Van Dam’s Patented Push-to-Start: The World’s First Whole-Boat Startup System

Anyone who has driven a car made in the last fifteen years knows the push-to-start button. RFID key in your pocket. Foot on the brake. Press the button. Everything comes to life.

It’s completely intuitive. And for years, Van Dam has been working toward making their boats work the same way.

In 2024, they got there.

The Problem With “Push-to-Start” Boats

The term “push-to-start” has been used by recreational boat manufacturers for a while — but until now, it has meant something much narrower than what you’d expect. In those systems, push-to-start means pressing a button to engage the starter. Battery switches and circuit breakers still had to be manually activated, often from awkward or hidden locations.

You still needed to know the boat. You still had to run through a mental checklist before the engines would fire. The button was cosmetic.

What Van Dam Built Instead

The Van Dam Push-to-Start (PTS) system—designed by Master Craftsman and ABYC Master Marine Technician Thor—is what he calls “whole-boat” push-to-start.

All battery management, switching, and proper startup sequencing are completely automatic. All the operator needs to do is press a single button at the helm — and everything on the boat just works. No checklist. No switches. No sequence to memorize.

Just like your car.

The Engineering Behind It

In a twin-engine boat with three or more battery banks, significantly more is happening behind the scenes than in a car. The PTS system manages all of it automatically — proper sequencing, battery management, circuit protection — while presenting the operator with a user interface that becomes second nature after the first few uses.

And because it’s Van Dam, the system is fully customizable. Additional functionality to control specific systems, streamlined interfaces that remove unnecessary functions, integration with a key fob or man-overboard device — all of these are seamless enhancements rather than afterthoughts.

The system was first implemented in the 2024 flagship build and is now patented. It’s the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

Why This Matters

Boats are, for most of their owners, used relatively infrequently. Between seasons, between trips, between the moments when you actually want to be on the water, there’s a lot of time not spent on the water. Every system that needs to be remembered, activated, or sequenced manually is friction between the dock and the open water.

The PTS system eliminates that friction entirely. It’s one of the clearest examples in Van Dam’s history of technology serving the experience rather than demanding attention. Learn more about Van Dam’s approach to innovation, or contact us to discuss what technology integration looks like in a custom wooden boat commission.