Hydrovane and Sadler 32

[Motor_Sailor]

The statement that 'No American boats have windvanes' is also hilarious.

In America there's a very 'traditional' wing of the cruising world. Surprisingly in percentage terms, it's probably at least as large as similar inclined sailors in the UK. Lots of people still salivate over the idea of of a Atkins derived double ender (Westsail, Valiant, Baba, Hans Christian, Tayana, Perry) with a Monitor Self Steering gear on the back. These 'serious' cruisers also support a dedicated magazine (Ocean Navigator) which still champions windvanes for the average family 35 to 45ft cruising boat heading off for some bluewater sailing.

 

[Daydream believer]

You forgot to add that trying to teach him how to use the quote button is not actually slanderous either.
As for a couple of French sailors allegedly dragging their anchors proving that French in general are poor at anchoring -- well !!!!

 

[macd]

You forgot to add that trying to teach him how to use the quote button is not actually slanderous either.

But then nothing anyone has ever written about him is, or ever could be, slanderous
(For the faint of thought, this is absolutely not a dig at KellysEye.)

 

[BobnLesley]

> ...fact, it is what I have seen in the 2004 ARC and the years spent in the Caribbean...Are you basing you basing your claim or what you have seen in places like the Caribbean or what you have made up or something else?...

Obviously I can't speak for Wandering Star et al, but based on my current, rather than what reads like your increasingly historic recollections of cruising the Caribbean, I'd respectfully suggest that you're writing rubbish, or perhaps the momory's playing tricks after so long? Hydrovane self-steering units perhaps were in the overwhelming majority at some point in the past - to me it sounds unlikely, but as I wasn't here then, it'd be foolish of me make
a definitive statement that I can't substantiate - but certainly over the last four years, I'd assess that there are similar numbers of Monitor/Hydrovane/Windpilot, with somewhat fewer Aries/Sea Feathers/Narviks and a smattering of odds and sods, including some homebuilds too.
We use a Monitor so my response by definition must have some biase towards them, but as a generalisation, I advise fitting a servo pendulam vane rather than Hydrovane, unless your cockpit position/design would require a very long and/or convoluted route for the vane's control lines. I really can't see that being an issue on the OPs boat and whilst I'm a Monitor fan, would suggest that for him, the lighter weight Sea Feather, or better still Narvik units if you can find one, might be a better bet?

I'm going ashore (Admiralty Bay, Bequia) before long and will enquire enroute of the three nearby US boats (2 Monitors and a Hydrovane) if they're unique, or whether as has seemed to me on our travels, that there are actually one or two other North American cruising yachts that have windvanes too. Though maybe the rest have had theirs stolen by now Kelly? Though you'll no doubt tell us that'd be the French to blame.

 

[RobF]

A reasonably interesting summary of wind vane steering systems is at http://www.cruisingworld.com/how/sorting-out-self-steering-options.

Strangely, the Hydrovane isn't mentioned

 

[Wandering Star]

A reasonably interesting summary of wind vane steering systems is at http://www.cruisingworld.com/how/sorting-out-self-steering-options.

Strangely, the Hydrovane isn't mentioned

Interesting article, the Hydrovane is actually mentioned in a subsequent (or possibly earlier) article with a link to it from the link you mentioned - does that make sense? Anyway here's the link which mentions the Hydrovane: http://www.cruisingworld.com/how/self-steering-no-strings-attached.

 

[macd]

A reasonably interesting summary of wind vane steering systems is at http://www.cruisingworld.com/how/sorting-out-self-steering-options.

Strangely, the Hydrovane isn't mentioned

More strangely still, it is if you click the link cunningly entitled "Read Part 2 of this article here".
It isn't mentioned in Part 1, because that concerns itself only with "Modern Servo-Pendulum Windvanes".