Why training on manned models?

Because this is still the best way to acquire some reflexes which, when the time comes, will make all the difference between being good and being the best.
Training on the scale models provides experience that could never be gained on real ships for the simple reason that neither ship-owners nor local authorities would allow such risks to be taken.

Scale models allow the ship handler to make mistakes. Scale models allow experimentation on ship behaviour to explore unknown fields beyond the limits of safety. Periodic training on scale models will maintain your ship handling skills at the highest level and periodic evaluations will show it.

Get additional experience

Training on the manned 1:25 scale models is a valuable complement to training on electronic simulators as it provides additional experience through a feeling of "déjà vu":

• Nature is at work on scale models, with random effects that are similar to those of real-life situations. The unforeseeable nature of squalls, shallows, currents and waves calls for an immediate, appropriate reaction, without any repeat or automatic response ... and no "reset" switch. And when things go wrong on the scale model, the pilot really feels his ship run aground or collide with another ship or berth. Those who have experienced a situation of this kind know how much it motivates and convinces them to do better...

• For the same reason (natural phenomena) hydrodynamic effects are correctly reproduced on scale models and it is therefore unnecessary to transpose them in the form of complex equations. This gives a better simulation of hydrodynamic effects such as interactions between ships (for example in a canal), interactions between the ship and berth, small under-keel clearance (such as 10% of the ship's draught) and the use of anchor dredging in various operating situations.

• The scale effect of wind on a manned model is well known, but it is also well known that this is in no way detrimental to the use of manned models for serious and effective ship handling training. Wind is a factor in the everyday life of pilots throughout the world. The design of our manned model lake is such that the wind element will vary in different parts of the lake. This allows a course to be structured in such a manner as to introduce wind as and when required. Extreme wind conditions are encountered in the real world. If they occur at a manned model centre, with care they can be used in various scenarios to demonstrate how well control can be maintained.

• The ship models behave exactly like real ships, only much faster. In carrying out a given operation with the model, such as mooring alongside a wharf for instance, exactly the same instructions are given to the engine room and helm as on a real ship, but there is only one fifth of the time available in which to give them.

Sharpen your natural senses of perception and anticipation

56 years of experience have shown that students quickly get the feel of their models in the same way as the real ships they are accustomed to handling.

Reality will be much slower than the model, thus leaving quite a lot more time to react. Manned models sharpen the ship handlers' natural senses of perception and anticipation and enable an appreciation of the ships' behaviour as a whole.
The time scale also means that it is possible to perform five times as many manoeuvres. In other words, it is possible to perform as many manoeuvres in 35 hours on the models as in 175 hours on the real ship. If you then consider the cost of training on scale models compared to computer models as a cost per manoeuvre and per pilot, scale models might turn out to be even cheaper than computer models!!
Manned models are considered by ships' captains and pilots - ship handlers par excellence - as the next best thing to a full-scale prototype for studying and understanding a ship's behaviour.
A manned model training centre is also a permanent forum of ideas, an ideal meeting place where information and experience can be exchanged.
It is recommended that captains, masters and pilots train on manned models once every five years.