Now it’s not only the sailors who can benefit from Sailmon’s innovations in accessing high-accuracy performance and wind information

Think data analysis and it’s hard not to conjure up images of earnest technical studies with spreadsheets full of numbers and detailed conclusions. Yet for some, like the instrument manufacturer Sailmon, data analysis is a new route to bring more fun into sailing and it is this that is at the heart of their recently launched free app.

At its most fundamental level the Sailmon app allows any user to see basic sailing data based around the GPS functions available on their smartphone. Whether you are racing or cruising on anything from a superyacht to a dinghy, trips can be logged, replayed and shared.

‘We want people to challenge themselves or the rest of the community every time they go sailing,’ says Kalle Coster, design and development director at Sailmon. ‘Whether it’s about being faster, making more miles or simply replaying your trips and reliving your best moments to improve your sailing skills, being able to log your performance adds to the fun of sailing.’

The intuitive software opens up possibilities for a very wide range of users, from offshore racers to kite surfers. Even in its most basic form, the app can assist with either multiple boat training or individual coaching where speeds, angles and other performance details can be logged for later analysis. The system can also mark points at which sail changes or manoeuvres were made.

Using the phone’s GPS tracker on the network, a boat’s performance is also readily available in real time to show key variables such as speed, wind angle and course over ground. Combined with polar data and wind data, the app’s performance screen also shows target speed and angle, which is especially important upwind.

The ability to build and store data over a period of time also allows a more accurate performance profile to be created, which in turn allows finer calibration of the data and improved target speeds.

The Sailmon app can also provide a more sophisticated link with the boat’s instruments, in particular the Sailmon E4 processor, either the standard White model, the high-performance Silver model or the ultimate performance E4 Black processor. Here, another key feature of this app’s versatility is its ability to operate independently as its own performance processor. And when more channels and features are needed it has full power and functionality within an existing installed Sailmon system.

With this link and the next level of data available, it becomes an even more powerful tool.

Yet there’s still more to come.

Sailmon’s innovative Windstation system, which is currently being rolled out, allows land-based locations such as sailing clubs to set up a live weather station that feeds accurate real time weather information out to the Sailmon app via the net.

In addition to having this data displayed live, it can also be tailored to show trends over a period of time. So, from basic sail selection for kite boarders, to offshore teams looking to see if the weather is playing to the forecast, this will be a strategic and tactical tool. And like the boat data itself, the Windstation data can be shared with club members, team mates and others.

In a racing environment, the ability to monitor individual performances in a fleet also opens up the possibility of alternative ways of rewarding performance. While a particular sailor may not have won the race they might have posted the fastest downwind speed, or the fastest path to the top mark.

‘We definitely want to encourage our users to explore all the capabilities and share what they do, what they learn and what they know among others,’ says Coster. ‘We want this app to become a tool to help sailors across a wide range of the sport, not simply to gather and analyse performance for one boat and one team, but be shared in its use across a community of like-minded performance sailors, who share the same hunger and passion to learn more and race better and faster.’

And as the community builds, Coster sees friends, family and competitors connecting and communicating by adding boats and friends to their timeline to share in what’s happening on the water, anywhere in the world.

Download the free Sailmon App from the App Store or Google Play.

Click here for more information on Sailmon »

Not exactly... but Dimension-Polyant still have good reason to be pleased with their first foray into a production film-less laminate sailcloth

There are few that would dispute the advent and development of film-less sailcloth has been a revolution in sailmaking. Now, however, Dimension- Polyant has developed its own version of film-less thin-ply multi-axial laminate sailcloth called i-LEX that may help broaden the benefits of this technology to more boats in the 35ft-45ft raceboat marketplace.

Not only have the issues of film laminate crazing and associated problems been eliminated, but the overall weight has been reduced while strength and durability increased to impressive degrees of performance. Sails built with these materials are tough, light and hold their shapes, a perfect combination of qualities for the premium racing programme.

As with many new technologies, this superior material comes at a premium price, one often out of reach for all but the most expensive programmes in the high-performance premium marketplace. You see these sails in the photos and videos that come from pro-level sailing in boats upwards of 40ft, but rarely in your local club.

