SpeedPuck

[Editor]

What might be the best product name of the year also appears to be one of the coolest. Check it.

Velocitek, the most recognized name in performance sailing GPS equipment, has announced the release of the Velocitek SpeedPuck. The SpeedPuck combines a high-accuracy GPS speedometer, digital compass and bar graph wind shift indicator in a compact, durable package. It is designed to be mounted on a dinghy or hand held when hiking on a sportboat.

"Over the past few years our customers have made it clear that they do not enjoy reading manuals. We specifically designed the SpeedPuck so that anyone can figure out how it works in a few minutes without having to read anything." - Alec Stewart, Velocitek President and Founder

The SpeedPuck is designed for easy, hands-off operation in high-stress environments. The wind shift indicator automatically locks on to your tack angle and then shows lifts and headers on the bar graph that runs around the perimeter of the over-sized LCD display. The SpeedPuck is designed for maximum reliability in a saltwater marine environment. The SpeedPuck's caseback screws on and off like the lid of a leakproof water bottle to reveal the battery compartment and USB connector. In addition to this, the battery compartment is is completely sealed off from the device's electronics, providing a second layer of protection against moisture.

In addition to providing easy to use real-time feedback, the SpeedPuck automatically records a rolling 20 hour GPS data log of the user's most recent races and training sessions. The SpeedPuck works with Velocitek's SpeedPlay race replay software, allowing racers to combine their GPS data with other boats and create race replays superimposed on a map background.

The SpeedPuck makes a great Christmas gift for yourself or for a loved one who sails anything from an Opti to a Melges 32. Velocitek has less than 200 units available to supply their worldwide distribution network before Christmas. If you want to have a SpeedPuck before Christmas, Velocitek recommends that you go to store.velocitek.com and order as soon as possible.

 

[Der Springer]

I have owned an S3 then was force to replace it with an SC1... the only complain I have ever had about Velocitek SC1 is size. It looks like they fixed that.

Great looking product.

I have to say the guys at Velocitek are really top notch with product and customer service.

I do worry about water intrusion in the screw seal area... anytime you screw on a cap and there is a gasket that in between the surfaces, that gasket tend to bunch. Nothing a little bit of seal lubricant will not fix. (Had this problem with a similar design…)

 

[nroose]

It desperately needs a start timer.

Besides, I beat you to it by almost 24 hours, only I think I put it in the wrong forum.

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php...c=82868&hl=

 

[velocitek]

I have owned an S3 then was force to replace it with an SC1... the only complain I have ever had about Velocitek SC1 is size. It looks like they fixed that.
Great looking product.

I have to say the guys at Velocitek are really top notch with product and customer service.

I do worry about water intrusion in the screw seal area... anytime you screw on a cap and there is a gasket that in between the surfaces, that gasket tend to bunch. Nothing a little bit of seal lubricant will not fix. (Had this problem with a similar design…)

The seal on the SpeedPuck is very good. Here's a photo that shows the key elements:



When you screw the thing shut the thin polycarbonate ridge mashes into the middle of the silicon gasket. The gasket rubber is quite hard so it doesn't bunch-up or deform.

In addition to the standard pressure vessel testing they do at the factory, we left half a dozen prototypes to get pounded in the Hawaiian shorebreak for 30 minutes and they all stayed bone dry.

 

[barnone]

...The SpeedPuck combines a high-accuracy GPS speedometer, digital compass and bar graph wind shift indicator in a compact, durable package...

When you say digital compass, does that mean fluxgate compass or GPS calculated? Big difference when dealing with current.

 

[v92]

Looks good . Santa take note!

 

[velocitek]

It desperately needs a start timer.
Besides, I beat you to it by almost 24 hours, only I think I put it in the wrong forum.

http://forums.sailinganarchy.com/index.php...c=82868&hl=

The very first product we released back in 2005 only did speed. When we released it we got a lot of good feedback but we also got a lot of feature requests: compass, countdown timer, distance to line, etc...

After a few iterations we came up with the SC-1 which does almost all the things people were asking for. The SC-1 turned out to be a great product and today most of the top sportboat programs are using one and a few other companies have copied it.

The downside to cramming all that capability into a single machine is that you end up with something that has four buttons that do different things in each of the device's six modes. Many of our customers enjoy working with technology and don't mind this but some of them were left pining for the simplicity of our earlier models.

Our goal with the SpeedPuck was to make a product that would never increase our customers' blood pressure. To do that we had to keep the function list to minimum. It's not going to be everybody's cup of tea but I think anybody who gets a chance to use one will appreciate its simplicity.

 

[White Wing]

Looks very cool --- simple, just the core info that you need. How about a few different mounting bracket options?

