Automated Flags

New for 2025!

In 2024, I swapped out the lights for automated flags.  Lights were awesome, but lacked… lets say “tradition”.  Inspiration struck me one day, and pneumatics (air cylinders) have worked solidly for one full season (6 months, 50+races).

Testing was done over the entire 2024 sailing season.  (in fresh water, in Minnesota)  Appx 50 races, well over 100 sequences.  Several races had winds above 25mph.  A couple times, I forgot the flags were up and powered the boat up to 40mph.  Aside from an occasional loose nut, and learning to shorten air line lengths, there weren’t any issues – mounting was rock solid.

All mechanicals are stainless.  Electronics are kept as sealed as possible in an electronics box under the T-Top.

Throughout the year, I noticed there was a delay between flag actuation signals and response from the cylinders.  This was remediated by moving the solenoids closer to the cylinders:  shorter air lines.  I kept the solenoids under the hard top for rain protection, and the cylinder connection lines were reduced to a max of 2′ in length.

Tell your sailors to time from the start of flag movement (Up AND Down).  The cylinders may not raise or lower the flags as fast as a dedicated human can, but they are taller and are perfectly consistent every time.
I’m certain there are better ways to engineer the flag hinges and geometry!  Would love to hear your ideas.  Contact form below.

Videos: https://www.youtube.com/committeeboat

 

360 Videos:  Use mouse to look around.  +/- to zoom in/out.

This video is a very windy day (20-25 mph).  Long-distance race, hence the low-energy start from competitors.

Another start sequence with more typical winds – appx 10mph.

The Gear:

• Pneumatic (air) cylinders
  Warning:  These cylinders can cause injury and break fingers.  Keep people, televisions, walls, glass tables, pets, and other breakable items away from them while testing or operating them!
  Sourced from an animatronic prop company.  (similar ones also available on Amazon)  Stainless Steel construction.
  Used 3 of them – Prep, Class, and S/F flags.  Start/Finish doesn’t necessarily need a cylinder, but I wanted a flag directly over my helm station for excellent line spotting position.  Having the S/F flag closer to the bow helps remove the “coffin corner” effect for boats on Port-Tack at the start.
  Cylinder specs I used are:  12″ stroke, 1-1/16″ Bore, with 1/8″ ports and 1/4″ air line.  None of that matters much – just get close with whatever you order, and make sure all of your fittings and air lines work with themselves.
  I run the pressure regulator at 70 psi, and 1-1/16″ cylinders have a “power factor” of 0.89, providing 62 lbs of force to raise the flags.  That worked in all wind conditions I experienced – probably 28mph(ish) for raising flags, and 50mph(ish) with flags up.
• Start Timer
  I used my start timer for lights (shown in other articles on this page), but any timer which can produce a 12v low-current signal (to activate a relay, one for Prep and one for Class) can be used.  I’ll effort to write a program for a simple Arduino Uno to accomplish this, but it’s a great learning experience for you to do it yourself!
• Manual Switches
  Physical switches to actuate flags for….testing, displays, center S/F flag, etc.  Cheap and easy to wire up.  I used “Guarded Rocker” switches akin to those used for launching rockets.  Bought them for the flair, but found the safety aspect to be wise.
• Air Compressor
  I went with a battery powered unit to avoid ship’s battery issues.  Milwaukee M18 Fuel, with two XC8.0 battery packs.
  It is QUIET and low-vibration.  Covered the metal bars with pool noodles &/or flex-tape (to protect gel-coat) and dropped it in the lowest accessible point of my boat – the porta-potty footwell in the CC helm.  (now, what do I do with the feet of those who need to use the porta-potty?)
  The XC8.0 batteries were great for our races – I could keep the system charged all day (yes, it has a slow leak) and run a dozen sequences on one battery with charge to spare.  My goal was to buy enough battery to use one per day, with a spare, rotate them for longevity.  Accomplished.
  Could I run 20 youth starts all day?  I wouldn’t hesitate to so so with those two batteries.  Although I haven’t had the opportunity to prove that yet – I’d probably keep some X5.0’s on hand from my power drill as backups.
  Milwaukee also makes much more powerful batteries!
  Is this sponsored by Milwaukee?  NO!  I just like their products.  Expensive, but they work well.  I investigated several 12V compressors from Amazon (and have wiring diagrams to attest to it) but when the time crunch hit last Spring, buying local won out.
• Mounting
  It’s…complex.  Every situation is different, so I won’t go into detail.  My hard top is different from yours.  See my photos/videos for details.
  I used a variety of aluminum stock – square tube for flagpole bases, and 2″ flat for base plates.  Used 1/8″ StarBoard as standoff to bury bolt heads and keep them from contacting fiberglass hard-top.
  Tips:  I mocked one cylinder up on a 1×6 board.  Took those measurements and mounted to T-Top.  Better idea:  Use board as a mock-up to an aluminum base-plate.  Mount cylinders on that as a single unit, and your mounting options will be much, much easier.
  Hinges were a 6″ T-Hinge, all I could find was galvanized, but stainless are available if in a marine environment.  Short side to the base, and the long side to hold the square tube flagpole base.
  I used a variety of

