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The story begins with a personal challenge, accompanied by a hint of stubbornness.
During the summer of 2019, as a preparer of my own Figaro Bénéteau 3 rented for the occasion to a skipper preparing for the Solitaire du Figaro, like the entire circuit we were looking for solutions concerning the algae which constantly get stuck in the keel, a problem with this new boat.
Indeed, this one-design, fresh out of the yard, has a very straight and deeper keel than its previous counterparts, which poses a problem with algae because they are more easily blocked in the keel and are more difficult to remove. And they are a considerable obstacle to the boat's performance.
Two problems then arise more than ever: detecting the presence of algae and being able to remove them.
Our topic for the moment concerns the first problem.
At that time, just over a year ago... The classic method is to put on your mask and plunge your head into the water at the back of the boat to see the algae. The best equipped can afford mechanical endoscopes associated with machined parts, which after a few acrobatics inside the boat allow you to see the algae by passing the endoscope through the hole in the pass
depth sounder hull (water depth sensor under the boat). Two-step method to laboriously see the top of the keel, then the bottom of the keel.
It was our turn to implement a solution.
I remember saying out loud: “Tomorrow is 2020, we are going to send men to Mars and we have not yet found a solution to continuously film the bowling, I am convinced that we can do it!”
After several hours of research and nighttime tinkering, I managed to integrate a camera into a standard through-hull cap and even added an LED to illuminate the keel at night.
The result is quite encouraging, except that the LED will no longer work very quickly, and that we cannot see the top of the keel very well. And this junction between the top of the keel and the hull is precisely the place where the algae come to lodge.
It was between two stages of La Solitaire du Figaro 2019 that I made a second camera that would be a success. With a simple click, you can see the entire keel from top to bottom on the computer screen, live and continuously, day and night. It's a revolution!
In the following winter, the skippers who sail on my boat approve of this camera and order one from me without any promise of results for the first races of the 2020 season.