WWing

 

[velocitek]

Looks very cool --- simple, just the core info that you need. How about a few different mounting bracket options?
WWing

It works with all our current mounting bracket options: velocitek.com/products/mounting-hardware

We also have two new types of brackets in stock that will be be added to our website in the next couple of weeks:

-A deck mount bracket that is basically a 75 degree fiberglass V shape where one surface sticks to a horizontal surface on your boat with Dual Lock and the other surface sticks to the SpeedPuck.

-A slick carbon fiber bracket made especially for the Bladerider foiler Moth. This bracket was designed by World Moth Champion and Velocitek Pro Team member John Harris:

 

[Ross]

This is EXACTLY what I want for my Laser! Now if we can get this under $200, we really might have something to talk about here.

*and maybe for a future version, smaller? I just noticed the size comparison of someone holding it, frick its big! How about Ronstan clear start size, maybe slightly bigger? I would still get one though....

 

[velocitek]

...The SpeedPuck combines a high-accuracy GPS speedometer, digital compass and bar graph wind shift indicator in a compact, durable package...

When you say digital compass, does that mean fluxgate compass or GPS calculated? Big difference when dealing with current.

The heading measurements are calculated by looking at the Doppler shift in GPS signals so it's COG. Here's a quote from Scott Nixon on how he used GPS compass data from the SC-1 (our other product) to help him win in Annapolis last month:

"At the Melges24 North Americans we relied on the SC-1 to help us determine how much current we were sailing in. Since the SC-1 accurately shows the direction that the boat is traveling, rather than where the bow is aimed, we could determine if the current was pushing us to the lay lines or holding us off. This feature was key to helping us win the North Americans on a very tricky Chesapeake Bay with lots of shifts, strong currents, and tough competition."

- Scott Nixon, Tactician - USA751 Quantum Racing (2008 Melges 24 North American Champion)

Another cool benefit of a GPS-based compass is that it will give you accurate readings regardless of how the device is oriented relative to the boat. On a sportboat, this means a crew member can put the SpeedPuck on a lanyard around their neck and hold the device in their hand when they are hiking on the rail.

With traditional mast-mounted instruments, the helmsman is often the only person with a clear view of the display. Unfortunately they're probably the last person who you want to have focusing their eyes on little digital numbers.

With the SpeedPuck, the crew can monitor boatspeed and shift numbers, allowing the helmsman to focus on everything that's going on outside of the boat.

 

[loom of art]

Re-posted to add an additional comment.

I doubt this product is as good as conventional Knot meters and a real magnetic compass like the TackTick unless your the casual racer. It's all measured by GPS which really doesn't shine unless your boats is going over 10kts in speed (not the majority of small racing boats). When going to weather in a boat like a Melges 24 or an Olympic class boat and you want to straight line another boat where two tenths of a knot is a big difference. You'll get lag/delays not found in a conventional knot meter or digital magnetic compass and can mislead you when making fine changes to trim or heading. I've noticed this problem with Velocitek when doing a straight comparison to conventional instruments on the boat. It's all fine when doing long averages but not when you crack the jib sheet slightly or change heading a couple of degrees and see if it changes speed right away within a tenth, two or three tenths.

The Speedpuck magnetic compass reads 000 degrees when the gps measures the boat going less than 1 knot. Meaning it only gives you a reading when gong greater than 1 knot. This can be a pain in the ass when trying to do a wind check. The difference of the SpeedPuck to a conventional magnetic compass is that the SpeedPuck measures the direction the device is moving in rather than the direction it is pointed in.

It's good for potential measuring of current and other measurements outside of the standard speed and fine compass measurements.

It's also a good alternative when you don't have the ability to install a knot meter and want to know roughly how fast your going or if you don't have a real digital compass but it can't replace them in absolute terms in regards to fine changes/measurements while racing or practice in a high level class with low avg. speeds like the Finn, Star, J-24, Laser or Etchells.......etc. Although it sounds perfect for a skiff: Moth or I-14.

It's a GPS unit with some tricks added to it.

I'm curious to know but I bet Nixon and the others had the Speedpuck as an addition to there TackTick.

I don't mean to bash but the advertising makes it sounds like it's magic and the absolute best of everything for high-end small boat racing. I don't think it is but would I like to be proved wrong.

Cheers

Ps: There are no techinical spec's posted on Velocitek website or in the manual. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Edited to add an additional comment.

 

[velocitek]

Re-posted to add an additional comment.

I doubt this product is as good as conventional Knot meters and a real magnetic compass like the TackTick unless your the casual racer. It's all measured by GPS which really doesn't shine unless your boats is going over 10kts in speed (not the majority of small racing boats). When going to weather in a boat like a Melges 24 or an Olympic class boat and you want to straight line another boat where two tenths of a knot is a big difference. You'll get lag/delays not found in a conventional knot meter or digital magnetic compass and can mislead you when making fine changes to trim or heading. I've noticed this problem with Velocitek when doing a straight comparison to conventional instruments on the boat. It's all fine when doing long averages but not when you crack the jib sheet slightly or change heading a couple of degrees and see if it changes speed right away within a tenth, two or three tenths.

