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IIt has long been known that better measurement of the loads on the structure and rig of yachts would benefit the sailing world. When he raced with Alex Thomson on Hugo Boss in the 2008 Round the Island Race, for instance, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton was surprised that the boat wasn’t ‘covered in sensors’.
Vincent Geake, a former Whitbread round the world race navigator and founder of Cambridge, Uk-based Cyclops Marine, believes the industry is ready for a step change.
“Load cells used in the marine world haven’t moved on much since the 1990s,” he says, “and still need to be calibrated each time they are used.
“I spoke with 25-30 skippers and project managers at the Superyacht
Cup. They were all saying: ‘Loads are rising and we know we can’t deal with them as we should.’ Yet when we started researching an integrated system, we were surprised that we couldn’t find anyone else doing it already.
“Everyone talks about static loads, but structural engineers need the loads when a boat falls off a wave. The red veil that comes down when racing also means anticipated load limits are often exceeded, even when racing inshore, for instance by grinding the runners on too hard.”
Cyclops Marine has developed digital load cells with built-in calibration. These have three means of data transfer – bluetooth to smartphones, wireless to the boat’s instrument system and a hard-wired, high-resolution 100Hz feed to an on-board hub. The latter will capture instantaneous peak loads and can also stream key data to the instrument system or to the cloud for subsequent analysis. Cyclops is also developing sophisticated analytical tools to help sailors and engineers extract maximum value from each.
Does this approach have potential to filter down to production boats?
“Yes, whether it’s Beneteau or X-yachts, equipping one or two examples of a design will yield useful data to feedback into the design of subsequent models,” Geake says. At the other end of the spectrum he adds: “It will also help with understanding the additional loads on a fully crewed IMOCA 60 compared to those that are raced solo.”
At the time of writing pricing had not been finalised, but the basic product is expected to be in the region of £4,000. www.cyclopsmarine.com