Beneteau Group looks to accelerate fleet connectivity strategy

Groupe Beneteau, France’s biggest boatbuilder and the world’s largest producer of sailboats, has enriched its Seanapps application with a dozen new sensors for safer, more comfortable and more sustainable navigation. Launched in 2019, the Seannaps application is dedicated to the monitoring and predictive maintenance of Beneteau’s boats. It is currently available on more than 8,000 vessels and 500 dealers.

Thanks to these new sensors, owners around the world will now be able to access more information about their boat in real time (energy performance, access points, temperature, humidity, etc.), directly from their smartphones. The ambition of the Vendéen group is to equip 20,000 boats by 2025 and eventually connect its entire network to Seanapps.

“The Beneteau Group’s ambition is to play a leading role in transforming the nautical sector and changing uses to fully address environmental challenges,” says Gianguido Girotti, director general of the Boat Division of the Beneteau Group. “The use of data collected through the increasingly advanced features of our Seanapps connected application allows us to offer a more comfortable, safer and more environmentally friendly browsing experience.

“With this application, the Beneteau Group has the largest connected fleet in the world. This allows us to feed a revolutionary database that guides our product teams in developing new models.”

Seanapps also aspires to actively engage in dialogue with key players such as NGOs and the scientific community, in order to work together to address key issues such as oceanographic research, water quality and biodiversity protection.

This new version of Seanapps makes a significant contribution to shipowners wishing to reduce their environmental benefits. The new sensors integrated into engines and batteries not only improve operational efficiency and simplify preventive maintenance, but also raise awareness of the environmental impact of recreationalisation. Owners can now establish an energy balance of their boats and closely monitor their environmental footprint, for example by identifying inefficiencies or potential failures.

The new sensors that enrich the Seanapps application also enhance the safety of boats. Several sensors now make it possible to monitor various access points such as doors, portholes and hatches, and send notifications in case of opening or movement detected on board. Anti-theft sensors can be installed on outboard motors and annexes, so as to regularly check the presence of the equipment and to alert the user in the event of loss of Bluetooth connection.

Finally, the new range of Seanapps sensors includes devices to improve onboard comfort. The temperature and humidity sensor can accurately measure these parameters, allowing owners to create a pleasant environment in living spaces and to prevent problems such as mould. Compact and simple to install, this device accurately measures temperature and humidity, updating the data every 60 seconds. The air-conditioning sensor will send alerts in the event of a malfunction of the electrical power supply of the air conditioning, guaranteeing optimum comfort at all times.

Source: IBI News