How The Project Started
This system grew from real sailing frustration, a lot of engineering hours and one clear goal: build an autopilot suite that behaves more like a good sailor at the helm.
My brother and I are both passionate sailors. For years, we kept coming back to the same frustration: many commercial autopilots simply do not steer the way an experienced helmsman would in real sea conditions.
After many discussions, we started writing down what would actually help on long offshore passages. That list kept growing until it became the foundation for the full system.
After I moved permanently to another country and had to sell my boat, I suddenly had more time to focus on development. As a pensioner, I also value meaningful engineering work that keeps the mind active.
I have worked with electronics and programming for around 50 years and have built many Arduino and Teensy projects. From that experience, building a complete modular suite for offshore sailing felt realistic.
To make development practical before full sea time, I built two simulator modules: a weather simulator and a boat simulator.
The boat simulator was by far the hardest part. With modelling support, I worked through the math needed to estimate vessel behavior from the available design inputs.
For the Hallberg-Rassy models, I used publicly available data and engineering estimates for mast and rig position, sail geometry, hull form, rudder and keel characteristics, and expected hydrodynamic response.
After about three months, the first-generation simulator was running. In this context, simulation means predicting how a given boat is likely to behave in specific wind, sea-state and weather conditions. That output, including leeway, roll, pitch and related motion cues, is fed into the steering logic for controller development and validation.
Before final enclosure work, several modules were developed as separate table-top units. That let me validate LCD workflows, data flow and cross-module behavior in parallel, and made it easier to find timing and integration issues before the hardware packaging was finalized.
Current page focus: The personal origin story, simulator strategy, and sea-trial collaboration model.
Quick jump: SailingKSF WX | Safety + Prevention | Logs + Polar | iPad App | Watch Remote | Voice Alarm | Relay Module | Sensors | Articles
This project is still in progress, and I would genuinely like feedback on what is missing, what feels unclear, and what would be most useful offshore. The first sea trial is planned for the 2026 sailing season, and every comment is reviewed by me before it appears publicly.
These public pages focus on what the suite actually delivers offshore: steadier steering, fail-safe automation, and practical offshore support that reduces workload without taking control away from the skipper.
No public comments yet. You can be the first to add feedback.