As many readers might have seen, final yr SAIL’s annual Pittman Awards have been one of many many issues that needed to be cancelled because of Covid-19. Because of the full lack of boat exhibits, making an attempt to gauge the state of the business with so little alternative to see what it was as much as merely didn’t make sense. Fortuitously, even because the world continues to battle the pandemic, we have been in a position to get in a pair of stunningly profitable boat exhibits in the US this previous fall, which meant it was game-on! Higher nonetheless, as was additionally evident within the newest class of Finest Boat winners the pandemic didn’t cease the marine enterprise from doing what it does greatest—innovate. Not surprisingly, issues proceed to race forward within the space of digital tech. Nonetheless, there stay these enjoyable little analog advances to remind us there will even at all times be a spot for good-old frequent sense. As at all times, we expect SAIL’s late merchandise editor Freeman Okay. Pittman, for whom these annual awards are named, can be impressed.
PERFORMANCE GEAR By Adam Cort
B&G Nemesis
A part of working SAIL’s Pittman improvements awards is sometimes having to resolve the classes that match a few of our winners greatest. Working example: B&G’s Nemesis “clever” crusing show, because it’s known as. Charlie Doane claimed it’s an excellent piece of cruising gear. Ben Ellison thought it needs to be included within the electronics class. However in the long run, Adam Cort gained out and received to incorporate it in “Efficiency Gear” based mostly in its excellent readability. Anybody who’s tried steering a compass heading on a darkish and stormy night time can attest to how important it’s that you simply be capable of see the place you’re going. Not solely does it let you sail quicker, however having to wrestle to make sense of the place you’re going rapidly turns into fatiguing. Along with being extremely simple to learn, the Nemesis, which may be positioned both vertically or horizontally and is out there in 9in and 12in sizes, is a strong crusing device providing full customization and quite a lot of easy-to-use pre-set multifunction templates and dashboards based mostly in your level of sail. Constructed-in Wi-Fi and an online browser permits full web use and entry to third-party net servers, making Nemesis the boat’s “level of integration” and decreasing the variety of required shows. Set up Nemesis on an NMEA 2000 system for smaller boats or use NMEA 2000 over ethernet to make the most of an current community aboard bigger vessels to simplify set up and cut back cabling necessities. Palms-free operation is feasible through an Apple Watch, and the system’s high-definition IPS SolarMAX HD touchscreen is viewable from any angle, even with polarized sun shades on. The checklist goes on and on. Oh, and for the document, the B&G Nemesis can be nice to have aboard a cruising boat as effectively.
From $3,799. B&G, bandg.com
Vakaros Atlas 2 RaceSense
“All it’s important to do is race.” Such is the declare of Vakaros and the RaceSense function discovered on its lately launched Atlas 2 crusing pc. An improve of the corporate’s authentic Atlas, launched in 2018, the Atlas 2’s GPS contains twin band, L1 + L5 GNSS reception, which provides a second set of indicators in a special frequency to offer positioning accuracy to inside just below 20in, an unbelievable feat by any measure. Complementing this extraordinary precision is a state-of-the-art magnetic compass coupled with a complicated movement sensor and adjustable damping to offer headings which are correct to inside 0.10 diploma and ship heal and trim angles. Then there’s the wizardry of the system’s RaceSense software program, which permits the Atlas 2 to create a type of “digital racecourse” that’s then shared wirelessly throughout a complete fleet to do issues like run the beginning, enforces penalties, spotlight boundaries and gates, and rating the end. No extra want for a race committee. Simply get along with a bunch of pals, solid off strains and, effectively, “all it’s important to do is race.” Customizable to do issues like let you recognize the place you might be in relation to your polars, the Atlas 2 will also be wirelessly related to a variety of different sensors and wirelessly high off its batteries utilizing any Qi appropriate charging pad. Waterproof and ruggedly constructed the system is expressly designed to outlive the situations discovered aboard an aggressively sailed sport boat. A really superb piece of kit.
Worth NA. Vakaros, vakaros.com
Zhik OFS800 Offshore Jacket
Let’s be sincere, for years now there have been numerous actually good foulweather jackets on the market to select from. What units the jacket and smock in Zhik’s OFS800 vary aside, although, are their actually magnificent hoods. Clearly, hoods are nice. Nonetheless, they will also be a ache in the way in which they block your view, particularly when making an attempt to do issues like look aloft to test sail trim. To assist remedy this drawback, Zhik has created what it calls its “head-lock” hood design to make sure the hood follows your head as you’re trying round. Then there’s the hood’s versatile, fog-resistant, anti-kink, 180 diploma Hydrovision see-through visor. What an excellent concept! Anybody who’s ever needed to attain as much as get their hood out of the way in which to see what they’re doing when crusing or racing in soiled climate will instantly acknowledge some great benefits of this setup. Developed with enter from Crew Akzonobel and 2017-18 Volvo Ocean Race winners Dongfeng Race Crew, the OFS800 line employs eVent membrane tech all through to offer a mix of breathability and sturdiness. Within the jacket, articulated arm paneling, versatile neoprene wrist seals and photoluminescent Reflexite reflectors full the efficiency bundle. The OFS800 jacket is out there in black, “Flame Crimson” and “Acid Lime.” An OFS800 smock and salopettes are additionally out there.