PARTS LIST

 

Part	Description	Link	Price (appx)
Cylinder (3 of these)	1-1/16″ Bore Double-Acting Universal Mount Cylinder. 12″ Stroke. With: Rod Clevis, Clevis Mounting Bracket, Male Swivel Elbows	Frightprops	$90/ea
Valves (3 of these)	4-Way 5-Port Valve with 1/8″ ports With:  Voltage 12v (or as you require), 2x Speed Control Mufflers, Optional Male Fittings (3×1/8″ threads – 1/4″ tubing), Screws as needed for your mounts (I didn’t need them)	Frightprops	$45/ea
Manifold	Aluminum Block Manifold with fittings for 1/4″ air line – 4 Ports There’s a cheaper plastic version available as well.	Frightprops	$37.00
Stopper Plug	Plug for Push-On Fittings (to plug unneeded holes in the manifold).  One required, but a few are helpful during testing.	Frightprops	$1/ea
Air Line	Polyurethane Airline.  1/4″ I used 70ft during prototyping and installation, but 50ft is probably fine.	Frightprops	$40
Quick Connect	Connector for air compressor to 1/4″ air line	Frightprops	$6
Milwaukee Air Compressor	M18 Fuel 18-Volt Air Compressor  2840-20 You can find deals on these – shop around.	Milwaukeetool
Milwaukee Battery (2 of these)	M18 High Output XC8.0 Battery You can find deals on these – shop around.  Or, get larger ones – I recommend 8.0 minimum.	Milwaukeetool
Manual Flag Switches	Rocker Toggle Switch Panel	Amazon
…This is where things really become application-specific…
Hinges (3 of these)	Mine were zinc-plated (non-marine environment = ok-ish), but stainless would be better.  Flat side was 4-1/2″, Long side 5-1/2″ Bigger the better.	Fleet Farm
Flag pole holders (3 of these)	1″ x 36″ square tube – base for inserting flagpoles	Menards
Flat Bar	1/8″ x 2″ flat aluminum bar stock  – baseplates for mounting flags
StarBoard	1/8″ thick – perhaps 2 sq ft. Used as standoff for AL baseplates so metal doesn’t hit hardtop.
Aluminum Angle	2″ aluminum angle to offset cylinder mount.
Flat Bar	1/8″ x 1″ flat aluminum bar stock – to increase cylinder mount offset as needed.
Stainless Bolts & Nuts	Lots of short ones (1/2″ or less) and longer ones (1-1/2″) to connect aluminum pieces together. Nuts should all be nylon locking type.
Stainless U-Bolt	As needed to secure flags to T-Top superstructure.  I used 12.  Size to the tubes in your T-Top.  Replace nuts with nylon lock type.	Menards
Cushioning	Foam weather striping to cushion flag drops.  I used some adhesive-backed 1″W x 1/2″T.  Doubled it up in places.  Will need to replace every year as it compresses over time.
Clamshell Vents	For air lines through hard top	Amazon	$9.00
Caulking	Life Seal – To fill all the holes in the T-Top.
Flagpoles (3 Required)	1/2″ x 3/4″ x 8′ Oak Parting Bead. Works great as flagpoles.  Fits into 1″ square tube tightly.  Sand edges to avoid splinters, then varnish, paint, or leave natural.	Menards
Tension Springs	To compress flagpoles against holders and keep them secure. They work well – two per flag pole.	Amazon	$8.00