Sailing and electronic control

Originally posted by ian.r.mcdonald indeed add a Spektrum transmitter and a few servos and you could lower the all up sailing weight by about 65 kilos

Going back to my analogy about WW2 fighter planes, I think that was not really what I wanted to say. A better one might be the dinghy world being similar to carburetor based car engines. Carbs were/are lovely finely engineered pieces of equipment, and I remember my Dad taking his apart on the kitchen table to clean and adjust. However when injection systems came in they offered so many advantages in terms of relability and adjustability (for those who really want to) that carbs have now virtually disapeared from modern road vehicle.

Electronic control has penetrated so far into all aspects of our society that I'm sure it will make an apperance in some sailing dinghys if some class rules were relaxed. This will mean disruption for some but in some classes where money if of less importance, but  it may mean an unbeatable edge. With sample times in the mega hertz,  response time would be far faster than anything available now.

A simple introduction might be control for T foil rudders, it might be posible to have smaller surfaces used more effectively?

Conceptually, using electronics to control foils is not hugely different from using an autopilot to steer.
These things have their place in certain areas of sailing.

I suspect we could add a lot of complication and find the wand system on a Moth is just as good?
Much as some cruising sailors still use vane systems?

Plug and play?

Why not go the whole hog, remove the moveable ballast (ie helm) and replace with ecu plus appropriately placed videocams and servos?

That way the (fat) controllers can remain on the shore and if they require the genuine experience, one duty of the race officers would be to hose competitors down at frequent intervals.