‘We have been working on this development very intensely for the last four years. Internally we called it our Black Snow Project,’ says Uwe Stein, managing director of Dimension-Polyant. ‘This was an expensive process, but we recognised that it was a necessary step to develop filmless laminates as the next level of evolution in sailcloth.

‘This will be achieved not just through a lower production cost compared with the existing thin-ply materials used today, but because of the broad network of sailmakers around the world who already know and trust their relationship with Dimension-Polyant to produce sails equipped with this technology,’ he adds.

Characteristics of i-LEX include homogeneous fibre packing, lower levels of crimp, improved stretch characteristics, lower void content and improved mechanical properties such as:

• Outstanding Weight-to-Strength Ratio: Compared with existing rolled good laminates i-LEX provides excellent stretch resistance for very low weight and close to 200 per cent improvement over traditional film laminates.
• Off Angle Improvement: The stretch resistance in directions off the warp are significant. At an angle of 30° the figures are three times better than traditional rolled goods laminates.
• Tear Resistance: It is almost impossible to tear i-LEX. This provides a high safety factor to finish any race.
• Delamination: As it is a matrix technology it is not possible to separate the single layers.
• Durability: All on-the-water tests have shown an excellent shape holding ability. The extended performance lifetime has to be taken into account as a major factor when i-LEX is compared with other laminates. The durability qualifies i-LEX for any Grand Prix level as well as for offshore applications.

The outer skin of i-LEX is Dimension-Polyant’s proven Lite Skin material, which is not only tough, but is compatible with standard panel assembly techniques using Ultra or Q-bonding with no stitching required.

Also in this initial phase, i-LEX is being produced with aramid and UHMWPE (eg, Dyneema) fibres to meet the design loads and price points of the broader marketplace, with a priority placed on radial cut applications…cross-cut materials are anticipated in the future once demand is established.

While this hi-ply technology offers a myriad of fibre layout options, i-LEX is available for now in three styles:

• i-LEX 4, with 3800 DPI equivalent warp denier
• i-LEX 6.5, with 6600 DPI equivalent warp denier
• i-LEX 10.5, with 10.400 DPI equivalent warp denier

These should help sailmakers meet the load demands for upwind sails on most boats of 35-45ft in length, with a realistic target price that meets both sailmakers’ and sailors’ expectations.

One convincing testimonial on the virtues of i-LEX comes from UK-based sailmaker Peter Sanders:

‘We used the Dimension-Polyant i-LEX laminate on a new no 1 genoa for the Swan 41 Philippides and we are delighted with the result. I admit that I was a bit concerned when the cloth arrived because it was so light, but this concern proved to be unfounded because the genoa holds its shape beautifully in all conditions, the crew find the sail so much easier to handle than its heavy predecessor and there is far less weight aloft’.

Erci Varin from Voilerie Granvilaise concludes, ‘we used i-LEX for the J1 and the mainsail of a Sun Fast 3600. The programme of the boat is directed mainly towards racing but also for use by the family. The lightness of the product is quite disconcerting and is reminiscent of Cuben Fiber, but with a much higher dynamic stability. Apart from winning the first race with the new sails, the owner is blown away by the lightness of them’.

Say no more.

Click here for more information on Dimension-Polyant »

Upgrading the world’s fastest superyachts with the latest and lightest grand prix carbon rigging is no place to be discussing tolerances...

Rigging a large, high-performance yacht is always going to be a major undertaking. It’s a complex engineering challenge with millimetre tolerances in cables measuring more than 50 metres in length and – if you’re serious about performance – the cable ellipse profiles are individually tailored for optimal performance across a range of wind angles. Tight, collaborative project management is paramount whether you’re retrofitting new cables to a yacht’s existing mast or designing a set of standing rigging for a new-build mast. That said, yacht owners and crew who have upgraded to Carbo- Link rigging tend to find the process a lot more straightforward and the benefits easier to realise than they initially expected.

Two notable racing yachts that have recently been down this route are Galateia, a 100ft Wally which is optimised for fast-paced superyacht regattas and Rambler 88, the coastal and ocean racing maxi. Both yachts were in major refit mode, with owners and teams looking to improve performance with leading-edge, proven and reliable technology. ‘Carbo-Link worked very closely with Galateia and Rambler’s permanent and race crews right from the start,’ says Carbo-Link’s James Wilkinson. ‘That was crucial to understand the specific requirements and parameters of each project and to ensure that our solutions precisely met the clients’ demands.’

