See what you can't feel.
A less than half-knot change in boatspeed doesn’t sound like much. It doesn’t feel like much either and that’s the problem.
Unless you have an accurate instrument like the SpeedPuck on board you probably won’t notice anything at first. Eventually you will notice though because even if you’re only 0.1 knots off pace, you’re losing more than a boatlength every three minutes. Without a good speedo, you’ll most likely be sucking exhaust by the time you realize that something’s wrong.
With the SpeedPuck you get a new speed measurement every half-second. If you wander into adverse current or your crew on the rail start slacking, the SpeedPuck will tell you right away
Hit the water. Now.
What do you do when you read these words: “Please read this manual fully before using your new...” ? If you’re like most sailors you probably stop reading and immediately stash the document in an obscure location where it will suffer water damage and / or never be found again.
With the SpeedPuck we decided to get real and design a product that almost anybody can figure out and start using in a few minutes, without having to read anything.
The SpeedPuck’s sunlight-readable high-contrast LCD screen features 27mm (1.1”) tall digits in a font that’s optimized for readability. This means that if your boat’s under 40ft long you’ll be able to mount the SpeedPuck on your mast and read it easily from anywhere in the cockpit, even if you don’t have perfect vision.
Automatic shift tracking.
The SpeedPuck’s shift tracker locks on to the mean heading for your tack and then shows deviations from that heading with an easy-to-read bar graph. If you tack or jibe again, the shift tracker detects this, resets the bar graph and locks on to your new tack.
All this happens 100% automatically; you don’t need to press any buttons to make it happen. The SpeedPuck constantly crunches the numbers for you in the background so that, whenever you happen to glance at the instrument, you can see how far you’re up or down.
The SpeedPuck is designed for long-term reliability in a saltwater marine environment. The device's case back screws off like the lid of a leak-proof water bottle to reveal the battery compartment.
The SpeedPuck's battery compartment is also sealed off from the rest of the device's electronics, providing a second layer of protection against moisture.
Technical Specifications:
- Speed Accuracy: ±0.2 Knots
- Heading Resolution: 1°
- Display Update Rate: 2Hz (twice a second)
- Water Resistance: 3m / 10 ft (IPX8)
- Display: 27mm / 1.06” digit height 120 degree viewing cone
- Data Logger: Lat, Long, Time, Speed, and Heading recorded every 2 seconds, 20hr capacity. Data download is compatible with Mac OS X and Windows
- Data download requires Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Mac OS X 10.6.
- Batteries: 3 x AA, 20+ hour endurance, rechargeable or disposable
- Dimensions: 115mm / 4.5" diameter, 27mm / 1.06" thick.
- Weight Including Batteries: 295g / 0.65lb
- Warranty: Two years
Box Contents:
- USB Cable
- Sticker
- Quick Start Guide
- Lanyard
- Mounting Cradle