Mouser Electronics announces the availability of Why Are There Electronics on a Sailboat? Sensors, Connectivity and Data Behind La Roche-Posay Racing Team’s Race-Winning Control, a new e-book produced in collaboration with TE Connectivity.
The e-book brings together expert perspectives from K-Challenge and La Roche-Posay Racing Team, TE Connectivity, Kongsberg Maritime, Vard Electro, SEA.AI, and Saildrone. Together, the contributors draw on experience in yacht development, onboard electronics, connectivity, marine systems, and autonomous maritime technologies. As Official Component Supporter of La Roche-Posay Racing Team, the French challenger for the 38th Louis Vuitton America’s Cup, Mouser supports the team’s 2027 campaign in Naples, Italy.
Set against the demanding environment of the America’s Cup, the e-book examines how sensing, connectivity, real-time control, and post-session analysis support the assessment and refinement of yacht performance. It follows the engineering loop from on-water data acquisition and control through to validated changes and post-session debrief, demonstrating how trustworthy data supports technical development and race preparation.
The AC75 and AC40, the America’s Cup foiling yachts rely on tightly integrated control and data systems. The e-book considers the importance of accurate, time-aligned, and calibrated measurements, together with the need to keep time-critical control traffic separate from high-bandwidth data logging. It explains how CAN communications handle control and safety functions, while Ethernet supports sensor logging, configuration uploads, and post-session data offload.
The guide also addresses the physical layer behind reliable performance. It looks at how connectors, cabling, and power distribution help protect signal integrity and power integrity in salt, spray, and vibration. One case study shows how engineers traced an apparent foil-position problem to a temperature-related offset in the signal-conditioning chain. By cross-checking the sensor against a redundant measurement, the team identified the issue before investigating the wrong system.
“In the America’s Cup, the value of data lies in what a team can do with it,” said Mark Patrick, Technical Content Director, Mouser EMEA. “The e-book shows how La Roche-Posay Racing Team collects, validates, and acts on information from the yacht, and why reliable sensing, connectivity, and system design are central to every performance gain. These are useful lessons for any engineer working with complex systems in demanding operating conditions.”
The insights apply beyond high-performance sailing to marine, industrial, automotive, aerospace, robotics, and autonomous systems applications, where system reliability, accurate measurement and rapid, validated iteration are essential.
Published by Mighty Guides, Why Are There Electronics on a Sailboat? is available to download at https://te.mouser.com/harsh-environment/te-connectivity-why-are-there-electronics-on-a-sailboat
