ARE WE HEADED TOWARDS AUTOMATED SAILING?

Jeanneau and Harken present “Assisted Sail Trim”

It is definitely fun to trim your sailing yacht and push it to top speed. But there are those moments where sailing should just be relaxing, and you only want to do one thing: nothing except from enjoy and maybe steer. The only just presented “Assisted Sail Trim” (AST) system, jointly developed by Jeanneau and Harken, will make the dream for recreational cruising come true – even for a shorthanded crew.

Provided that the yacht has electrical Harken RewindTM winches, the sailor only needs to define parameters such as course, speed and maximum angle of heel. The rest will be done by the system: tacking, trimming the sails and avoiding strong heel. Sensors detect wind speed and apparent wind and transfer the data to a computer that is operated from a cockpit display with a push-button control over each winch. Further automation is provided for furling and unfurling the genoa as well as setting and lowering the mainsail. Load sensors detect jams and allow the halyard to be eased for safe operation.

With their innovation, Jeanneau and Harken cater to the rising demand for facilitated yacht handling due to aging boat owners and sailors. The Assisted Sail Trim will be exclusive to the Jeanneau Sun Odyssey range in 2016.