The Reveal: AutoWake and WakeTouch!

[rensink]

Very cool and very interesting...so is this system constantly making changes even when the boat is in motion? for example if conditions change be it wind or depth will the system add or remove ballast automatically, adjust speed, or adjust Taps?

[Greeko]

I was curious how you addressed the difference between an industrial component set as present in the FW Murphy system with respect to the consumer level of electronics in your tablet? I am assuming the control module is separate from the tablet?

I think you have put a good amount of time into your circuit integration. I am impressed with your can bus communication systems. Communication between systems is the most challenging aspect IMHO. I do not however find your touch screen Graphics or interface very appealing. In a market where people not only want to be impressed not only function but form as well I find it a little lacking.

I don't want to come across as doubting your product. I simply work in a field where controls and integration are just as important as the interface we provide the end user. People want to be WOWED! Form AND Function!

Have you tried integrating PNG and GIF images into the graphical interfaces as a backdrop for the indication and control?

[SBM1234]

It may be pertinent to say that the autowake will not be able to make your ballast system hold more water. So if you achieve a superb wake with 9 big guys on board with only a 400 lb sac then you cannot expect autowake to recreate the same massive wake with only 4 people in the boat and the same sac.

Point being you will need head room in your ballast system to effectively use autowake and allow it to recreate the wake you want given the variety of passengers and gear that you haul. The key here is consistency in the wake - the system adjust the tabs, plates, and/or ballast to give you a consistent wake, but only does so within the limitations of your available equipment.

[IDBoating]

I"d love to have just the autowake portion on my boat!

That's an entirely possible outcome. WE think tablets are the right way to go, but AutoWake is software - it can be added to existing helm systems. It's not specific to tablets. Heck, look at Tige's helm this year - they're ALREADY measuring and displaying hull angles. That means FWMurphy already has the sensors in the boat! All they need to do is add the AutoWake functionality to what they already have and Tige will be the most technically advanced boat on the market, period. And thanks to the patents, nobody will be able to copy them.

I agree with the comment above. Tige is THE obvious choice to purchase this. The market perceives them as being "behind". This would crush that criticism instantly and leave the rest of the market scrambling to catch up. Tige already understands the value of patented technology (their ConvexV hull, TAPS, etc.) and this would leapfrog them ahead of everyone else who would still be stuck with old-fashioned systems that measure the wrong things.

[IDBoating]

Very cool and very interesting...so is this system constantly making changes even when the boat is in motion? for example if conditions change be it wind or depth will the system add or remove ballast automatically, adjust speed, or adjust Taps?

Yes, it corrects while in motion assuming the boat's equipment supports that.

[IDBoating]

I was curious how you addressed the difference between an industrial component set as present in the FW Murphy system with respect to the consumer level of electronics in your tablet?

Tablets and custom screens are more alike than different. Screens are made "splashproof" by installing them with a small gasket around the edge. A tablet can be installed the same way. The glass is waterproof in both cases, and the electronics is protected by the gasket.

On the PCB, our electronics design is hardened against the abusive environment of a boat and its electrical system. It's so stout that you can actually reverse the battery cables and our system won't be damaged (we know, we've done it, on purpose AND on accident!). We can also take the horrible transients that occur in engine electrical environments.

All that said, of course the buyer will package things to their own liking. And that's OK. We get it. AutoWake, for example, is almost entirely software. It can be implemented on anything with a processor. So an existing helm company could add AutoWake to their product line very easily, at almost no incremental build cost.

I am assuming the control module is separate from the tablet?

Yes, as seen in the videos there is a separate PCB with interface circuitry on it that sits between the tablet and the boat's systems. That's the same as today's systems - our PCB is the same as those little black boxes screwed to the footwall under the dash.

I think you have put a good amount of time into your circuit integration. I am impressed with your can bus communication systems. Communication between systems is the most challenging aspect IMHO. I do not however find your touch screen Graphics or interface very appealing. In a market where people not only want to be impressed not only function but form as well I find it a little lacking. Have you tried integrating PNG and GIF images into the graphical interfaces as a backdrop for the indication and control?

Absolutely, which is why the video specifically mentions that the system can use "glitzy graphics", etc. It's a high resolution full color display. It can do anything. We're Engineers, so we focused on displaying the data in bland form , but I'm certain the resulting shipping system will be bright and colorful and full of graphics. That's just window dressing. There's nothing new about that, so we didn't waste time reinventing that wheel. The buyer will have its own idea of how they want it to look, so anything we did would have been discarded anyway.

