Self-steering wind vanes

[Guest]

I'm looking to purchase and fit a self-steering wid vane system to a Sadler 34. Does anybody have any recommendations on the various systems on the market i.e. personal experience and performance ???

Any help greatly appreciated.

 

[romany123]

I have a "Hydrovane" and love it to death it is a seperate system to your boat steering system, so in an emergency it can me used as a second chance unit if you bust your rudder.

Dave

 

[Guest]

Forget Aries, since they were taken up by the danes, all has changed. No advertising, but depending what you want to do, go for a WINDPILOT. The greater percentage of ARC vessels are now using it.

windpilot@t-online.de or www.windpilot.de you will enter another world.

Plenty more info from here for serious cruisers.

Katoema

 

[Andrew_Bray]

The Hydrovane fitted to my Sadler 34 sailed her for nearly 20,000 miles only losing it on 3 or 4 occasions. It was excellent. The only point of sailing it did not like was broad reaching in a big sea. The answer then was to set up the Autohelm 2000 in parallel on its least sensitive setting so that if the Hydrovane did not correct the course as the boat yawed heavily, the Autohelm would nudge it back and then go back to standby mode as the Hydrovane took over again.

 

[peterk]

hi everybody
I too prefer windvanes over autopilots

'Snowhite', my selfbuilt vane steerer -
a stone Age James Ogg type:
extra rudder(semibalanced) with a semibalanced trimtab
vertical axis vane, differential linkage,
has steered engineless 'Tehani'
for over 60.000 miles,
including the tail-end of cyclone 'William' 1995 in French Polynesia
plus a whole bunch of times running bare poles in BIIIG seas, -
hence the name(Snowhite lives !)
She only refused twice, actually wanted to self-destroy in the same black Southeaster
(gusts to over 60 kts, strange seas)
between Capes Agulhas and Good Hope.

Yves Gelinas, a friend, fellow solo circumnavigator
and Slocum Society member
builds the 'Cape Horn' vanes.
Naturally I ask folks how they like them.
'GREAT' ' the bee's knees' and similar comments.
They are also cheaper than most.

Another friend, Peter Mattiessen(solo around the Horn in his 28 footer)
is the Dane mentioned by others.
I haven't heard anything but praise by people who use his Aries
(try via google.com)
.
Best to keep checking and talking to people
with firsthand experience
...peter http://www.juprowa.com/kittel

 

[Guest]

To all those who responded, many tks for your advice - it was all most useful !