are you happy with your NASA wind instruments?

Burnham Bob said:
I may be in the market for a new set of wind instruments. I was told at the boatshow by one of the dealers that they sell lots of NASA wind instruments and don't get any more complaints than they get with other makes.

Bearing in mind that all my other NASA stuff has been okay, I'm wondering if the bad reports NASA get on here are just because we all whinge when things go wrong, but the vast majority who are happy remain silent.

Rather than tell me how poor your NASA set has been, is there anyone out there using NASA wind instruments who is quite happy with them?
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I feel you will get less response from the happy customers.
 
Unless they have finally got their act together, the NASA windspeed cups don't rotate on a bearing, but on a tiny spindle in a nylon bush, pathetic.

I have had the misfortune to try 2, but that was a few years ago.

A point to note, as well as it being annoying when things don't work, a masthead job rattling on its' knackered spindle sends a very irritating vibration & noise down the mast - all night.

Stuff like Raytheon must be heaps better, but frankly I wouldn't bother with any masthead windspeed unit now, and personally I think the main reason racing boats use such stuff and say things like ' first reef at 15 knots ' is because they have large crews usually including people who aren't used to the particular boat.
 
Seajet said:
I strongly suggest you

A, question that salesmans' parentage

B, have a look at the many, many past threads here on NASA wind kit.

I have to disagree with the comment that their stuff with no moving parts is fine; I was going to agree as my Clipper Depth is fine, then I remembered their Navtex, which lasted so briefly I'd forgotten I ever had one, and the chandlery - the excellent Marine Superstore at Port Solent - seemed to be expecting me back !
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You are going to have more of those with an axe to grind and an elaphantine memory of probably up to a decade ago.....:)

If you do search on wind instrument problems you find a fair number of complaints for all types.. But it seems the budget end of the market gets more stick for not being fit for purpose.

I recently did a cost comparison and this alone is sufficient for me to specify the Nasa unit.
 
The NASA kit does represent good value for money, the wind transducer being the weak link in the chain. Wind cups tend to fly off with alarming regularity and although replacement cups are cheap, it's a real pain being hoisted up the mast to change them. There was some clever guy on the forum a few years back that posted a modification to the wind unit that mounted the cups on a metal spindle and held them in place permanently. I would certainly look up that thread and do the modification before installation. Apart from that, I have had logs and echo sounders that work well, the ssb receiver is good and the navtex is good, although I have had to have mine repaired twice for the same fault. Good news is that repairs to the kit are quick and not costly as the company are well and truly British, and they know there stuff inside out.
 
We had NASA wind, speed and depth on our first boat and it worked fine. We bought the boat at about twelve years old and kept it eighteen months - the gear was still working fine when we sold it. I believe that it had been installed when the boat was built and the previous owners had not gone out of their way to do any maintenance they could avoid, so in my experience they are nowhere near as bad as they are painted. I guess a lot comes down to how happy you are going up the mast - the NASA gear is so much cheaper than the opposition that it does not have to last very long to pay for itself provided you have the head for heights to go up and fix it when it does break down.
 
I have the NASA weatherman
It is next to useless as wherever I am it rarely gets a full report without loads of xxxxxxx's in the vital part of the text
Even at sea with no surrounding obstructions it is the same
First 2 years- great - but after that!!
 
Scanned and counted positive and negative messages on a recent lengthy thread. 17 for NASA, 17 against (may have not counted perfectly). I've been luck with them - others haven't.
 
mmmm... after years in advertising I thought that the disgruntled customers would be complaining but happy ones remain quiet. NASA units are now serviceable and if it's the masthead unit that's the problem, I can afford a whole new unit and a replacement masthead unit plus a masthead spares kit before I approach the cost of anyone else's system.

it might even be worth the £180 to find out if the NASA unit is okay........ :) As a post above says, there are good and bad points its eems for all makes
 
I have just refitted new cups to my wind speed unit and find it difficult to understand why they use such small fixings. I did it with the mast down and managed but dealing with such small nuts/washers at the top pf a mast would be a nightmare.
 
So are we saying that they have fixed the problem with brittle wind speed cups, but bearings are still suspect? The last NASA windset I had was a Clipper, which got through its cups every 6 - 8 months. As I dont always take the mast down in the winter, that was a right PITA. The last set of cups survived, but the bearing went causing it to wobble, and under read.

Or are they making them properly now?
 
Those who reckon NASA windspeed units are good value are clearly typing away on a different planet to mine, in my experience the 2 Clipper jobs I had would be poor value if given free considering the hassle fitting the things, noisy spindles, etc.

The comment about ' they really know their kit ' also made me smile, but to be fair my diabolical service experiences - nb plural - were a while ago.

I haven't even recounted all my NASA experiences here, but I am very sad to be saying this about a British company I have tried to support with a lot more than just wind instruments and would love to see making good kit and doing well...

The Clipper depth does seem to work well.
 
I spent the extra 100 quid and bought a Raymarine ST40 effort. Last time I looked it was still wizzing round at the masthead, 10 years+ on. The display is crude but it has been reliable and the technology is remarkable.

I don't see much use for any of them on a cruising boat and if it fell to bits I would remove it for good. If I had a close haul meter I would possibly look at it more.
 
Ok, so who does make the best ( accurate, robust) masthead unit ?? Simrad? Nexus? Tactick? Furuno? Nasamarine? I notice that one can buy a couple of Nasa nmea sensors for the price of the next cheapest.
Also a windex or even the good old burgee is great for most people but they are no good for Sinbad ,my tp22 helmsman who wants to know AWA, the apparent wind angle in wind mode.
 
