Load measurement for validation and data collection


No need to be self- obsessed when cold and damp on the rail… become an active member of your boat’s data acquisition and management group.


BY CHARLIE CARTER


Load sensors and data gathering have been a familiar part of the sport going back to the late era of IOR – in particular the final generation of IOR supermaxis like Bill Koch’s data-muncher Matador3. Today the technology is prevalent from the America’s Cup to big offshore trimarans to IMOCA, VO65s and including most of the modern superyacht fleet. The demand for data from raceboats is continually increasing – but it’s a form of technology that to date has been relatively inaccessible to the mainstream sailor, not to mention many designers and builders.


However, for some time Spinlock has been working on developing load-sensing technology that is accessible to the wider world of sailing, as the company’s marketing manager James Hall explains: ‘Spinlock has been measuring load on ropes and rigging for 20 years, but recently more and more people in the sport have acquired an appetite for data and the performance benefits data can bring to a team if used correctly.’


The benefits are many and varied, including:


• validating design loads, static and dynamic


• validating line choices • validating winch and block sizes • adding in or taking out purchase • as an accurate and repeatable trimming aid


46 | The Report • December 2018 • Issue 86


‘We’re finding it’s not just sailors who are interested in the data,’ says Hall, ‘it’s also boatbuilders and designers looking to validate actual loads against design predictions. The same is true for spar-builders while sail designers want to understand more about the loadings on their sails and modify their designs accordingly.’


Spinlock offers two ranges of Sense products – Digital and Wireless – with several models working through the tonnage spectrum: 5, 10, 20, and 50T. The units are simple to attach into a system using soft loops, so can be moved around the boat and installed or removed in seconds.


A feature of Sense load cells is Bluetooth connectivity, allowing data capture to phones and tablets via the Spinlock app.


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