Discover how our technology is revolutionizing safety and ease of use on sailboats.
It measures wind, trim, and load on the sheets several times per second and adjusts the mainsail and jib in real time—using a state machine that sequences each maneuver and stops automatically if anything exceeds safety limits.
How It Works
The strategic decision (which trim to use) is separate from the physical coordination (how and when to move the engines). This separation is what makes the system predictable and verifiable.
INPUT
Sensors An anemometer, GPS, IMU, compass, and load cells measure the boat's actual status at a rate of 5–10 Hz.
ESTIMATE
Data Merge The raw data is transformed into a coherent picture: true wind, trim, estimated speed, with isolated gusts filtered out.
DECISION
Trim planning The boat's polar curves define the target sheet angles for the current apparent wind.
COORDINATION
State Machine Every operation is a verified sequence: preconditions, order of operations, safety checks.
EXECUTION
Actuators The winch, jib furler, and mainsail furler operate with continuous position and load feedback.
Sensors
Every decision is based on a fact, never on an assumption
Apparent wind
Anemometer and wind vane at the top of the mast, combined with the boat's speed vector to calculate the true wind.
Location and Course
GPS for SOG/COG, used to estimate drift and synchronize with the navigation strategy.
Structure
IMU for roll, pitch, and acceleration — used by security guards to halt maneuvers under unstable conditions.
Actual load
Load cells on the main sheets: the data that stops a winch before excessive tension damages the sail or rigging.
Technical Specifications
Motorized hardware, controlled by a dedicated control unit
Electric/Hydraulic Winches Mainsail and genoa, with position encoders and a load cell integrated into the sheet.
Motorized Bow Roller Progressive furling for real-time sail reduction as wind speeds increase.
Rope winder / cart Integrated mainsail control, with automatic adjustment based on wind speed.
Onboard Control Unit It integrates sensors, the trim planner, and the coordinator; it reports the status via the CAN bus.
| Item | Data |
|---|---|
| Frequency of coordination checks | 5 Hz (updates every 200 ms) |
| Actuator Communication Bus | Dedicated CAN bus |
| Instrumentation Interface | NMEA2000 / NMEA0183 |
| Supported Sensors | Anemometer, GPS, IMU, compass, load cells, position encoder |
| Supported Actuators | Electric/hydraulic winches, jib furlers, mainsail furlers/trolleys |
| Coordinated actions | Continuous adjustment, tacking, jibing, sail reduction |
| Manual override | Always available, hardware priority |
| Emergency Stop | Physical button independent of the software |
| Approval | Dedicated physics simulator (wind, sail forces, actuator dynamics) |
Security
Automation stops. Always, first and foremost. The safety layer is independent of the planner: it does not optimize the trim; it only verifies that every action remains within known limits.
Load Thresholds
Every winch knows the maximum load its line can handle and stops before exceeding it, regardless of the command received.
Emergency Stop
A physical button cuts off power to the motors at the hardware level, downstream of and independent of the software.
Manual control always active
Manual override is not an alternative mode: it takes hardware priority over any automatic command.
Guards on every transition
Yaw, load, and actuator status are checked before each individual state transition, not just at the start of the maneuver.