Anyone using a hasler windvane?

[steve yates]

That I could come and visit to see how it is set up & works? Doesn't have to be at sea.

My pal has one on his twister, and I have it kind of working but not properly yet, it keeps drifting off course. I'm fairly sure I'm missing something obvious, and the manual doesn't help much at this stage.

It would be great if someone had one and showed me exactly what each bit was for and explained how they set & control their's.

Thanks.

 

[Gargleblaster]

There used to be a full repair section for Hasler Windvane on teh Jester Challenge site but that has disappeared due to a move of providers.

I like to think I am an expert on Windvane steering but interesting enough I have never used a Hasler although several of my friends have/do.

If you can lock the vane in place either with a clamp or through the use of control lines the vane should be capable of steering you in a constant direction in relation to the wind. However the real problem in relatively confined spaces is that the wind does not blow in a constant direction and as a result the boat will vary its course with the wind. The second aspect of the windvane steering's ability to steer a relatively straight course is making sure your sails are relatively balanced so that you don't have too much weather or lee helm. That said in my experience I am often amazed at how well my boat with its Windpilot can handle sudden gusts which interfere with the sail balance. But then in my instructions it does say the Paddle is capable of exerting 250Kgs of thrust at normal water speed.

Using a windvane is an art not a science and you find that you will be learning all the time while you use it. The most common mistake made is to set the windvane up so that it is in the exact opposite configuration to what is required. I was setting up a friend's Aries in Antigua recently and managed to reverse it on our first trial.

 

[steve yates]

Yep, black art was the phrase that sprang to mind