Both of these projects required close collaboration on a tight schedule between Carbo-Link and Southern Spars, which had built Galateia’s mast and was in the process of producing Rambler’s new mast. ‘It was an enjoyable and efficient process,’ Axel Strauss, Carbo-Link’s project manager for Galateia and Rambler explains. ‘Clear timelines were established and engineering requirements from both companies were shared, analysed, iterated and signed off.’

Retrofit project
Galateia’s rigging upgrade – which included elliptical solid carbon lateral rigging, forestay and elliptical hybrid running backstays – was part of a wider overhaul to give Galateia a performance edge over her rivals in the fiercely competitive Wally fleet. ‘Carbo-Link was chosen based on the proven track record of our elliptical rigging,’ Wilkinson says. ‘And because Carbo-Link’s solid rigging delivers a significant reduction in the sectional size and frontal area for the equivalent stiffness compared with any other rigging currently available.’ Indeed, a useful drag reduction could have been achieved even with Carbo-Link’s round-profile rigging and this was amplified substantially with Carbo-Link’s elliptical carbon rigging.

Another important reason for choosing Carbo-Link solid rigging was the simple inspection, service and maintenance procedures. Carbo-Link’s rigging is inspected visually and with NDT if required on-site, it does not need to be sent back to the manufacturer for service and inspection. Off-site service is both costly and time consuming, and removing this requirement allows Galateia to reduce annual running costs.

‘We measured the existing rigging in situ to ensure the new rigging matched the exact lengths and geometry,’ Strauss explains. ‘This was then modelled to define all subsequent engineering.’ End fittings were designed and custom made to interface seamlessly with Southern Spars’ internal tangs. ‘We also built the threaded interfaces – threaded seats – at an early stage and tested them on the mast before we produced the rigging,’ Strauss says.

The completed rigging was coiled onto a pallet – forestay uncured and elliptical lateral rigging part-cured – and delivered by truck to Galateia’s shore base in Palma. The cables were then fully cured on site and stored ready for dressing and stepping. Final curing on site had already been factored into the manufacturing schedule and all materials included in the package price. The elliptical hybrid carbon backstays were delivered fully cured and coiled, ready to go.

The dressing was managed by Galateia’s team, assisted by Carbo-Link’s Murray Jones. Every cable fitted as designed and after checking all of the interfaces, the boat was launched and sea trials commenced with a full race crew in the Bay of Palma. ‘On the first day of sailing with the new rigging and rig modifications, the rig was tuned and locked-in better than it has been in the past,’ says Mike Hall, captain of Galateia.

Rigging for a new mast
Rambler 88 upgraded to a new, cutting-edge mast together with a Carbo-Link rigging package which included elliptical solid carbon laterals, forestay and elliptical hybrid running backstays.

‘We chose Carbo-Link because of their technical expertise,’ says Mick Harvey, Rambler’s team manager. ‘We required a robust package capable of offshore sailing, but performance orientated. We believe Carbo-Link have delivered this with their rigging package.’

Above: the Wallycento Galateia went back in the water this spring after a major refit that involved retrofitting new Carbo- Link elliptical solid carbon rigging to an existing Southern Spars mast.
Below: the new rigging cables have significantly smaller sectional sizes and frontal areas than the bundled carbon cables that they replaced, resulting in a useful reduction in aerodynamic drag. The new rigging also won’t ever need to be sent away for servicing, so Galateia should now spend less time out of action and more time sailing.

A part of the design process was optimising the size and strength of the cable end fittings to the required working load, using Carbo-Link’s GL certified safety factor of 2.35. Carbo-Link engineered the rigging terminations to fit the mast interfaces. As with Galateia, the two companies collaborated closely on spreader bend detailing.

Rambler’s lateral rigging and hybrid backstays were delivered fully cured and coiled, ready for dressing. The forestay was delivered uncured at the same time and cured on site prior to dressing. After technicians from Carbo-Link and the mast supplier, working alongside the Rambler team, had dressed the mast and thoroughly checked all the details, the new mast was stepped and sea-trialled over three days. Rambler then headed directly to St Tropez and was racing in the Rolex Giraglia Regatta only five days after stepping day.

