With the approach of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, sailing has gained increasing attention, making it crucial to utilize modern technology to assist training and improve competition performance. Considering the need for real-time data collection to guide training and reduce the workload of sailing coaches, a sailboat attitude sensor was designed. This allows coaches to understand the specific training details of each athlete, improving work efficiency. 1. System Design of the Sailboat Attitude Sensor Based on the PIC16F877A, the sailboat attitude sensor collects the pitch, roll, mast rotation angles, and GPS-recorded sailboat trajectory during sailing. The system records the collected data every 0.5 seconds, with a recording time of approximately 5 hours. The host computer can read the stored data via an RS232 interface. The host computer can then display the sailboat's trajectory, pitch, roll, and other data visually. Its system structure diagram is shown in Figure 1. 2. Hardware Design of the Sailboat Attitude Meter : The PIC16F877A microcontroller acts as the processor. It detects the sailboat's tilt angle using an SCA60C tilt sensor and stores the detected data in the AT45D081A-RI high-capacity Flash memory. Part of the hardware circuit is shown in Figure 2. The DS1302 clock chip records data from the measurement and control system and performs time calibration during recording. Its hardware and software design is simple, and the time recording is accurate, avoiding both the large workload of continuous recording and the blindness of timed recording. The connection between the DS1302 and the CPU requires only three lines: SCLK, I/O, and RST. The circuit principle of the DS1302 connection to the microcontroller is shown in Figure 2. A dual power supply method is adopted to ensure that time information and data can be saved even without a main power supply. The DS1302 is powered by the larger of VCC1 or VCC2. When VCC2 is less than VCC1, VCC1 powers the DS1302. The AT45D081A-RI is a high-capacity Flash memory manufactured by Atmel, with a capacity of 4 Mb. It uses serial data transmission and is powered by a single 5V power supply. It features low power consumption, small size, large capacity, fast transmission, compatibility with CMOS and TTL levels, and data retention after power failure, making its hardware design and software programming easy. The system communicates with a host computer via RS232C, transmitting the sailboat's attitude at sea to the host computer, which then manages and displays the data. 3. Selection of Tilt Sensor The system uses the SCA60C high-precision tilt sensor from Shanghai Langshang Science & Trade Co., Ltd. to detect the sailboat's tilt angle. Different installation methods are used to detect the sailboat's pitch and roll angles. The SCA60C is actually an accelerometer, internally composed of a silicon microsensor and a signal processing chip; it is packaged in SMD form. It measures the component of Earth's gravity in the measurement direction and converts it into a tilt angle. Its analog output characteristics are shown in Figure 3. The arrows indicate the positive direction of acceleration. If the sailboat accelerates in the direction indicated by the arrow, or tilts in the direction shown in Figure 3, the output value increases. Here, Offset is the voltage output of the sailboat at 0 g (typically 2.5 V), and Sensitivity is the device's sensitivity (typically 2 V/g). For best accuracy, the actual output value should be used instead of the typical value. 4. Host Computer Software Design The host computer for the sailboat attitude meter is designed using Delphi software. The data collected and stored by the sailboat attitude meter is read up via serial port. The host computer software manages the read data and displays it visually as curves, allowing coaches to understand the athletes' training progress. The software interface is shown in Figure 4. Conclusion The sailboat attitude meter is simple to install and debug, technologically advanced, feature-rich, and easy to maintain. It can help sailors train scientifically to prepare for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.