$779. Zhik, zhik.com
CRUISING By Charles J. Doane
Scanstrut ROKK Wi-fi Nest and Catch
Smartphones are actually totally enmeshed within the lives of cruising sailors. Past offering one other avenue of inshore voice communications, they’re more and more relied upon not just for digital navigation, however for managing and controlling boat techniques each remotely and whereas aboard. In consequence, retaining telephones charged up whereas crusing has change into more and more essential. Customers seeking to escape the tyranny of charging cords have lengthy loved having wi-fi phone-charging pads of their houses, and Scanstrut has now devised a pair of totally waterproof options for mariners. Its ROKK Wi-fi Catch is a straightforward open-faced charging pad, with a nonskid charging floor and fiddles throughout to assist maintain your telephone in place. A sister-product, the ROKK Wi-fi Nest, is much more safe—a bit of charging cave, if you’ll, which you can set up in a bulkhead or pedestal. It’s designed to empty correctly and extra totally comprises your valuable slab ‘o glass than a mere charging floor. Each merchandise can stand blasts of recent or salt water and might plug into each 12- and 24-volt electrical techniques. Each additionally function one thing known as “Clever International Object Detection,” which permits them to tell apart between your telephone and some other objects you may accidently drop into them, so that you needn’t fear about losing energy charging up your pockets or automotive keys.
$105 to $115. Scanstrut, scanstrut.com
Temo-450 Electrical Outboard Wand
For cruisers who’re used to rowing their tenders from place to position, however nonetheless sometimes pine for a lift of motorized propulsion, Temo-450 will appear a godsend. Consider it as an electrical bicycle for the boating set—or, extra precisely, as an electrical sculling oar with a propeller on the finish. The physique of the oar, which telescopes in size from 4ft 3in to 5ft 6in, comprises a 290W lithium-ion battery pack and 450W brushless electrical motor. The latter powers a three-bladed 6.7in propeller and might generate as much as 26.4lb of static thrust, sufficient to maneuver a ship weighing as much as 1,100lb (or a lightweight inflatable with three individuals aboard) for as much as 80 minutes at a average cruising velocity. The motor can drive in each ahead and reverse, and is managed by a easy ergonomic set off built-in into the oar’s deal with. All instructed the system weighs lower than 11lb and may be totally charged in about 3 hours through both a 12V or 220V connection. The French-built Temo is designed to function optimally when deployed at a 30-degree angle and mounts on a easy oarlock socket that may be put in on the transom of most any small craft. Out there equipment embrace a carrying case and a particular pair of handcuffs for locking the motor to a ship when not in use.
$1,690. Temo, temofrance.com
SAFETY By Adam Cort & Ben Ellison
ACR ResQLink View RLS PLB
When issues go unsuitable at sea, nervousness could be a main obstacle to dealing with the scenario effectively, and an all-too-common supply of hysteria is security gear you’ve by no means totally activated earlier than. What does that flashing LED on my PLB or EPIRB imply once more? For a number of years, the small digital display on the ACR ResQLink View Private Locator Beacon (PLB) has been serving to on this regard, offering reassuring info like beacon transmit standing and your World Navigation Satellite tv for pc System (GNNS) place, if mounted. The View show additionally makes the allowed common testing extra definitive and satisfying. Extra lately, the Return Hyperlink Service (RLS), which earned a Pittman Award for the Galileo GNNS system in 2020, has been built-in into ACR’s new ResQLink View RLS mannequin to take beacon reassurance to a complete new stage by placing the ends in writing. Particularly, when “EMERGENCY RLS MESSAGE RCVD” scrolls onto the display, you’ll know that your misery message has been obtained and localized at a Cospas-Sarsat floor station and forwarded to the suitable authorities rescue company. Now you can calm down a bit, assured within the data expert assistance is on its method. Be aware: whereas it’s taken longer than anticipated to approve RLS use in some international locations, the U.S. is anticipated to affix Europe, Canada and plenty of others in early 2022.
