In an effort to more effectively enforce its power-to-weight-ratio rules, Powerboat P1 announced Wednesday that all of the boats on its tour will be required to have torque sensors this season.

The sensors will essentially replace Powerboat P1’s current monitoring program that involves preseason engine dyno testing and measuring various engine parameters such as rpm and fuel flow during races. Tour officials are confident the new torque sensors will prevent teams from getting an unfair horsepower advantage.

The torque sensor is installed on the driveline between the engine and the stern drive. It requires shortening the driveline by approximately 4 inches to install the device, said Andy Hindley, racing and events director for Powerboat P1. A sensor is required for each engine.

Developed by ABB, the Torductor-S provides real-time torque and power data to tour officials. Simply put, the sensor is part of the shaft, and when it spins, the device reads a copper print on the shaft. Hindley said the readings are accurate within 1 percent, making it extremely difficult to cheat.

“Up to this point, it’s been difficult to cheat but possible,” said Hindley, noting that a team was disqualified last season for removing weight from a boat. “Now, I don’t think that’s going to be the case.”

The Torductor-S has been used by Formula 1 race teams for years and the technology is not cheap. Although Hindley wouldn’t reveal how much the torque sensors cost, he said they should pay for themselves within two years and be able to withstand the rugged race environment for up to five years.

Under the tour’s power-to-weight ratio, a simple formula is used to calculate a boat’s allowable horsepower. For example, boats in the closed-canopy Evolution class are allowed 1 horsepower per 7.7 pounds, while SuperSport boats can have 1 horsepower per 9.9 pounds.

All the boats are weighed on the cranes before they are put into the water and weighed again when pulled from the water. Hindley said they will continue to weigh boats but will no longer measure engine parameters such as exhaust gas temperature, rpm and boost pressure. The old sensors will remain on the engines and can still be used by the teams.

The previous sensors recorded an extensive amount of data, which Hindley said took a lot of analysis by tour officials. And teams could still cheat on horsepower even though inspectors maintain they would likely be caught.

The new torque sensors come completely sealed—to prevent tampering—and all the wires and the data box have serial numbers to maintain integrity.

Tour officials have already shipped the torque sensors to race teams and will have to make sure the devices are properly installed and working before the first race in the Ukraine, May 7-9.

Hindley believes the new sensors will save teams time and money, and they will no longer have the aggravation of removing the engines for dyno testing.

“I know they’ll like that,” he said.—Gregg Mansfield

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