Seven core innovations

Rethink
the launch
entirely.

Every fundamental flaw of the traditional coaching launch — weight, noise, range, manoeuvrability, safety — addressed from first principles.

01Modular Battery Cassettes
02Telescoping Solar Canopy
03Steer-by-Wire
04360° Rotating Pod Drives
05Integrated Hands-Free Voice
06Multi-Camera Coaching System
07iPad & iPhone Live Connect
58 dB
Operating noise
0 m
Turn radius
3×
Solar deployed
<4 min
Battery swap
120 km
Range
0 CO₂
Emissions

Integrated
system
view

BAT A 10kWh BAT B 10kWh SOLAR · 3× DEPLOYED SBW HELM 360° POD 360° POD INFLATABLE · CO₂ DEPLOY 5.8 m LOA PLAN VIEW · 1:25
01
Modular Battery
Cassettes
02
Telescoping
Solar Canopy
03
Steer-by-Wire
Helm
04
360° Rotating
Pod Drives
05
Hands-Free
Megaphone
01Energy System

Modular battery
cassettes

Hot-swappable in under 4 minutes. No tools, no crane, no downtime.

Instead of one fixed battery pack, the C-40E uses four independent 10.5 kWh cassettes — each with its own handle, its own BMS, and its own IP68 housing. Shore crews swap a depleted set for charged units while the coach stays on the water. Clubs running two boats share a single charger bank with rotating cassettes.

The modular format lets the boat run on two cassettes at half-weight for sprint sessions, or all four for distance. LiFePO₄ chemistry means no thermal runaway risk. Each cassette slides on stainless rails and locks with a quarter-turn catch.

4 × 10.5
kWh modules
<4 min
Full swap time
IP68
Waterproof rating
LiFePO₄
Cell chemistry
02Energy Harvest

Telescoping
solar canopy

Retracts for travel. Expands to 3× when docked — the boat charges itself.

Conventional bimini-mounted solar is sized for shade, not meaningful charging. The C-40E canopy rides on hinged aluminium telescoping arms. Underway it sits compact and low-drag. When docked, the arms extend outward and orient toward the sun, tripling the panel area.

At 1,800W peak docked output, a full day between sessions can restore 20–30% battery capacity without shore power. Over a summer training block this provides substantial free range. Panels are semi-flexible monocrystalline bonded to thin aluminium — light and impact-tolerant.

600 W
Underway harvest
1,800 W
Docked peak
3×
Area deployed
23 %
Cell efficiency
03Control System

Steer
by wire

No column, no cable, no rudder. Pure signal from wheel to pod.

Traditional launches use a mechanical steering column — bulky, fixed, space-consuming. Steer-by-wire sends encoder signals from the helm to each pod drive's actuator independently. The wheel repositions anywhere on deck with a single cable run.

This enables a sliding helm — the coach moves the wheel to centreline, port, or starboard depending on which crew they're following. Software features impossible with mechanical steering: autopilot, speed-matching mode, and joystick override for harbour manoeuvres.

Sliding
Repositionable helm
Auto
Pace-match mode
0 ms
Mechanical lag
Joystick
Harbour override
04Propulsion

360° rotating
pod drives

Azimuth thrusters. Bolt-on flanges. Swap a pod in 8 minutes.

Each pod drive rotates continuously through 360° on a standardised flange mount. The pods don't just steer — they are the steering system. Combined with steer-by-wire, each pod vectors thrust independently in any direction.

The launch spins on its own axis to follow a turning crew, crabs sideways out of traffic, or holds position against a current. For service or transport, four quarter-turn locks free each pod in under 8 minutes without special tools.

360 °
Continuous rotation
0 m
Turn radius
<8 min
Pod removal/fit
30 kW
Each pod output
05Communication

Integrated
hands-free voice

Collar mic, DSP processor, forward speaker array. Always on.

Every coach has the same frustration: one hand on the tiller, one holding a megaphone, nothing left for binoculars or notes. The handheld megaphone is a design failure accepted for a century.

A weatherproof directional speaker array mounts at the bow, angled to project forward along the course. A clip-on lapel mic connects wirelessly to an onboard DSP amplifier. Voice-activation eliminates background noise. DSP applies wind noise cancellation and boosts voice frequencies. FM transmission to crew earpieces on a dedicated channel. 120 dB at 50 metres. Completely free-handed.

120 dB
Output at 50m
0
Hands required
DSP
Wind noise cancel
FM
Crew earpiece link
06Coaching Vision

Multi-camera
recording system

Four weatherproof cameras. Continuous 4K capture. Every stroke, every angle, always.

