I was using mine (Sailomat) for exactly that a fortnight ago - though in truth for only an hour or so and in benign conditions, but it coped admirably. I’d been thumping around coming out of the Deben and a terminal had popped off the TP feed on control panel. Poor maintenance on my part really. Have checked all connections since then and re-crimped a few.
We have found that the boats that all converge on Horta in the Azores in May/June, having crossed from the Caribbean, are generally a different style of boat to those that cross on mass on the ARC on the way out. There are more older style boats with wind self steering, single handers, smaller boats and boats that are more at home at anchor than in a marina. There are also far less catamaransFWIW, I have yet to find **one** cruiser using wind steering (after of course having learnt to use it) which is unhappy with it, the choice is very easy they are all good: Hydrovane Monitor Windpilot etc.
IMHO the ARC is (very) far from being representative of general cruising habits, most of the participating boats are equipped on the lines ''shopping list for turnkey sailing'', people fit the full list the whole lot of equipment they have been convinced is ''must have'' from sailing magazines, blogs and the like, they usually install everything during the few weeks before the start then leave. No wonder sailing magazines articles after the rally are lists of ''what worked and what did not''; no wonder there are few wind steering systems, no wonder people haven t had the time to learn to use it and blame it as ''faulty'', an autopilot is immensely easier. For example, a walk in the Azores marinas during the return transat season shows a completely different picture wrt wind steering.
Besides, the time spent while looking at what other people do or do not to try and find this ''general consensus'' is IMHO much better spent reflecting about what kind of sailing provides most satisfaction to one s self, and follow that direction: it goes from choosing a boat to equipping it, to choosing places to sail to, etc etc; why on earth one should look at what the ''consensus'' is, if it ever exists. Many ARC people are very happy with what they do, there are many people equally happy doing things in totally different ways.
Being centre cockpit, our Windpilot control lines to the wheel are about as hard to achieve as it gets. They run along the aft deck, via an Aries block in the cockpit, to the wheel.
I think most of them can.
If or when the time comes ask againThanks, all. Was just curious as something similar may be my next boat, and would have had to rule them out if it was an issue. But not until I finally finish and use the one I have on the hard in bits
They adjust, but stowed vertically in that photo.....
True wind not apparent.
You were sailing apparent not true.
Ah, sorry - missed the point of your post.
Surely if you're sailing dead downwind, that's the one point of sail on which there is no difference in angle between apparent and true wind?
Yes but only dead downwind. My old girl rolls so much that I never sail dead in anything other than very calm conditions.
You always sail apparent wind. The only time direction of true and apparent are identical is when you’re dead down wind. It’s still an apparent wind though as true wind speed would be apparent plus boat speed. (I’m ignoring tidal stream here).
With reference to true wind direction. Like my autopilot does off the wind.
I’m not sure what point you’re making?
What's the point you are making? My autopilot will steer to either true wind or apparent. My wind self steering is mechanical so steers to the wind it senses over the vane. What's you point?
Our replies crossed in the post
I think what he’s saying is that a windvane won’t perform as well as a autopilot when you have, say, 4 knots of breeze right up the chuff, and the near-zero apparent wind over the vane is not enough to make it function correctly to steer boat.
My boat doesn’t sail very well in four knots of wind. It sort of drifts.
Same. Not many boats will sail well in 4kt AWS from dead astern.