‘The success and smooth running of this project is a testament to the efficient collaboration between the Rambler team, Carbo-Link and Southern Spars,’ says Carbo-Link’s Murray Jones.

Two successful outcomes
Both yachts’ crews were impressed with the performance of their Carbo- Link rigging in sea trials and in race conditions. They reported much improved mast and sail stability, no creep or bedding-in issues, and no concerns about chafe. ‘The masts were set up to dock tune numbers and only few minor adjustments were required during sea trials’ says Carbo-Link’s Murray Jones.

Galateia experienced minimal vibration under sail on one of the running backstays and this was eliminated altogether with the installation of a Carbo-Damper.

‘Both teams value the robustness and chafe resistance of their new rigging,’ Wilkinson says. There are other benefits besides performance. ‘Many race teams spend a lot of time and effort managing service schedules for their rigging. With Carbo-Link solid rigging that can be reduced to the absolute minimum as rigging health can be monitored on-site. We look forward to following both Galateia and Rambler in their offshore and inshore regattas.’

Click here for more information on Carbo-Link »

Volvo Ocean Race winner and Doyle Sails CEO Mike Sanderson did not mess about when he went looking for the biggest talent he could find to drive forward Doyle’s fast-expanding European operation

Things were already changing at Doyle Sails before the company’s new CEO stepped aboard. But when Mike Sanderson took on the role at the New Zealand-based global sailmaker business, the pace ramped up even further. For Sanderson, one of the main changes and the clear key to future success lay with people.

‘I have always believed fast people make fast boats,’ he explains. ‘Good ideas come from good guys. When some of these new people came on board, they cautioned me that they were not salesmen. But that was exactly why I was talking to them. They had hands-on experience. They know what you need to win campaigns, about managing budgets, about building sails that will last and be race-fast for a long time. I didn’t want them to be salesmen, I wanted them to be experts.’

And experts is precisely what he has got in the trio that has recently been announced as heading up the latest new loft in the Doyle Sails group. Based at Universal Shipyard on the River Hamble, UK, Brian Thompson, Peter Greenhalgh and Adrian Stead will need little, if any, introduction to their clients. Each of them has an impressively long list of successes across many different areas of the sport.

Brian Thompson has been one of the world’s most accomplished longdistance racers with four non-stop circumnavigations including a Jules Verne Trophy win and a Vendée Globe under his belt.

Peter Greenhalgh has also spent a great deal of time aboard high-speed multihulls and is the most successful sailor in the Extreme Sailing Series. In 10 years his worst season finish was third, every other time he has either won or finished second. He is also a past master in one-design classes and is one of the most sought-after trimmers in the racing scene aboard grand prix racing boats including Mini Maxi 72s, Fast40+, TP52s, D35s and MOD70s.

Adrian Stead also has an impressive track record that includes 14 world championship titles with teams such as RAN, Bella Mente, Mascalzone Latino and Quantum Racing. The two-time Olympian and America’s Cup sailor also has an Admirals’ Cup victory and many offshore race wins to his credit including a Middle Sea Race, two overall victories in the Fastnet and four wins at the Caribbean 600, providing a snapshot of the level of his success.

While each of the three brings a particular set of skills to the company, the overlap in their knowledge and skills generates even greater benefits and ensures a good transfer of information, both across the business and to clients and their racing teams.

‘One of my main areas of expertise is in sailing at high apparent wind speeds where the breeze is usually well forward of the beam,’ says Greenhalgh. ‘So I’m very used to working with sails that are designed to cater for that. My experience aboard one-designs also means that I’m very used to trimming these kinds of sails and understanding what it takes to achieve the right sail to deliver the right performance.’

‘Boats are generally getting faster which means that new techniques are required to get the best out of them and a good deal of this learning is coming from faster boats in the sport. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Fast40+ with a code zero or the kind of multihulls that I’ve been sailing, the knowledge required to improve performance in either case is what I can deliver’.

New technology is playing a big part in the change as well.

Thompson’s world has also revolved around high-performance multihulls, but for him the lessons have often been learned in some of the most remote and challenging places on earth. Yet still he believes that the intelligence from extreme multihull projects such as the Ultime class and the MOD70s have a big effect elsewhere in the sport.

