I crewed on a leaner today. The guys who own Velocitek put their SC-1 units on all the boats. It provided all the usual stuff but the best part was the after race review on their computer. They were able to display all three races with all the boats at the same time. It was pretty interesting to see how each boat performed against the others.

They told me they had originally targeted the windsurfer crowd but the performance dingy guys have been their biggest group of users. They've changed their target market and are actively going after sailors vs. windsurfers.

You can do the same thing with almost any GPS. Doesn't have to be a Velocitek.

Download GPS Action Replay.

Except for sailing related VMG display while on the water.

But yes, we use a standard wrist mounted GPS and can get a lot of good info out of it using GPS Action Replay.

My question/issue is always were do you mount a device so you can see it and also interact with it while on the wire.

Velocitek is too big to wear, so Ive seen them mounted on booms. But how do you see it on both tacks?

Some kind of rotating, weighted mount so that it swings to the tack you are on would work. Anybody got a good solution to this?

I've used a cheap Garmin in the past for speed and also location, but they get salt water in the battery compartment and then they are done, plus I've lost a couple overboard. Gets pricey even at $99 bucks for the small Garmin.

Even that you can simulate with a simple spreadsheet that projects waypoints from your current location at 5 degree intervals (download here). Upload to your GPS and you've got the same functionality as a Velocitek, albeit a bit more cumbersome.



Velicitek does have a mount that clips on to a round boom which allows it to rotate from one side to the other - you just have to get used to reading it upside down on one tack. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

Or, you could go the ultimate route and have one for each tack. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I just got a Nauteek Sail Computer...has more functions than Velocitek. Now has waypoints & routes so it is useful for distance racing.



While a regular GPS has some useful stuff (mapping)...these sailing specific units have a lot more to offer. They have race start countdown & timers; start line distance display, ability to set tacking angles manually or by tacking twice...this angle is then divided in half to approximate True Wind Direction...which is then used to indicate left/right shifts and for real VMG...not just VtoMark like a Garmin will give you.

Adjustable heading & speed display damping helps a lot on a sailboat...the numbers are more stable so you get a better feel for what small tuning changes are doing.

The Nauteek also has a bar graph display of variance in speed...very useful for improving your tacks/gybes during practice.

I'm thinking to mount the unit on the boom with a swivel fitting and some kind of line or lever on the mast so that mast rotation flips the display to the windard side each tack/gybe. Getting at the buttons is less critical on this unit..it switches to pre-defined display modes after the start, when rounding the top mark and again when rounding the bottom mark.

could you mount it on the mast or under the jib on the spin pole, and connect it to the jib clew? As that thing slides to the new tack, it could rotate the computer the opposite direction (pointing toward the high side)?

Maybe just something that the jib clew (or jib traveler) hits on its way across the deck that rotates the computer to the other direction?

Might work...but in light air the jib car might get jammed as it passes..potentially blowing a tack <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

I think if it was mounted on the pole, there would be little need to rotate the display...it's far enough forward the view angle is pretty slim. I can also mount it under the mast base on the mainbeam aft side where my tramp has a large opening. This is where I currently mount my TackTick compass...but it does have the two displays, one on each side. As long as the Nauteek's display is still viewable from the back corner & while trapped, it would be the easiest place to put it.

The Velocitek guys posted the races on their site. The best is race 3. Watch the second rounding of the weather mark by Noa.

http://www.sailgps.com/forums/index.php?showforum=7