The decade of 1980 It was a very active decade in the design of navigation instruments. Sensors constantly improved; B&G introduced his Sonic Speed ​​in 1984 to eliminate the moving parts of a slide that could become clogged with weeds.

Antonio Lopera, Dahlberg SA technician, installing the Sonic Speed

Custom vertical mast units appeared in the 1987 Copa America and they soon became standard items. User control of the systems was increased, allowing changes to damping and calibration, a first step in what would become a long quest for precision.

Linear channels were created that measured the voltage output using load sensors or potentiometers. This meant that functions such as rudder angle, forestay and gunstay loads could be measured.

And as systems became more open with communication networks (BUS) that supplied data to external computers, people began to write their own tactical and performance programs. It must be taken into account that even 1981 The first IBM PC did not go on the market; instrumentation based on microprocessors at that time was very limited. The most basic concepts that we now take for granted, such as sub-level menus, had to be developed from scratch.

Until 1988 waterproof tactical system to carry on deck did not appear on the market, it was the Sailmath Deckman .

At the beginning of the decade of 1990, The world of navigation already had what can be recognized as a modern system. The launch of Hercules 690 from B&G is a good example.

It had all the essential functions we would now expect from a racing yacht instrument system.

Two independent processing units integrated raw sensor data into performance data and then distributed it to a set of displays, each of which could be programmed for specific data channels. A modular design allowed for expansion of both sensors and displays, while a new company-owned BUS handled all communications between the processors and displays.

In 1992 was relaunched with new hardware based on the “brick”-shaped TouchPC. Deckman by Sailmath

Brice Pryzo developed the first isochronous solution for weather-based route design, and his software MaxSea has led the way in this area since the mid-1980s.

Sailmath joined the game with the release of Deckman for Windows in the mid 90's ; basically the software Deckman It was adapted to the Windows platform.

This allowed the development of much greater functionality and the design of the meteorological route with third-party forecasts was added for the Whitbread 1997-98.

SOURCE: NAVICO

If you missed the third chapter, Teams of the Gods, you can consult it here.

On Friday the 10th, Chapter 5: R-evolution of sensors .