Our intrepid adventurers may have gone to sea in a tiny boat, but that’s not to say it is limited in its technology. And whilst we wait for our rowers to adjust to life at sea (so that they can have the energy to send footage home), this pre-recorded video shines a light on the Whaleboat’s unique autopilot system. 🎬
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Many rowing boats (if they have an autopilot at all) will use a tiller system, i.e. a lever or ram that pushes the rudder one way or another based on a bearing. Most tillers are designed for faster moving vessels, and so when applied to such a slow moving boat, it is constantly adjusting causing them to wear out, overheat, or simply break. 😩
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The Whaleboat has a more solid solution; one that is integrated with the chart plotter. Our system is connected to the rudder by an electrical actuator with a clutch system which takes a lot of strain off the steering components. The construction also takes up zero cabin space, but is still easily accessible. 🙌
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The benefits of this system go beyond reliability, ease of access and maintenance: The crew can program a route in the chart plotter (all the way to Miami if they so wished), and as long as they keep rowing and don’t need to change course because of the weather, that autopilot will get them to Miami! 🇺🇲💪
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In the case of an emergency, or for tight manoeuvres in a marina, they can switch to a manual steering system from the deck, that overrides the autopilot (more on that soon!) 🔜
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The boys are feeling a lot better, and all mouths aboard the boat are now eating which is fantastic news! 😋
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The land support team are really enjoying the engagement from you all! So let us know if there is anything you want to know about this amazing crossing. Tell us in the comments and we can cover that in a post soon! 🙏
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Read about the Front Row ocean crossing on www.jointhefrontrow.be
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Main partner: Libeco Belgian Linen
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Creative geniuses: Yanina and Felix at www.andreleon.be