Saved from the bin !! Windex

[Refueler]

At boat yesterday - another guy was doing odd bits on his Bav 36 .. when I noticed him walking to the 'skip' with a windex in hand ... same as mine.

I asked him if it was broken and maybe I could 3D print a part for it ... he replied - thanks but he'd already bought a new and this was going to be binned. I asked if I could have a look .. he handed it over and all that was wrong was the plastic wind arrow was as if something had been biting bits of it ! Rest of the fitting was as good as new ..
I asked if I could keep it and explained that the wire angle part had broken on mine under the 'nut' and the arms had elongated the slots that set the angle. I had already 3D printed a new arrow after a Seagull had stood on my original and snapped it off ..

This 'freebie' makes my Windex good as new ...

 

[Minerva]

Now you just need to decide which of your 17 boats you will affix it to!

 

[TSB240]

A lot cheaper than getting your old B and G working.
How stiff is your neck?
Will it steer to wind?
There a bugger to use at night!

 

[Refueler]

A lot cheaper than getting your old B and G working.
How stiff is your neck?
Will it steer to wind?
There a bugger to use at night!

The B&G ... - have replacement arm and senosrs etc on way to me .. so as mlong as it was just that corroded pin .. my B&G will be working again ...

At night ?? Decent flashlight and they are fine .. reflective bits etc. My 3D printed arrow has 3M reflective tape applied - better than the original Windex crap.

 

[BobnLesley]

...How stiff is your neck?
...There a bugger to use at night!

Cured both problems with an 18" long strip of fluorescent pink ribbon wrapped twice around each rear lower stay, then sewed in place. perhaps not as accurate as the mast head Windex, but it saves you from neck-ache when you're only needing to look up at that every now and then.

 

[Refueler]

Cured both problems with an 18" long strip of fluorescent pink ribbon wrapped twice around each rear lower stay, then sewed in place. perhaps not as accurate as the mast head Windex, but it saves you from neck-ache when you're only needing to look up at that every now and then.

TBH ... been on boats since I learnt to walk ... and I can 'feel' a boat when she's pointing OK or wanders a bit ... I don't look up that much ..

Sailing across Baltic means night hours and it can be pretty blacked out nights ... then its check boat is following on or near planned track and 'feel' for the sails in wind ..

The Windex is there as a 'comfort item' ....

 

[thinwater]

About 16 months ago my Windex was attacked by a bald eagle. Once nearly extinct in the US, they are now quite common in many coastal areas and can be serious vandals. Think of a cross between an osprey and a 30 pound cat (not that big but very strong, aggressive, and curious). The arms were bend and the plastic bits were in about 10 pieces all over the tramp.



I replaced it, and a week later, the same but worse. The plastic was in more pieces and the arms are now actually twisted around each other! I had another on the shelf, but I decided I wasn't rigging more eagle play toys.

I switched to a pair of vanes at the bow (one on either side of the pulpit) and ribbons on the shrouds. No more eagle attacks. It took a while, but I can get all of the twist information I need from leach tell tales and the other indicators + jib are better for windward sailing. I tested many, the Little Hawk MK2 and the Nautos ribbons won out. No more Windex for me.

(Little Hawk MK2. You only need one indicator arm since you can only see the windward vane!)


(I learned that you need a cable tie ~ 20 cm above the ribbon; in certain conditions they can float all the way to the masthead and won't come down for days. The best length for the ribon is about 20 cm; any longer and they are harder to read.)