Today’s yachts have a multitude of sensors, many of which feed an alarm of some kind – for the engine, depth, AIS, bilge, tanks and so on. But generally these alarms simply bleep, spiking stress levels without giving any useful context. Even worse, the same sound is often used for different types of alarm and frequently there’s no gradation of urgency.

“The beep of a conventional alarm is the beginning of a search,” Galvanic Voice’s co-founder and COO Natalie Smith explains. “Before you can act, you need to find the right screen, then work out which alarm it is, and what it’s telling you. The first spoken sentence of a Galvanic Voice alert already does that, so you can act immediately.”

Galvanic Voice is a centralised context-aware alerting system for sailing yachts. It’s a standalone NMEA 2000 unit that speaks alerts out loud in plain language, covering AIS, man overboard, anchor dragging and other systems. It was developed by CERN scientist and serial entrepreneur Piero Zucchelli and tested on his Hanse 588.

There are four levels of alert. ‘Emergency’ represents an immediate danger to life or the vessel. ‘Alarm’ requires immediate action for collision avoidance, grounding or anchor dragging. ‘Warning’ represents something that may become hazardous and therefore warrants more attention than usual.

‘Caution’ is simply for awareness. None of the logic behind this is generated on the fly. Instead, the decision layer is deterministic, compliant with the IRPCS and built on established practice. A lexicon of more than 100 messages has been written in advance, with the system deciding which one is appropriate to any given situation.

To aid understanding, these all have a consistent structure: what the alarm is, what is happening, what to do about it, and then the relevant numbers. For example, for a dangerous AIS target the system will suggest the size and direction of the course change that’s needed, as well as giving the name of the vessel in question, Closest Point of Approach, and so on.

Similar systems were developed to improve safety in the aviation industry more than 50 years ago and have since also been implemented as the bridge alert systems for commercial shipping.

Nevertheless, Smith told me it was important to recognise the differences in the way yachts are crewed, especially overnight on longer passages when there may be only one experienced (and possibly very tired) person on watch. The approach used by other domains couldn’t therefore be copied directly and instead had to be modified for use on sailing yachts.

This led to the development of the Pulse Bracelet, a multi-purpose device that includes a MOB alarm trigger, as well as sleep and fatigue tracking. Both haptic (physical pulse) and audible alerts can be directed to individual crewmembers, or everyone on board.

Price: €1,140 including two Pulse bracelets; additional bracelets, €480 for pack of four. www.galvanicworks.com

Garmin Cortex

This combined AIS transponder, VHF radio and monitoring system has three situational alarms with voice messaging: Anchor Watch, Collision Avoidance, and Man Overboard (MOB). If an AIS collision alarm sounds, for instance, the system will announce the direction of the threat, such as ‘collision alert, starboard bow’. Price: from £1,500. www.garmin.com

Exocet Voice

This is an add-on for the Exocet range of high-level sensor management and pilot overlay systems. Includes customisable NMEA2000-based voice alarms across a wide range of parameters, with automatic prioritisation and queueing to ensure immediate delivery of critical messages. Price: POA. www. pixelsurmer.com

Foldable davits

It’s often convenient not to deflate a tender every time you leave an anchorage or mooring in good weather. This can make davits a practical option, but they can get in the way when not in use. For new yachts, telescopic davits that stow within the hull are the go-to option, but they can be difficult to retrofit to existing boats.

These DV32 folding davits from Båtsystem are therefore an interesting option, thanks to quick-release pins that allow the arms to fold flat against the transom when not in use. Price: €3,240. https://batsystem.se

Powerful search light

ACR’s RCL200 LED is a super-powerful searchlight with 12 high-intensity LEDs and a massive 720,000 candela output designed for mounting on a coachroof or arch. If two units are fitted they can be controlled independently or in sync with each other, while an optional remote control unit enables the light to be controlled and rotated from anywhere on board – a potentially useful feature for complex night pilotage or for recovery of a person overboard at night.

On sale in the US, UK pricing has yet to be announced. Price: US$3,885. www.acrartex.com

High def displays

B&G’s recently discontinued small H5000 instrument displays were a very powerful and flexible product, capable of displaying a vast range of data and graphs with a surprisingly intuitive interface. However, despite a hefty price tag, they also had the feeling of a legacy product, with poor screen brightness and resolution.

