SPINLOCK SAIL-SENSE

The Internet of Things (IoT) concept has suffered understandable ridicule, but the new Sail-Sense from Spinlock makes lots of, well, sense. The small self-contained hardware module is fastened near a sail’s clew, and a wireless app is then used by the loft to log in things like the sail’s construction date, size, and materials. The customer and crew can then use the same Sail-Sense app to better manage either a small inventory or a full container of databased sails. Beyond that, the IoT really kicks in when the module wakes up upon motion and starts logging the sail’s UV exposure, hours of use, G-force and flogging. A true “cherry on top” feature then comes into play in the form of a Southampton University analysis of sail materials that enables the app to deduce “health scores” for each Sail-Sense monitored sail. Apps are available for Android or iOS (Apple) devices, and the data can be exported for further analysis. The module purportedly has a five-year battery life in typical use, and the sail’s ID info, location and use hours are available as soon as the module is activated. Access to the other data requires a $32 annual per sail subscription and also includes a race mode setting that live streams the sensor data, although at the cost of shortening battery life. SailSense is clearly geared toward racing programs with lots of valuable sails. However, it could also eventually be implemented with cruising sails as part of the warranty programs of some sail lofts. $190. Spinlock, spinlock.co.uk