, the only reliable way to know about a particular engine is to give the shop its model and year.

They are part of Yamaha's SetPoint suite of automated fishing and boating functions that comes with Helm Master EX, along with DriftPoint Track. FishPoint and DriftPoint hold you over structure or track a controlled drift instead of someone working the throttles. StayPoint marks a position and heading and holds the spot, and Yamaha offers it on twin, triple, quad, and quint installations rather than single engines. Give the shop your engine count and models and it will tell you which of them your boat can run.

Request
service.

Tell us the boat and what outboards are on it — we'll come back same business day with what it supports.

Just leave a phone or an email — whichever's easier.

Call (757) 464-4600Text