Dual Helm with Steer by Wire

Quasar Sail-by-Wire replaces cables, sprockets and hydraulics on a performance sailing catamaran. It is a fully electric steering system: one linear electric actuator per rudder, a sealed torque-feedback helm integrated controller behind each wheel, and a dual-channel safety controller between them, all running natively on the vessel's 48 V DC bus. This system delivers to the helmsman the real feel of the rudders. An integral force sensor inside each actuator reports the actual hydrodynamic load on the rudder blade which is transferred as resistive torque at the active wheel in under 20 milliseconds. Weather helm, lee helm and the load building through a gust all translate accurately. Because the foundation is electric, redundant and engineered for certification, autopilot, docking assistance and speed-adaptive steering are software applications that don’t require additional hardware.

A performance sailing catamaran has two rudders, a wide bridgedeck, and crew who need to steer from wherever the sails are being trimmed. Neither of the two steering architectures do this efficiently. Cable and sprocket gives real feel and nothing else. Cable geometry limits a practical installation to two helm stations. Autopilot requires a separate hydraulic pump and ram, a second drive system with its own energy budget, failure modes and periodic maintenance. Nothing in the system is measured, so per-rudder load and port/starboard differential are unavailable and no fault can be seen developing. Helm weight is set by mechanical advantage and is identical for every crew member aboard. The steering ratio is fixed, so the ratio suited to open water is the one used to dock. Bruce: get tradition cable and sprocket srawing Hydraulics solve the station count and the autopilot, and take the feel away. The power pack holds pressure continuously, drawing 300–500 W whether or not the helm is moving, for a function the rudder actually performs 10–15% of the time: 8–12 kWh over a 24-hour passage, most of a house battery spent on steering. It brings fluid, hoses, seals, bleeding and commissioning, and plumbing runs through both hulls. What the sailor feels at the wheel is the system, not the water, and where feedback is offered it is synthesised from a software map of speed and angle rather than measured at the rudder blade. Kachina: Supply 2D drawing of typical hydraulic diagram Both architectures couple the two rudders, which forecloses two things a catamaran is otherwise well suited to: opposed rudder angles for crabbing sideways alongside a dock, and graceful degradation when one rudder jams, where the answer today is to abandon the steering system and operate the free rudder manually.

SKU

SBW-mcconaghy-dual-helm

Price

$38489.00 AUD inc. GST

Availability

Made to order