instruments kaput - suggestions for wind direction indicator please

[Gwylan]

Explain!

........................ I fitted the replacement using a titanium tongue-piercing barbell of suitable length and diameter, being in the business of wholesaling such items. I'm tempted to apply the same modification from new,to the NASA unit I'm about to fit to my current boat!

Especially modifying the NASTY unit!

'at least seagulls sit at the top of the mast and carp on you, whereas the NASTY just sits there......'

 

[Mark Turner]

My fancy Nexus wireless wind thingy has never worked, so I've been using telltales on the shrouds as a temporary fix for direction - basically a piece of thin rip stop nylon on each side. Hoping to fix the bleedin' thing this season!

If it has never worked, did you pair it properly when it was installed?

Mine was supplied with a black box that was defective but once that was sorted it worked fine for five seasons. I had to replace the rechargeable battery this year and the windex is working fine, but the log has stopped working - so no speed and no true wind speed and angle. Charter plotter provides speed and distance sailed and I'm not sure what I really do with true wind data, but it does seem that the NX set up is a bit delicate at times.

 

[mrming]

If it has never worked, did you pair it properly when it was installed?

Mine was supplied with a black box that was defective but once that was sorted it worked fine for five seasons. I had to replace the rechargeable battery this year and the windex is working fine, but the log has stopped working - so no speed and no true wind speed and angle. Charter plotter provides speed and distance sailed and I'm not sure what I really do with true wind data, but it does seem that the NX set up is a bit delicate at times.

The Nexus gear came with the boat. Now that you mention my log stopped working too. Was hoping I could fix it before we launch. Did you ever look into the problem?

Garmin have bought Nexus and to be fair to them were very helpful when I called them about the problem with the wind instrument. I have a new battery waiting to go in and they've told me about the whole pairing thing.

 

[causeway]

I like the look of this although it's not cheap, it's however cheaper than others and wireless - http://www.sailtimerwind.com/

That looks interesting, I just signed up to be notified when it's available.

 

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

The battery in the wireless unit on the mast is a rechargeable unit powered by a small solar panel.

If you let the battery run down by having the mast down for a period of time then you may have to replace it as the solar panel isn't man enough to bring it back from completely flat.

You then have to pair the unit by holding it near the Winddata display before putting it up the mast.

I've got as far as buying a new battery and now need to fit it and pair the devices before putting the mast back up.

You should be fine as everything is new. Just remember if you take your mast down at the end of the season to put the masthead unit somewhere where it can get a bit of sun.

Thanks for explaining. My mast does not come down at the end of a season; in fact, my boat is always afloat except for three weeks every alternate year and even in winter there should be enough sunshine to keep the batteries fully charged. I believe that these are just two AAA rechargeable units wired in series. The only hassle is that the present boat does not have mast steps and I need to hire someone to climb up the mast to do the fitting because I am past 67 and don't feel up to it.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Mine has shown True and APP the wrong way around since it was new in 2001. The data sent to the chart table repeater (ST 40) has also always given a wind direction 90degrees out. It has now finally packed up completely, manifested in the needle just rotating constantly. The Raymarine agent in Levkas diagnosed it as a motor problem but he didn't have a replacement available. I bought a new ST60+ head on ebay and now await the results when I return to the boat in a few weeks time.

I seem to recall that a constantly rotating needle can be the symptom of one of the connections broken. If your new masthead unit produces the same results, check the wiring carefully. All the connections and then look for any possible chafe in the cable from the masthead to display.

 

[ghostlymoron]

Is it just me that doesn't see the point of wind instruments? I've had them in the past and whilst it's confirmation of speed and direction, I don't use it to steer by. Your sails tell you when you're too near the wind and your commonsense tells you when you've too much or little sail. Plus the masthead units are always going wrong.

 

[Burnham Bob]

Maybe my sailing skills are not all they should be, but knowing from the wind instruments when I've turned sufficiently in a tack is very useful. I'm obviouslt going to be able to sail without them but I do like having them.

 

[alahol2]

Is it just me that doesn't see the point of wind instruments? I've had them in the past and whilst it's confirmation of speed and direction, I don't use it to steer by. Your sails tell you when you're too near the wind and your commonsense tells you when you've too much or little sail. Plus the masthead units are always going wrong.

No, you're not the only one. A windex and telltales on the genny do everything you need far more accurately than any instrument.

 

[john_morris_uk]

Is it just me that doesn't see the point of wind instruments? I've had them in the past and whilst it's confirmation of speed and direction, I don't use it to steer by. Your sails tell you when you're too near the wind and your commonsense tells you when you've too much or little sail. Plus the masthead units are always going wrong.

I agree that they're not essential but there are some nice touches to our system (that's worked fine for the last ten years!)

We have a graphic display that is logged into the Raymarine data bus and from the wind speed and direction I can display a graph of true wind speed and true wind direction for the last 12 hours. It stops all arguments and doubts in my mind about whether a front really has gone through, or what the wind speed is doing over a period of time.

When sailing I sail by the compass or the tell tales on the sails, but the wind speed is useful when heading off down wind. Its another way of checking that conditions aren't getting out of hand. Of course I can manage without, but its a handy thing to look at and check.

Finally and coincidentally, one definite advantage is that it takes a couple of Beaufort scales off the 'storm we sailed through on that passage' when you are in the yacht club bar. You KNOW that the average windspeed was only so many knots and it helps avoid the hyperbole of some of the yachting stories one hears in the YC Bar..

 

[ghostlymoron]

Alahol2, thanks for your support - I will always wear it (to quote the Goons)