MarkSetBot -Automatic race marks

[DArcy]

This is a really cool idea, I just don't see it being a good market

Home - MarkSetBot

MarkSetBot is the world's first robotic buoy. Self-propelled sailing mark with GPS technology; set a course without anchors or mark boats.

www.marksetbot.com

The concept is great but knowing how race equipment is maintained at most clubs, run by volunteers, this would work for about the first 5 races then it would break and get shoved to the back of the shed.
Anyone seen something like this in use?

 

[Davidasailor26]

Hmmm, $6000 + $60 per month. I think that’s out of reach for most volunteer clubs. I guess they figure race committees won’t need a mark boat, so maybe there’s cost savings there for professional regattas. Still, I don’t imagine them selling too many. Cool technology though.

 

[PaulK]

$6000 ? There are probably lots of kids who would be happy to anchor wherever you told them all summer long for that kind of money.

 

[Davidasailor26]

An interesting angle on MarkSetBot - As regattas look to restart, one of the considerations is minimizing the race committee crew, which could mean less mark boats. MarkSetBot got a mention in a recent US Sailing webcast on restarting races, see 38:15 at

. Not an overwhelming endorsement necessarily, but an interesting potential solution to a new problem.

 

[DrJudyB]

My husband is a certified race official and he demo’d a mark bot that utilized GPS to stay in position. Any wind or current pushed it out of position before it corrected itself. It became a moving target. That was about 15 months ago. He doesn’t remember the manufacturer’s name.

 

[Apex]

Harbor Springs had something like this, using trolling motors.

 

[Davidasailor26]

My husband is a certified race official and he demo’d a mark bot that utilized GPS to stay in position. Any wind or current pushed it out of position before it corrected itself. It became a moving target. That was about 15 months ago. He doesn’t remember the manufacturer’s name.

That sounds consistent with what the San Francisco guy on the webcast was trying to say. The Florida person had better luck, likely in more favorable conditions, but even for her it sounded like they had vendor support onsite, which probably wouldn’t scale and sort of defeats the purpose.