Harken Fosters bring Cyclops load sensors to NZ

Smarttune load cells can be placed almost anywhere onboard and wirelessly transmit load data © Harken Fosters

Fosters Ship Chandlery are proud to announce that they are the exclusive distributors for the Cyclops Marine Smart range.

Bringing America’s Cup technology to ordinary sailors, the smarttune® and smartlink® wireless load sensors allow sailors to accurately measure stay tension and line loads in real time, transmitting data either to your mobile device via a dedicated app or to your existing boat electronics.

Remember your best race? Everything clicked. You were in a different gear than everyone else. You pointed higher off the start line. You were going faster than the competition. The following day you go to repeat it all, and you just can’t find the same gear. Professional sailors repeatedly appear to find ‘that gear’, yet the weekend sailor has limited control over what kind of day they will have on the water. The Cyclops smarttune® and smartlink® truly are a plug-in performance upgrade for your boat.

Data can be sent to your smart device using an app or will integrate with your existing boat electronics package. - photo © Harken Fosters

Cyclops smarttune® makes repeatable headsail shape control available for yachts 26’ – 56’. There are few variables that are directly controllable by the crew, but four-time Volvo Ocean Race Winner Stu Bannatyne says, “matching forestay tension to the wind and sails is the key to upwind performance.” So, if a sailor could set their rig up precisely according to the wind and their sails time after time, they would have a massive leg-up on the competition. With smarttune® you can measure and repeat your fastest settings, control your forestay sag, headsail shape, or your mast bend to manage your mainsail shape as you race for optimal performance in all conditions, on all points of sail.

With the precision-designed Cyclops smartlink®, live and dynamic sheet loading is available in real time for yachts from 26’ to 82’. Set up smartlink® on your mainsheet, code sail tack line, cunningham, vang, kite sheets, soft backstays or any soft line. Just like smarttune®, smartlink® is designed for the racing environment. smartlinks® are significantly smaller, stronger and lighter than any similar products giving peace of mind in high load situations. The soft attach also allows for an improved lead to avoid sideloading.

Forestay load sensing made much easier with smarttune. - photo © Harken Fosters

Both Cyclops products are so easy to install. Simply swap out a bottlescrew for smarttune® and add a smartlink® inline to any ‘soft’ stay or sheet at the dock. Install the dedicated app for connection to your device. Utilising the latest Bluetooth technology also means there are no wires. For integration with your N2k electronics, simply plug and play with a small gateway box.

Both the Cyclops smarttune® and smartlink® are available to order from Fosters Ship Chandlery now.