Video review is the most powerful coaching tool available — yet most clubs rely on a coach holding a phone in one hand while steering with the other. The C-40E integrates four fixed hull-mount cameras: bow-facing for technique from ahead, port and starboard for lateral blade and body work, and a stern camera tracking the crew as they pull away.

All four feeds are recorded simultaneously to an onboard NVR with a 2TB solid-state drive — waterproof, vibration-resistant, socketed for fast removal dockside. Footage auto-syncs to the club's coaching platform over Wi-Fi when the boat returns. The coach never touches a camera. Every session is captured and catalogued automatically, tagged by date, crew, and GPS position on the course.

4 × 4K
Camera channels
360 °
Coverage around hull
2 TB
Solid-state storage
Auto
Wi-Fi club sync
07Device Integration

iPad & iPhone
live connect

The launch broadcasts its own Wi-Fi. Every camera, every data point — on the coach's device.

The C-40E runs a dedicated onboard Wi-Fi access point — no marina network, no cellular dependency, no dead zones on remote stretches of river. A coach's iPad or iPhone connects to the boat directly and instantly.

The Catching Light app gives the coach a live four-camera grid on iPad, with one-tap expansion to full screen on any angle. Swipe to review the last 30 seconds of any camera mid-session without stopping. On iPhone, a compact telemetry HUD overlays speed, stroke rate, and GPS track in real time alongside a single live camera feed — usable in one hand while coaching.

At the end of a session, clips can be annotated and shared to the athlete's phone directly from the dock before the crew has even landed the boat.

Local
Onboard Wi-Fi AP
4 ch
Live camera grid
30 s
Instant clip rewind
Share
Dockside to athlete

"The best coaching launch is the one that disappears — leaving only the coach and the crew."

Catching Light · Design Philosophy · 2016

Every problem. Solved.

Summary

Petrol launches are deafeningly loud, ruining the coaching environment and disturbing other water users

Dual 30 kW electric pod drives. 58 dB at full speed — quieter than a normal conversation

Coaches speak normally. Crews hear real-time feedback mid-stroke without electronics

Fixed battery packs mean a flat boat is out of service for hours while charging on shore power

4× 10.5 kWh hot-swap cassettes, changed in under 4 minutes, tool-free

Unlimited session time. One boat, three battery sets, continuous water presence all day

Bimini-mounted solar provides marginal energy — at best 5–8% of daily use

Telescoping arms triple the panel area when docked overnight

20–30% daily range restored passively. The boat charges itself between sessions

Launches need 6–10m turning radius and constantly overshoot crews

360° azimuth pod drives + steer-by-wire = zero-radius pivot and crab sideways

Coach stays parallel to crew at all times. No more three-point turns mid-river

Mechanical columns take up deck space and the helm position is fixed

Steer-by-wire: encoder signals only. Helm slides to port or starboard on a track

Coach positions optimally for any crew, any drill, any side of the course

Oversized platforms built for 9-person rescue add deadweight to every session

Lean platform + CO₂-deployed stern inflatable stored flat. Deploys in under 20 seconds

180 kg lighter in normal use. Emergency capacity instant and fully compliant

Coaches hold megaphones constantly — no hands free for binoculars, notes or safety

Collar mic → DSP amplifier → forward speaker array, voice-activated, always on

Both hands free at all times. 120 dB output. Crew earpiece FM transmission

Fixed hulls and fixed outboards require specialist trailers and two-person rigging

Pods unclick in 8 min. Canopy retracts. Batteries remove. Hull bolts apart at cross-struts

Fits a standard van trailer. Regatta travel needs no specialist rig

Video review requires a coach to hold a camera while steering — or goes unrecorded entirely

4× fixed hull-mount 4K cameras record all angles simultaneously to onboard 2TB NVR, auto-syncing to the club platform over Wi-Fi on return

Every session captured, every angle, automatically. Review begins before the crew have left the water

Coaches have no live view of camera feeds on the water and must wait until docked to review footage

Onboard Wi-Fi AP streams all four cameras live to iPad or iPhone — no cellular needed. 30-second rewind, telemetry HUD, and dockside clip sharing built in

Coach sees what the camera sees, mid-session. Athletes receive annotated clips before they've left the water

Get in
touch

Catching Light is currently in the concept development phase. We are seeking conversations with rowing clubs, national federations, regatta organisers, and investors who share the vision of a quieter, smarter, more capable coaching launch.

Concept enquiries welcome
Club & federation partnerships
Investment discussions
tomwedgwood@mac.com
Enquiries are read personally
by the Catching Light team
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