Lymington-based A+T Instruments has stepped into the gap, with the HFD5 – a direct slot-in replacement that adds a bright high-definition transflective colour screen, plus advanced formatting for analogue-style gauges, historical graphing, and dedicated bar graphs for load cells or temperature tracking. Price: £2,226. www.aandtinstruments.com

Rig Tension Car

This rethinks dinghy jib halyard tension systems, replacing traditional free-floating hook and purchase systems with a single fitting that reduces friction, complexity, weight and cost. The car slides directly into the mainsail track and consists of a 25mm high-load stainless steel ball bearing sheave combined with a halyard hook.

It’s designed specifically for use with Seldén’s aluminium dinghy spars, with the exception of the 2420 mast section, but is also compatible with many spars from other manufacturers. Price: £41. https://dinghy.seldenmast.com

Datahub Pro

This data gateway, communications router and tracker links NMEA2000 compatible devices to the internet. Functionality includes GPS tracking and AI-generated polars for weather routing. It can also download AIS targets from the internet and display them on MFDs, achieving a far greater range of reception – up to 300 miles – than is possible with onboard transceivers.

Connectivity includes a built-in 4G LTE modem, with a T-Mobile SIM with roaming in 180 territories, plus fast Wi-Fi 6 and Starlink compatibility. In addition, there’s faster processing and more memory than earlier versions. Price: US$599. www.predictwind.com

Sustainable dry bags

UK-based sailing and watersports brand Blood Red’s three lines of robust and sustainable IPX6-rated dry bags each have a double barrier against water ingress. This includes a roll top, plus a YKK Aqua Guard zip, while construction is of a 300D recycled-yarn fabric with a PVC-free TPU laminate.

The 15lt Trek and 3lt or 8lt Scout cover everything from a small kit bag down to stowage for phones and keys, while the larger 30lt and 40lt Ranger adds padded straps and features external lashing points. Price: £33-£91. www.bloodredclothing.com

Point & GO Autopilot remote

Autopilot remote controls are far from new, but this is a more sophisticated unit with useful additional features. The LCD screen, for instance, allows users to see key data including heading, speed, depth and waypoint info. It also offers what Raymarine calls ‘point and go’ navigation.

Simply point the device in the direction you want to sail and it relays that course to the pilot computer. There’s also a solo sailor mode that turns the boat into the wind if the user falls overboard. Price: from £550 inc wireless base station. www.raymarine.com

Versatile instruments

Garmin’s GMI 40 range is a new line of configurable 4.3in instrument displays for wind, depth, speed and vessel data that offer a significant step forward compared to existing units.

In particular, the new model has a touchscreen with a five-fold increase in the number of pixels. It boasts better connectivity and can communicate wirelessly with Garmin’s gWind wireless sensors, marine remotes and Quatix watches. It can also use ActiveCaptain on a smartphone for software updates. From £599. garmin.com

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Multi-purpose gangplank

The Easysea Way2 is an inflatable passarelle that doubles as a floating mattress when at anchor, or as a workstation for use alongside the vessel. It uses technology originally employed in stand-up paddleboards, including heat welded double layer PVC with internal dropstitching, to create a rigid gangway with 150kg capacity for use when moored stern-to.

The product is 2m long, 50cm wide and has a hexagonal EVA non-slip surface. Inflation and deflation take around four minutes. Weighing just 5.5kg it stows away into a backpack. Price: £286. www.easysea.org

Unrestricted Backpack

Dometic’s product development team has come up with what must surely be the ultimate multi-purpose backpack, combining organised storage, including a 16in laptop sleeve, two accessory pockets, bottle holders, and a well-insulated leakproof 17lt main section designed to keep drinks and food cool for as long as possible. Recyclable materials are used wherever feasible, while the padded shoulder harness is adjustable and includes a sternum strap.

Price: £175. www.dometic.com

Compact VHF radio

The increasing number of items that now need to be accommodated at a navigation station means space is often at a premium, even on larger yachts. Icom’s IC-M430 Fixed-Mount VHF was designed to help address this and has a compact design that’s 50% shallower than previous models.

Key features include a vivid colour display with night mode, built-in GPS and NMEA 2000/NMEA 0183 connectivity. It supports dual-station capability via the optional HM-195GB Commandmic. Price: £475. www.icomuk.co.uk

Starlink cable seal

Neat cable installation can be difficult to achieve for products that were not originally designed for use on a sailing yacht. Scanstrut therefore developed this watertight and strong Horizontal Cable Seal gland which enables Starlink and other cables to be led flush with the deck then pass unobtrusively to the boat’s interior.

It’s suited to many Generation 3 Starlink cables, as well as Starlink Mini and Mini X, plus RJ45 Ethernet and NMEA 2000. Price: £30. www.scanstrut.com

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