[chpthril]

It may be pertinent to say that the autowake will not be able to make your ballast system hold more water. So if you achieve a superb wake with 9 big guys on board with only a 400 lb sac then you cannot expect autowake to recreate the same massive wake with only 4 people in the boat and the same sac.

No different than setting up a boat ballast right now. We want enough ballast to achieve the desired wake without counting on a moving variable like people. Water weight is a content. A gallon weights 8.3 and the sac holds X. So if your ideal setup is 1400# and on on eday you have those 9 linebackers out with you, i suppose the auto wake would dump some ballast out of that 1400# sac, compensating for those big peeps?

[IDBoating]

No different than setting up a boat ballast right now. So if your ideal setup is 1400# and on one day you have those 9 linebackers out with you, i suppose the auto wake would dump some ballast out of that 1400# sac, compensating for those big peeps?

Yep. But obviously if the people overwhelm the boat's ability to compensate for them, that's an extreme situation that has to be corrected. At least until we are able to obtain greater amounts of Inverse-Gravity Unobtainium to include with the system!

[IDBoating]

(follow-up to my reply to ChpThril above)

Actually, I should have described it like this.

You find your ideal setup and store it as a preset. A few days later, you recall that preset and AutoWake puts the necessary amount of ballast in each compartment to put the hull back where your preset says it should be. That could be more ballast, or less ballast, depending on whom and what is in the boat that day. And it will change as the day wears on, and AutoWake will keep adjusting things to keep the hull where it belongs. You don't care about how much ballast you have, you only care about what the hull is doing.

On the Big Day, when those linebackers show up, AutoWake would put even LESS in the associated ballast tank(s) than usual, because the weight of those linebackers would already be affecting the hull. AutoWake would be measuring the hull, putting it back to that preset's values, and it would discover that far less ballast is required on that day because of your big buddies.

From the driver's perspective, though, the wave or wake would be the same. Every day. Because AutoWake is worrying about the HULL, not the ballast amounts. Having the same ballast does NOT insure the same wave/wake, and this linebacker example illustrates why perfectly. Measuring ballast misses the whole point, because ballast doesn't create your wake. Your HULL creates your wake, and you'll only get the same wave/wake if your hull is in the same place.

Does that make sense?

[st68]

So I have a follow up question but let me begin by saying I love the desire to push the limits, expand the boating experience and your enthusiasm for your product. My question comes from wanting to hear your perspective.... I am not looking to start an argument over listed wave vs instant transfer sides surf systems...

So the #1 selling wakesurf boat is 23' long and has an instant side to side surf system... how does your system enhance these type of boats? Note I know this forum clearly loves their Tige boats and that is great... not picking on Tige boats at all... just asking an obvious question to try and understand the capabilities of your system. Thanks!

[IDBoating]

So the #1 selling wakesurf boat is 23' long and has an instant side to side surf system... how does your system enhance these type of boats?

Excellent question. I bet lots of people are wondering the same thing.

"Gate" style boats are still sensitive to hull orientation. Move people around and watch what happens to the quality of the wave. Those systems are great, but their gates aren't what is creating the wake. They are changing how the hull interacts with the water. If anything, those systems PROVE why it's the hull that matters. The hull is the thing that is displacing the water, creating the wave, and changes to the hull show up as changes in the wave.

No matter how your wave is created, the hull needs to be consistent.

[st68]

okay that helps me understand better.... so on a gate style boat the system will manage the hull regardless if it is running goofy/regular sides and will auto change the hull mgmt when surf sides are changed on the fly? That would be helpful for sure

[Stingreye]

Seems like most people slightly list a gated wave. Can you dial in settings for each side so that it will have the optimal wave on each side before the "switch".? For say a g23 if you are surfing starboard with a 5% list, can you do a transfer and then switch to a 3% list on that side of that's optimal on that side? Because it seems like right now with the transfers you need to equal weight it (no list) and you transfer from a less desirable wave to a less desirable wave.


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[IDBoating]

okay that helps me understand better.... so on a gate style boat the system will manage the hull regardless if it is running goofy/regular sides and will auto change the hull mgmt when surf sides are changed on the fly? That would be helpful for sure

Of course. Those are just different presets. Select the preset for the other side, and the "targets" for the hull change to those associated with the newly selected preset. Everything moves, AutoWake fine tunes as necessary, and away you go.

[rensink]

I have one question about the system in what order will it make the changes...will the system adjust the plate or gate first, speed second, and ballast third?