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Skiff, a frontier isochrone tuning simulation for sailboats logo

Skiff, a frontier isochrone tuning simulation for sailboats

Free
FreeFree tier
Type
Open Source
Company
DeepBlueDynamics
Visit Website GitHub (2 stars)

About Skiff, a frontier isochrone tuning simulation for sailboats

Skiff is a server-authoritative Lagoon 450S sailing simulator and isochrone-routing research platform. It combines a headless six-degree-of-freedom Rust simulation with an optional React and Three.js cockpit. The server owns vessel state and physics while the browser provides visualization and controls. Features include server-authoritative physics with hulls, rudders, skegs, engines, sail forces, stability states, waves, grounding, and bathymetry; headless operation; interactive 3D cockpit with HUD telemetry and Verlet cloth sail; graceful fallback from browser cloth forces to the coefficient sail model; routing and validation tools such as isochrone routing, boat-profile tests, polar sweeps, and a terminal state monitor; and external integrations including optional Meridian weather, Signal K telemetry, OpenCPN route guidance, and a native Model Context Protocol endpoint.

Key Features

Server-authoritative physics with six-degree-of-freedom Lagoon 450S dynamics including hulls, rudders, skegs, engines, sail forces, stability, waves, grounding, and bathymetry
Headless operation — vessel continues sailing without a browser connected
Interactive 3D cockpit built with React 19, React Three Fiber, Three.js, Zustand, HUD telemetry, helm and engine controls, environmental controls, and a Verlet cloth sail
Graceful sail-model fallback — fresh browser cloth forces drive the boat; stale input blends back to the server coefficient model
Routing and validation tools including isochrone routing, boat-profile tests, polar sweeps, and terminal state monitor
External integrations for Meridian weather, Signal K telemetry, OpenCPN route guidance, and a native Model Context Protocol endpoint

Pros & Cons

Pros
  • Accurate server-authoritative physics model running at approximately 20 Hz
  • Real-time interactive 3D visualization with detailed cockpit controls
  • Headless mode enables continuous simulation without browser dependency
  • Extensible with external weather, navigation, and telemetry tools
  • Open source and free to use
Cons
  • Not certified for real-world navigation, autopilot, or vessel-control applications
  • Requires technical expertise to set up (Rust toolchain, Node.js)
  • Currently models only the Lagoon 450S catamaran

Best For

Sailing simulation researchIsochrone routing development and testingBoat performance validation with polar sweeps and profile testsEducational tool for understanding sailing dynamics and routing algorithms

FAQ

Is Skiff suitable for real-world navigation?
No, Skiff is an active simulation and research project. It is not certified navigation, autopilot, or vessel-control software.
What are the system requirements to run Skiff?
A recent stable Rust toolchain with Rust 2024 edition support, Node.js 22, and npm. Docker is optional for containerized builds.