The Crucial Test Many Sailors Skip Before a Passage
by Cyclops Marine 10 Mar 17:00 GMT
Cyclops load monitoring is standard fit on several Bavaria models © Cyclops Marine
Every passage should begin with a pre-departure checklist. From safety equipment to weather and charts, if you are planning on spending any time under sail, no check is more crucial than a rig check.
You might think that, as long as you have safety equipment and a working engine, then you can avoid accidents. But if rig checks are not carried out diligently, it can lead to instances of rig failure that put everyone onboard at immediate risk. Apart from that, rig failure is very expensive to fix.
"We've been preparing for the Oyster World Rally for a little while. There's a lot to think about, but having the reassurance of the dock tune being right for the trip is a weight off our minds and we can concentrate on enjoying the adventure." - John Keane of Oyster 595 Alpenglow, currently in the Oyster World Rally.
How It's Done...
Basic tools like mechanical tension gauges are common, but accuracy varies wildly. These rudimentary methods are like feeling for car tyre pressure by hand. Cars have a range of reliable systems that monitor tyre pressure, oil, braking systems, engine etc. and it's now no different for a yacht's "engine above deck" - its sails and rigging.
Digital Dock Tune
When you buy a new boat directly from the manufacturer, you can be confident it is tuned to the recommended settings. But its rig tune will change (sometimes even while it sits at the dock) and will certainly be drastically altered after sailing. A digital dock tune using a Cyclops load monitoring system allows you to quickly and easily return to the manufacturer's recommended settings on screen - adjusting the rig while monitoring the tension via your onboard displays.
It also works on a smartphone app - turning a manual check (which could take a couple of hours) into an instant sanity check, or a quick, decisive adjustment.
Live Sailing
Having everything perfect at the dock is one thing, but things start to change as soon as you get the sails up. The frequency of things going wrong is especially high among brand new yachts, when owners are not used to feeling them under load. Many sailors like to keep one eye on rig loading throughout passages, or to double check their loads when they make adjustments or if conditions change.
"We're all told to sail by the numbers given to us by the manufacturer... but what point of sail are we talking about? What sea state are we talking about? What sort of gust forces are out there? Since having Cyclops on the boat we can sail by the real numbers." - Brent, skipper/owner of Lagoon 440 Impi
Accidents are also more common amongst new catamaran sailors:
"Many of our owners have come from a fast cruising monohull background. This is why, when coming to catamarans, they are a little bit lost in the sense that on a catamaran you're sailing by the numbers, because you don't have heeling." - Cédric Beaumont, Nautitech Catamarans
Another common reason things go wrong after leaving the dock is increased displacement from excessive weight onboard. Sailors often revert to settings that feel familiar, without realising that more load is acting on the sailing system. Live load monitoring removes guess work, displaying safety level in real terms.
Post-Passage
Once you're back on dry land, the Cyclops App allows you to look back at your log and review your journey. Every new Cyclops sensor also comes with built-in fatigue monitoring, storing data on your rig health & lifespan based on comprehensive load data, collected over time. This feature offers peace of mind, letting you know when maintenance is required before fatigue becomes failure. All data is logged, giving owners a complete fatigue history they can share with riggers, insurers, or prospective buyers when they come to sell their yacht.
Swapping your rudimentary rig check for a comprehensive rig monitoring system avoids accidents, cuts down time spent conducting checks, increases your time and confidence on the water, and protects your precious yacht.
Your yacht manufacturer may already offer Cyclops as standard fit or optional upgrade. Speak to the Cyclops team and we'll connect you with the right specialist.