$469. ACR, acrartex.com
ICOM M94D Class-H VHF with AIS
Class-H VHF radios with built-in GPS receivers and Digital Selective Calling (DSC) supply quite a lot of security and navigation options not present in standard audio-only handhelds, making them particularly helpful aboard a young or small sailboat missing mounted electronics. For instance, a Class-H can place an automatic misery name that gives your place and ID to all close by vessels. It will also be used to information you again to a saved waypoint or just-created individual overboard place. Now comes the Icom M94D, which has upped the Class H ante by together with an AIS receiver as effectively. In addition to plotting vessels with AIS transceivers and alarming you about any harmful ones which may be coming too shut, an M94D could make a direct DSC name to a goal vessel’s bridge. Equally, for those who save a recognized boat’s MMSI quantity within the radio’s DSC listing for straightforward direct calling, its AIS icon might be marked as a “Pal” on the plotting display and might even be made out there as a go-to waypoint—making for a helpful method of discovering your mothership in a darkish anchorage, or a distant committee boat as you’re making your method towards the beginning line. The M94D can also be loaded with high-end handheld VHF options like 6W output, lively noise cancelling, favourite channel scanning, and optimistic flotation. $300. Icom, icomamerica.com
Sirius Sign – C-1002
Anybody who has ever tried firing up any type of Coast Guard authorized pyrotechnic rescue flare is aware of what they’re like—scorching, nasty and mainly the very last thing on the earth you’re going to need to should cope with in what’s already, by definition, a reasonably furry scenario. In recent times, quite a lot of firms have come out with varied digital strobe-type “flares” in response to this difficulty. Nonetheless, with its new C-1002 two-color digital Visible Misery System system, Sirius Sign has taken this sort of security gear to a complete new stage. The world’s first digital flare to satisfy the brand new USCG security normal for this sort of equipment, the C-1002 comes outfitted with a minimum of 13 extremely highly effective LEDs to make it brighter and extra highly effective than its rivals by an order of magnitude. An included Sirius Sign App for iOS & Android cell telephones will also be used to do issues like carry out system checkups or present instantaneous SOS notifications and placement to first responders, towing companies and different designated contacts. General design and development high quality are excellent, with a ruggedly constructed, waterproof case that floats in an upright place. At full cost the C-1002 gives an unbelievable six hours of runtime, 4 hours greater than required. Search for this spectacular piece of drugs to set a brand new normal for non-pyrotechnic flares. $299. Sirius Sign, siriussignal.com
ELECTRONICS By Ben Ellison
Balmar MC-618 Regulator with SmartLink
Many sailors have a love/hate relationship with their exterior Balmar multi-stage regulators. Their potential to maximise a ship engine’s charging output whereas additionally treating your battery financial institution effectively is extremely appreciated. Nonetheless, utilizing the system’s built-in magnetic reed change to switch the various doable settings for a brand new alternator or battery kind can result in loud cursing. The brand new MC-618 solves this difficulty with aplomb whereas additionally integrating properly with Balmar’s comparatively new SG200 modular battery monitoring system. For deep and simple tweaking or monitoring of the 618, you employ the Balmar SmartLink app on a telephone or pill related to the SG2 Bluetooth Gateway. Examine real-time charging standing or make easy regulator modifications on the brilliant 2in SG2 show, which tracks battery financial institution voltage, present movement and state-of-charge. A number of gauges, regulators and SG2 SmartShunts may share knowledge and 12/24v energy over a easy four-wire SmartLink cable. Furthermore, the SmartShunt can purportedly decide a battery financial institution’s true amp-hour capability because it ages—a uncommon however helpful metric known as State of Well being. The MC-618 can nonetheless be programmed with the included magnet-tipped screwdriver, however few sailors will ever use it.
$330. Balmar, balmar.web
Digital Yacht NavAlert NMEA 2000 Monitoring System
Fashionable devices and multifunction screens are usually good at displaying the wide range of navigation and boat system knowledge that it’s now doable to stream over an NMEA 2000 community. Nonetheless, they’re usually weak on the type of audio and visible alarming that may assist a skipper keep away from info overload. With this in thoughts, Digital Yacht has stepped into the breach with a community module that may monitor any N2K worth, be it depth, waste tank stage, stuffing field temperature, no matter. Alert and alarm parameters are arrange utilizing a telephone or pill browser with NavAlert’s Wi-Fi connection, and the system features a loud waterproof flashing buzzer with a built-in mute change. Furthermore, NavAlert outputs detailed alarm messages that may pop up on some shows, like Garmin’s, and within the works is one other N2K-powered module known as NavChat that may present voice alerts in plain English. NavAlert additionally helps a devoted MOB button that may activate a return-to-MOB routine on most chartplotters, plus superior AIS collision avoidance and anchor dragging screens that may run in your browser display. Handle all boat alarms in a single place, reap the advantages in a number of methods.