The Speedpuck magnetic compass reads 000 degrees when the gps measures the boat going less than 1 knot. Meaning it only gives you a reading when gong greater than 1 knot. This can be a pain in the ass when trying to do a wind check. The difference of the SpeedPuck to a conventional magnetic compass is that the SpeedPuck measures the direction the device is moving in rather than the direction it is pointed in.

It's good for potential measuring of current and other measurements outside of the standard speed and fine compass measurements.

It's also a good alternative when you don't have the ability to install a knot meter and want to know roughly how fast your going or if you don't have a real digital compass but it can't replace them in absolute terms in regards to fine changes/measurements while racing or practice in a high level class with low avg. speeds like the Finn, Star, J-24, Laser or Etchells.......etc. Although it sounds perfect for a skiff: Moth or I-14.

It's a GPS unit with some tricks added to it.

I'm curious to know but I bet Nixon and the others had the Speedpuck as an addition to there TackTick.

I don't mean to bash but the advertising makes it sounds like it's magic and the absolute best of everything for high-end small boat racing. I don't think it is but would I like to be proved wrong.

Cheers

Ps: There are no techinical spec's posted on Velocitek website or in the manual. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Edited to add an additional comment.

We obviously emphasize the positive aspects of our products in our advertising but I would say that your assessment is generally fair and accurate. You clearly know what you are talking about. To be perfectly fair though, it needs to be mentioned that our GPS-based instruments also cost about 75-80% less than traditional systems with equivalent functionality, can be installed without putting holes in your boat, don't require any calibration, and record your races for replaying in the bar with our SpeedPlay race replay software.

I don't think our products will ever replace traditional instruments for top sportboat programs (for performance dinghies, I'm not so sure) but at the same time it's getting harder and harder to find top finishers who haven't added a GPS-based instrument to their arsenal.

The tech specs. for the SpeedPuck appear on the right side of this page: velocitek.com/products/speedpuck under the heading "Technical Specifications". If you want more details on anything, ask here or just send me an email at [email protected] and I would be happy to fill you in.

Also, to avoid any confusion, I would like to be clear on the point that USA751 won the Melges 24 North Americans sailing with the Velocitek SC-1, not the SpeedPuck, which was only released this week. And yes, they also used a traditional magnetic compass. As you mentioned, comparing the COG / SOG measurements from GPS-based instruments with information from traditional instruments can be very helpful in getting a handle on what the current is doing.

 

[Omer]

Perhaps the use of this product is not just limited to small fast boats. It may be a handy backup to your normal instruments which cost $$$$s and never work properly after the warranty expires, or be an alternative for a guy who cannot afford a full set of instruments.

Could Velocitek please explain how the wind shifts are detected without a wind speed and direction transducer and displayed on the instrument. I guess this function is the most difficult to understand and put to use by potential buyers. Thanks.

 

[velocitek]

Perhaps the use of this product is not just limited to small fast boats. It may be a handy backup to your normal instruments which cost $$$$s and never work properly after the warranty expires, or be an alternative for a guy who cannot afford a full set of instruments.Could Velocitek please explain how the wind shifts are detected without a wind speed and direction transducer and displayed on the instrument. I guess this function is the most difficult to understand and put to use by potential buyers. Thanks.

For the wind shift indicator to work you need to be sailing upwind by your telltales. It indicates when you've made a substantial change in your course to keep the ticklers streaming. It also allows you to quantify the change.

When you sail in a straight line for more than 20 seconds after a tack, the shift indicator locks on to your average heading and then shows your deviations from that heading, in three degree increments, on the bar graph that runs around the perimeter of the device. The shift indicator automatically resets and locks on to your new tack angle every time you come about. Essentially, it's a graphic indication of how much your heading has changed since you started out on your current tack.

In using the shift indicator, you never need to press buttons or otherwise interact with the SpeedPuck... it's 100% automatic.

The shift indicator can also be disabled if it is prohibited by your class rules.

 

[savoir]

Expensive.

Compare with the Garmin Forerunner 101 or 201.

 

[plaanaa]

Can you see shifts too while walking around with the Forerunner?

 

[mattzrx]

I just wanted to mention these devices are great for people who race on a boat they don't own and need more instrumentation. I wouldn't buy instruments for someone else but I would take one of these with me on race day.

 

[sadolph]

tactick takes care of compass and timer functions, and is way too pricey.

all I want is a very cheap speedo. This is cheaper I guess.