In Austria, sailing on a sailboat requires extensive training. Michael Menard, an Austrian sailor and instructor in a sailing school, has designed a software program to learn the whole part of harbour manoeuvres with a monohull and catamaran. While the monohull version of the software is currently only available in German and English, the version for catamarans has just been fully translated into French. This software can be used on all platforms: Android, IOS, Windows and Mac.
This software was developed like all simulators as a dynamic system. Forces are identified and translated into equations. The system then calculates all interactions and draws the evolution of the boat. Thus the system takes into account the resistance to the boat's forward motion and its rotation, the thrust of the engines taking into account the direction of rotation of the propellers, the position of the rudders... But above all the system integrates the force of the wind by even being able to simulate gusts, the dunnage being of course integrated. All this data is adjustable by the user, who can manage the strength and direction of the wind and gusts. The catamaran modeled for the simulations is a Lagoon 421.
But more than just a simulator, the software is organized as a complete course on all harbour manoeuvres. Each chapter is broken down into illustrated lessons, sometimes with animations, and then practical subjects to be carried out on the simulator. There are 7 chapters with the main topics :
- The basics
- Driving technique
- Equipment
- Go to
- Manoeuvring on buoy
- Anchor manoeuvre
- Exercises on the boat
The last chapter gives examples of exercises to be carried out at sea or in port using a fender.
A real learning tool, this simulator is not like a video game, but offers a pedagogical approach to harbour manoeuvres. It could be useful for all episodic catamaran users, before a charter for example, who are looking to bring themselves up to speed before taking the helm of one of these multihulls.
Catamaran simulator