$360. Digital Yacht, digitalyachtamerica.com
Garmin Encompass View Docking Cameras
To realize its bold purpose of eliminating all horizontal blind spots whereas docking, Garmin Encompass View is engineered right into a sailboat’s design as fastidiously as its standing rigging. Six compact stainless-steel cameras rugged sufficient to outlive life embedded in a vessel’s topsides are exactly arrayed across the hull’s perimeter with the video from their semi-fisheye lenses all streaming to a strong central picture processing unit. On this method the individual on the helms will get a synthesized fowl’s-eye view all the way in which across the hull for situational consciousness plus the flexibility to zoom in on any one of many six optimized particular person digicam views. The system may overlay a visible bumper and/or vary strains, whereas the ahead views will little question be helpful when anchoring or mooring(and maybe capturing close-up video of frolicking dolphins!). Whereas Encompass View is at present out there solely to boatbuilders, with a number of new cruising catamaran installs anticipated to launch this spring, Garmin hopes to finally supply an aftermarket set up program as effectively. Be aware, you can’t use the system’s fowl’s-eye view to test sail trim, though a complicated model with masthead cameras appears doable.
Worth NA. Garmin, garmin.com
SYSTEMS by Jay Paris
Mastervolt MLI ULTRA 12/1250
Mastervolt, whereas one among many firms now providing lithium-ion batteries, stands out with its new MLI Extremely 12/1250, due to the battery’s intensive mixture of options. Because the title implies, it’s a 12-volt 1,250 watt-hour battery using a set of Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) cells, the sorts of cells usually thought of among the many most secure at present out there. These cells, together with a proprietary Administration Battery System (BMS), all come inside a water-proof housing that weighs 33.1lb and it expressly designed to function a drop-In substitute for Group 31 and 49 batteries. The BMS’s self-learning balancing algorithm ensures the optimum use of every cell and gives info through NMEA2000 Czone and Masterbus communications on the battery’s total state. Join the communication cable to any supported Mastervolt charger and the battery routinely configures the charger to match the battery. An built-in change additionally disconnects the battery cells within the occasion of any type of abnormalities. Safety is offered for over voltage, below voltage and over temperature as effectively. The battery will ship as much as 200 amps constantly and has an integral warmth pad powered by the related charger to make sure most charging efficiency in freezing temperatures, a helpful function for boats laid up over the winter up North. The battery has a lifespan of over 2,000 cycles at 80 p.c depth of discharge and may be recharged in below 60 minutes.
Worth NA. Mastervolt, mastervolt.com
Kanvaslight by Guardtex
Guardtex’s Kanvaslight is a versatile illuminating materials woven out of Polyester and PPMA optical fibers that weighs 2.38 ounces per sq. foot and may be pre-integrated into the textile meeting of your selection. Choices embrace every thing from Sunbrella to comparable materials that may then be connected to the material of, say, a bimini high with needle and thread or utilizing Velcro, zippers or magnets. (When put in the Kanvaslight fibers may be safely folded together with the structural cloth.) Two completely different gentle “injectors” can be found to energy a variety of widths and lengths as much as 8ft. These embrace a Commonplace 15w 12 to 24-volt DC mannequin and the Mini 2.5w 5 to 16-volt DC iteration. The Commonplace weighs 17.6 oz; the Mini weighs 2.8 oz. Each produce 2,700K heat white. Variable RBG lighting can also be as an choice as is dimmable management through a sensible telephone. The injector environmental limitations are between 5 and 95 levels F, so cautious placement may be required to be used below tropical situations. Be aware, there isn’t a electrical energy flowing within the cloth itself. The corporate’s web site illustrates dozens of various makes use of, each seemingly extra enjoyable than the final.
Worth upon request. Guardex Inc., kanvaslight.com.
RemigoOne Electrical Outboard
Remigo, an organization based mostly in Slovenia, clearly did some pondering exterior the field when it got here time to develop its eponymous RemigoOne electrical outboard. Most different electrical outboards share an total configuration very similar to that of their fossil-fueled cousins. Nonetheless, the RemigoOne consists of just about simply an aluminum fin with an airfoil part thick sufficient to include the unit’s batteries, controls and propeller drive. The fin will also be slid up and down in its two-part mounting bracket to regulate for depth. The outboard weighs 26.9lb (32.5lb for those who embrace the bracket) and decals on the edges of the fin are reflective to offer improved visibility at night time. The system’s batteries may be charged with both of an AC or a DC charger. Cost occasions vary from three to 6 to 12 hours relying on the charger you go along with. Movies of the RemigoOne in motion (our judging panel didn’t get an opportunity to take one out for a spin) present actually spirited efficiency with a pram and greater than may in any other case be anticipated when used aboard a light-weight daysailer with a crew of three. In keeping with Remigo the system’s thrust is similar to a standard 3hp outboard. Vary is as much as 14 miles at a half-speed of three knots.
Worth NA. Remigo d.o.o., remigo.eu
