Idea for remotely mounted windvane

[SvenH]

Is it possible just to have the windvane offset?

With Mr. Vane (from Mister Vee) you can, from the top of my head about 20 cm to either port or starbord side.

 

[DownWest]

With Mr. Vane (from Mister Vee) you can, from the top of my head about 20 cm to either port or starbord side.

His tender would have to VERY short to clear that offset;o).
Get the solar arch roughly above the lower section and the fibre rod/tube would do the trick. Might need a bit of ballast to offset the extra weight.

 

[KellysEye]

Everything on a boat is designed for a purpose, including wind vanes, I doubt you would change anything else so why risk changing a wind vane.

 

[Brent Swain]

Friction is the enemy of wind vanes. I suspect that it would severely affect the windvanes sensitivity and reduce its ability to steer ‘off the wind’. Most windvanes cope reasonably well with lots of apparent wind, but off the wind you need all the sensitivity you can get.

Yes friction kills a wind vane's performance in light winds,and drasticaly undermines it in stronger winds. That is why all bearings should rattle loosely.If you can transfer the movement with a longer, light push rod, touching nothing between points, that would probably work , as it would mean almost zero increase in friction.
A carbon fibre arrow shaft ,or two joined together, would work well, and be super light..

 

[Daydream believer]

With Mr. Vane (from Mister Vee) you can, from the top of my head about 20 cm to either port or starbord side.

I do not think that the Op would want to sail about with the vane stuck on the top of his head

 

[Triassic]

My Navik wind vane has a rigid pushrod connecting the upper and lower halves of the mechanism.
Would there be anything in principle doing me from separating the turret/vane and using a flexible morse cable to replace the pushrod?
My thinking is that this would allow the turret to sit on top of a stern arch, with the cable routed down one side.

It seems a very obvious solution but if it was as easy as it seems, surely somebody would have done it by now...

It is, and they have!

See here, http://jacareselfsteering.com

And here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQsoUCYmOco

Pause the video around 28 seconds to see the bit you're interested in, and again around 40 odd.