‘It’s true that the big multihulls are at the extreme end, but the information is definitely filtering down into the more mainstream areas of the sport,’ he says. ‘The Gunboats and the Outremers are two examples of performance cruisers that have benefitted from some of the lessons that have been learned aboard the bigger boats. And it won’t stop with these boats, this is just the start.’

‘The fact is that it is now possible to achieve the same kind of speeds as a Mini Maxi aboard a cruising cat with loads of accommodation, so there’s plenty of interest from owners to move towards these types of boats.’

Among the new technology that is helping to fuel this performance improvement is Doyle’s cable-less system. An approach that is already benefitting a huge range of racing boats, and is now working its way into other areas of the sport.

‘Cable-less sails are big news in the multihull scene. They work well with boats that typically have luff sag, especially those that don’t have running backstays to straighten the luff,’ he continues. ‘They allow you to have a straight luff without having to load up the sail or indeed the boat. So this is a system that is particularly good for performance cruising cats.’

‘Even on those boats with runners, the loads are reduced significantly. On the supermaxi Comanche, the cable-less jib saw the runner loads go from 25 tonnes to 17 tonnes, which is a huge reduction.’

The ability to reduce running backstay loads has a knock-on effect elsewhere that is particularly relevant to monohulls. Reducing the compression in the mast helps to keep the mast in column. From here, masts can be made lighter which then means less weight in the keel bulb, which in turn reduces the loads and so the cycle continues.

And when it comes to the practicalities during racing, there are even more advantages, as Adrian Stead explains.

‘The cable-less concept is exceptional,’ he says. ‘Over the last four years, the Mini Maxi Worlds have been won by boats using cable-less sails. The Fast 40+ Ran has also used this technology very effectively with a masthead zero and staysails. The zero on Ran is a good example of the benefits from this type of sail.’

‘Because the Fast40+ class has a mixture of windward/leeward, coastal and around-the-cans racing, we knew we needed a versatile code zero. On Ran we have a sheave cage fitted at the 7/8th position on the mast, in other words in between the hounds and the topmast. This makes it easy to peel because it is below the spinnaker halyard exit. But the really key thing is that this is a sail that has a range from five to 20kts true so it’s not a specialist sail, but an all-round code zero,’ he says. ‘Aside from being a good flying shape, you have less weight when it’s flying out to leeward and in front of the boat. You’re also not carrying as much weight in the boat when it’s down below. The bottom line is that it’s a very efficient sail.’

Aside from being a successful professional sailor, Stead’s background also allows him to look at sailing programmes from a practical point of view.

Above: Adrian Stead is another new Doyle recruit with a very impressive track record including 14 world championship titles with teams such as Rán and Quantum, as well as two Olympic Games and an America’s Cup campaign.
Below: to complete its UK team, Doyle has also hired the accomplished and widely experienced oceanic racer Brian Thompson, who has four non-stop round-theworld races and a Jules Verne Trophy under his belt, the last with Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire V

‘My chartered accountancy background has often seen me in positions in a team where I am holding the purse strings, so I’m very aware of the considerations involved and balances that are required to get the best value for money in a campaign,’ he says.

‘It’s not unusual to come across amateur teams that are prepared to spend a serious amount of money for their season’s racing, which often involves a big spend when it comes to getting to an event. But having committed to doing an overseas event, they don’t invest in the right sails for the job, or rely on old, outdated and poorly maintained sails. To blow out an old sail on the way to the start, or not have the right one for the job, risks wasting the time and money that was spent on the campaign.’

‘So, for example, getting a proper heavy weather jib and looking after it will pay dividends in the long term. Whatever the budget, planning is at the heart of a good campaign and that’s what we’re here to help with, as well as providing fast sails.’

The trio’s experience and knowledge is clearly a big asset for the company, much of it gained on the international racing circuit. But why the move to develop a UK base?

‘The Solent is still a key centre for grand prix racing and London remains such a big part of the racing scene when it comes to the participants,’ says Greenhalgh. ‘Today, many owners are sailing a much wider range of boats than before, which could be anything from superyachts to quarter tonners, so support is a big part of what we offer and with our large, purpose-built facility on the Hamble we can deliver that support.’

But if the trio’s sailing CVs and longlist of victories still doesn’t say enough about their commitment to the future of Doyle Sails, the fact that they have each made investments in the ownership of the company is a further and unequivocal demonstration of their determination to succeed.

Click here for more information on Doyle Sails »