The Power of Sailing Math at Your Fingertips
A powerful sailing tool is built right into the electronic navigation system aboard your Leopard.
Raymarine’s Axiom chartplotters running LightHouse 4 offer an advanced suite of sailing tools designed to help sailors better understand—and optimize—their boat’s performance. Among those tools are polar performance data, dynamic laylines, sailing dashboards, wind information and other features that turn complex sailing calculations into useful information right at the helm.
For Leopard owners, it means the performance data behind your catamaran can become a practical part of everyday sailing.
What Is a Polar Diagram?
A polar diagram shows how fast a sailboat could potentially travel at different wind speeds and various angles to the wind. Every sailboat model has a unique polar, which displays results obtained using a velocity prediction program (VPP) based on the craft’s weight, hull shape, rigging and sail setup.
The calculations in your boat’s polar diagram are a powerful tool for charting a course, estimating passage times and choosing your sail plan for maximum efficiency.
Raymarine’s Axiom sailing tools allow polar data to become part of the navigation experience rather than something you have to reference separately. Axiom includes hundreds of racing and cruising sailboat polar profiles, while LightHouse Polar Manager also allows sailors to import custom polar data and fine-tune it for their individual boat.
While it can take a bit of time and effort to understand polars, the juice is worth the squeeze, says yacht designer and naval architect Alex Simonis, who has been deeply involved in designing Leopard sailing catamarans.
Check out our in-depth primer on polar diagrams and see your Leopard’s polar.
Putting Your Polar to Work
A polar diagram allows you to maximize your Leopard’s performance in a range of wind conditions. You can determine if a sail change is in order by checking your current performance against the target speed calculated by the polar. Over time, using this information can help you better understand your catamaran’s ideal configuration for different conditions.
Combined with Axiom’s dynamic laylines, polar data can also help you identify efficient angles when sailing upwind or downwind. The system can calculate laylines based on the boat’s performance data and current sailing conditions, giving you a more useful picture of where the boat can realistically sail.
“It’s a really good tool to help you learn about your boat and boost your confidence that you are doing things right,” says Alex. “By experimenting with sail changes and keeping an eye on how your speed is doing versus the speed calculated by the polar, you will learn exactly when it’s better to make a sail change, rather than guessing.”
That comparison is especially valuable when it happens directly at the helm. Instead of manually referencing a printed polar diagram or looking at the information on a separate device, Axiom brings performance information into the same system you are already using to navigate.
“The possibilities for using your polars are endless with a system where you can instantly see the difference between actual and projected boat speeds,” says Alex. “It allows you to trim sails and steer a bit differently to immediately see if you are getting closer or further away from your target speed.”
More Sailing Tools With LightHouse 4
Since polar functionality was first introduced for Leopard owners, Raymarine has continued to expand the sailing capabilities available through LightHouse 4.
Polar Manager allows sailors to import custom polar values and edit them directly on the Axiom display, making it possible to fine-tune performance targets for a specific boat. Newer LightHouse releases have also expanded polar tables to support beat and run angle data.
For compatible systems, Axiom can go even further. Sailors can import a custom sail plan and receive real-time recommendations for when to raise, reef or change sails based on current conditions. Wind-shift indicators help visualize changes in wind direction, while integration between Axiom and Raymarine Evolution autopilots can use polar data to steer toward a Target Wind Angle.
Together, these tools take the polar from a static performance chart and turn it into a much more interactive part of sailing your Leopard.
Sail Smarter, Not Harder
For Leopard owners, the value of polar data isn’t simply knowing the theoretical top speed of the boat. It’s learning how to get closer to that performance in the real world.
Whether you’re adjusting trim, deciding when to change sails, choosing the best angle to the wind or planning a longer passage, Axiom and LightHouse 4 can help turn your Leopard’s performance data into actionable information at the helm.
And the more you use it, the more you learn about how your Leopard responds in different conditions—helping you sail more efficiently and confidently.
Raymarine continues to update LightHouse 4 with new features, improvements and compatibility updates. Owners should keep their Axiom software current to take advantage of the latest capabilities.
For the latest LightHouse 4 software and update information, visit Raymarine’s LightHouse 4 software page.
If you have questions or problems downloading LightHouse v.4.4, contact Raymarine Support.