It's all very well saying ' you can get 2 NASA's for the price of the next available ' but that doesn't take into account the major PITA of mast down or bloke hoisted fiddling around at the masthead.

I must say I doubt I would have a masthead windspeed instrument in any boat - windex works well even in locks and the reflective bits show up in the masthead light, while wool telltales on the shrouds work like the Head Up Display in a fighter, in line of sight and they don't pack up.

If I was throwing money at a racing boat campaign I'd have such an instrument, especially the magnified close hauled / running display ( had this on another boat, a Smiths job which seemed OK ) but this is largely because racing crews tend to rotate, it takes a special crew to stay together and really learn a boat; in which case they probably don't need the instrument !
 
Seajet said:
It's all very well saying ' you can get 2 NASA's for the price of the next available ' but that doesn't take into account the major PITA of mast down or bloke hoisted fiddling around at the masthead.

I must say I doubt I would have a masthead windspeed instrument in any boat - windex works well even in locks and the reflective bits show up in the masthead light, while wool telltales on the shrouds work like the Head Up Display in a fighter, in line of sight and they don't pack up.

If I was throwing money at a racing boat campaign I'd have such an instrument, especially the magnified close hauled / running display ( had this on another boat, a Smiths job which seemed OK ) but this is largely because racing crews tend to rotate, it takes a special crew to stay together and really learn a boat; in which case they probably don't need the instrument !
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Going up the mast costs nothing except perhaps a beer for the bloke on the winch
Coming from the "don't forget to put the burgee up before we go" era I never had a wind instrument until given one for a present
Now i find i use it a lot
For a start i do not get a crick in the neck constantly looking up
Bits of string on the shrouds are not that effective
Finally there is the quality of sailing issue
Some can do without it & as i said a burgee does the job. But it it is like a car, one does not need all the latest gizmos but they are nice to have when they are there & add to the pleasure.
If you cannot afford loads of extra gadgets then you still get to go sailing but it is a bit like the choice of boat.
If you can only afford a small bilge keeler or Anderson 22, long due for the scrap heap then you get one & enjoy it to its limits.
If you can afford the latest 40 footer then you are very fortunate. You still only make what you want of it. For some the extra bits are not necessary to survive but just make surviving a better eperience
 
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The whole thing with NASA and wind has been done to death.
They are indifferently designed and of suspect fitness for purpose.
What is really annoying is that a few changes would transform the unit. Probably for not too much money.

Their repair service is a galactic class leader. But maybe removing the faults might be a good commercial move.

Now have a gaping hole, like a missing tooth, on the cockpit display where the display was. Got fed up with new crew removing the cover and saying "wind indicator seems to be wrong". Certainly cannot afford or justify the Taktick or similar which might deliver.
 
Daydream believer said:
Going up the mast costs nothing except perhaps a beer for the bloke on the winch
Coming from the "don't forget to put the burgee up before we go" era I never had a wind instrument until given one for a present
Now i find i use it a lot
For a start i do not get a crick in the neck constantly looking up
Bits of string on the shrouds are not that effective
Finally there is the quality of sailing issue
Some can do without it & as i said a burgee does the job. But it it is like a car, one does not need all the latest gizmos but they are nice to have when they are there & add to the pleasure.
If you cannot afford loads of extra gadgets then you still get to go sailing but it is a bit like the choice of boat.
If you can only afford a small bilge keeler or Anderson 22, long due for the scrap heap then you get one & enjoy it to its limits.
If you can afford the latest 40 footer then you are very fortunate. You still only make what you want of it. For some the extra bits are not necessary to survive but just make surviving a better eperience
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Daydream Believer,

with ( not much ! ) respect that is bolleaux.

For a start I could afford a lot bigger boat and have had one, complete with all the instruments; I went back to the Anderson 22 through sailing experience and wanting a well handling & performing sailing boat, not a sofa and a fridge / freezer & microwave, in other words a floating house.

Wool telltales on the shrouds- not ' bits of string ' - work very well indeed, you should try them.

I expect you are trolling to wind me up, but I will be sailing happily - in comfort too - long after you have decided to treat your overlong over-heavy PITA in close quarters boat as a cottage in a marina, if you can afford that.:)
 
Seajet said:
Daydream Believer,

with ( not much ! ) respect that is bolleaux.

For a start I could afford a lot bigger boat and have had one, complete with all the instruments; I went back to the Anderson 22 through sailing experience and wanting a well handling & performing sailing boat, not a sofa and a fridge / freezer & microwave, in other words a floating house.

Wool telltales on the shrouds- not ' bits of string ' - work very well indeed, you should try them.

I expect you are trolling to wind me up, but I will be sailing happily - in comfort too - long after you have decided to treat your overlong over-heavy PITA in close quarters boat as a cottage in a marina, if you can afford that.:)
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My post was meant as a serious thread but yes you are right i did edit it to put in "anderson 22" partly because i knew you could be wound up
I am sure that i could really get you going in the club bar - all to the merriment of those around
I was not discussing why you would buy an Anderson ( yes in its day it was one of the best & still is) nor was i intending any insult about your personal wealth or lack of it or otherwise
I was just saying that to some having these gizmos add to their sailing experience
But never mind you just sit on your mooring letting your beard grow to your hearts content & critisize all & sundry. You cannot really be as bad as you sound
Oh & by the way
I do have woolies on my phantom ( but not on my Hanse)
 
Daydream Believer,

A, no beard,

B, I have not critisized anyone merely put my point of view and related lessons learned.

C, If you have wool telltales on your Phantom you shouldn't make silly comments about ' bits of string not working very well ', should you ?! :rolleyes:
 
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