We are not selling our new Velocitek RTK Pucks this year, only renting them for $50 per day.*
People, even sailors, can’t help but take better care of their own stuff than anything rented, but we still think renting is the right business model for our community this year because:
- The technology is changing fast and we will want to build different devices for next year,
- Automated starting is new and sailors will want to try it out without a big commitment,
- We want to learn as directly as possible from our community, and
- Our automated starting system only works when every boat has a device – so we need the decision to be as easy as possible.
We Believe great racing technology should be practical and accessible for as many sailors as possible. That philosophy has shaped many of our decisions, including lowering prices this season on ProStart, SpeedPuck, and Prism to make our core instruments easier for more sailors to adopt.
Shiny New Thing: The Velocitek RTK Puck is a breakthrough device enabling automated race starting. Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning isn’t just “more accurate GPS”—it’s a fundamentally different, far more complex system that uses base stations, correction signals, and synchronized onboard devices to deliver centimeter-level accuracy instead of the several-meter errors of conventional GPS. That level of precision unlocks capabilities standard GPS simply can’t support, from fairer, higher-integrity start-line enforcement to deeper tactical and performance analysis.
Learning Together: The next few seasons will be about learning. By experimenting with different deployment models, we can learn how RTK creates the most value and building practical guidelines for future events. Our RTK Puck rental program is built for exactly this: a low-friction way for fleets and classes to get the technology on the water and learn together, event by event.
Respecting Traditions while Innovating: Sailing has always evolved through a mix of tradition and innovation, and RTK is the next step forward. Centimeter-level accuracy gives organizers better tools, gives sailors deeper insights, and gives the sport a new layer of fairness and clarity. Our job is to guide that transition responsibly—building reliable tech, listening to the people who use it, and keeping barriers low so fleets everywhere can experience what RTK makes possible.
Legends on the Road and on the Water: There are legendary stories of sailboat racers, aggressively driving rental cars, even racing rental cars, at away regattas. Those sailors may not know that the car manufacturers gather usage data from their rental fleets to test maintenance cycles, or new feature usage. So when “Driving it Like a Rental” our sailors were actually helping the car companies make better cars!
We’re excited to see what sailors and race organizers do with the Velocitek RTK Puck in 2026.
Are you organizing an event that would benefit from Velocitek RTK? Tell us more.
*Note: Yes, this post has some fun in it, and yes, it’s very close to April 1. But the RTK Puck rental program is real, and we’re genuinely excited to get this technology on the water in 2026.