A+T Instruments have just completed a (very) successful first decade at the cutting edge of raceboat and superyacht instrumentation
Today, A+T is a well-oiled machine based in a modern industrial site in Lymington, UK, the birthplace of electronic yacht instruments. Every day, parts and systems are shipped to all corners of the globe and the 24/7 support team is helping the near 1,000 A+T client yachts.
Now boasting a complete range of sensors, instrument processors, displays and accessories, A+T equipment is found on many of the largest and fastest yachts on the planet. Everything is built at A+T in the UK, giving complete control over quality with everything in stock for same-day shipping.
So it is with much pride that founders Richard Tinley and Hugh Agnew look back over the first 10 years, the building of the product range, the A+T brand and the team.
Tinley is an incredibly talented design engineer with a wealth of experience providing repair and service for a leading yacht electronics company over 35 years. What he does not know about how instruments leak, corrode, fail or malfunction is not worth knowing.
Agnew has spent his career both navigating race yachts professionally and building navigation systems including the Yeoman chartplotter, the first live tracking of yachts for the America’s Cup and the first mobile phonebased car navigation system.
With major electronic instrument companies chasing the mass markets of production boats, Tinley and Agnew felt certain that there was an opening for a company that would concentrate on the highest end of the market, absolutely committed to very good design, build quality and superb support.
Below: Pete Simmonds, 2nd from right in this photo of Adela, joined A+T as head of sales in 2023
With a lean team and enormous energy, their initial displays were developed and put into production within months. The early effort was producing leading-edge equipment that worked with existing sensors, cabling and other elements on the many thousands of yachts using legacy systems from the 1980s to 2008, a time of enormous growth in the large yacht market. Still today, much of A+T’s sales are to boats which migrate from an older system to a fantastic new system by just changing some parts as needed without a complete refit or re-wire.
Then followed instrument processors with the widest range of interfacing capabilities, supporting all the protocols found on advanced yacht systems including Fastnet, NMEA0183, CANbus (N2K compatible), Ethernet and analogue. The highest end of this processor range, the ATPX, has dedicated Modbus interfacing, 100Hz data logging and user programmable Node-RED for advanced functions and customisation.
A very powerful autopilot was launched and is very well regarded by the captains using it. This is the first production pilot with a web interface for tuning and troubleshooting.
In 2019, A+T introduced the monster full-colour BFD displays, the toughest, largest and brightest displays sitting in the same footprint as a 40/40. This makes fitting them to many large yachts much easier.
Possibly the pinnacle of A+T’s innovation is based on Tinley’s deep experience with wind sensors since the 1980s. A new, much faster and more accurate wind sensor has been developed and widely accepted by top race boats including Macif, the winner of this year’s Vendée Globe. This sensor is outstanding in its own right, including innovations like ceramic bearings, plus all its parts are interchangeable with existing wind sensors fitted to many thousands of yachts. Superior and compatible spares are available from stock, including analogue and digital PCBs.
However much a company grows, its culture is still in its people and A+T is lucky to have built a tremendous team. R&D software is led by Sam Meredith, operations by Sarah Covey while Pete Simmonds drives the customerfacing group as A+T head of sales.
Large, new-build projects are now a significant part of the business with A+T the only company making a fully Ethernet based instrument system. A+T continues innovation, raising the performance bar ever higher, and plans to be the system of choice for the most discerning and challenging future projects.
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