Safiery Dual Helm with Steer by WireQuasar Sail-by-Wire electric steering for catamarans, two helm stations

Overview

Dual Helm with Steer by Wire is the two-station configuration of Safiery's Quasar Sail-by-Wire for performance sailing catamarans. Each rudder is moved by its own linear electric actuator, each wheel carries a sealed torque-feedback helm controller, and a dual-channel safety controller links them on the vessel's 48V DC bus. Real rudder load returns to the active wheel in under 20 milliseconds, and autopilot, docking assistance and speed-adaptive steering are handled in software.

• One linear electric actuator per rudder
• Sealed torque-feedback helm controller behind each wheel
• Dual-channel safety controller
• Runs on the vessel's 48V DC bus
• Rudder load fed back to the wheel in under 20ms

How it works

Quasar Sail-by-Wire replaces cables, sprockets and hydraulics on a performance sailing catamaran with electric steering. Each rudder has its own linear electric actuator, each wheel has a sealed torque-feedback helm with integrated controller, and a dual-channel safety controller sits between them. The whole system runs natively on the vessel's 48V DC bus.

A force sensor inside each actuator measures the actual hydrodynamic load on the rudder blade, which is returned as resistive torque at the active wheel in under 20 milliseconds. Weather helm, lee helm and the load building in a gust are therefore felt at the wheel, rather than synthesised from a software map of speed and angle.

Compared with cable and hydraulic steering

Safiery contrasts the system with the two usual architectures. Cable and sprocket gives feel but limits a practical installation to two helm stations and needs a separate hydraulic drive for the autopilot. A hydraulic power pack holds pressure continuously, drawing 300–500W, which Safiery puts at 8–12kWh over a 24-hour passage. Both couple the two rudders, ruling out opposed rudder angles for moving sideways to a dock and independent use of one rudder if the other jams.

Functions

Because the steering is electric, redundant and engineered for certification, autopilot, docking assistance and speed-adaptive steering are software functions that need no additional hardware. This product is the dual-helm configuration, with a torque-feedback helm at each of two steering stations.

Questions and answers