Which windvane system should we get for our yacht?

lyralicious

lyralicious

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We have an elderly Oyster 435. She is the coachhouse (not deckhouse) version, and is ketch-(over)rigged, with a central cockpit.

We need to install a windvane system for our long distance two-handed sailing plans, and for insurance requirements.

Neither of us has much experience of using windvanes and don't know which models we should be looking at. Can anyone suggest a suitable system for our yacht?

Oh, and if you've got one for sale in the vicinity of Turkey please send me a private message!

Many thanks
 
hi
i have a rutland 913 with the hardex controler all suplied buy marlec,it is a realy good system,can not praise it to much,i all so have two 80 watt solar panels,if i had a chance to start again i would forget the solar system wast of £1,000 plus and have two 913's
ps: 42 ft ketch with all the elec toys keeps up fine only run generator once every two weeks
 
Well if you buy a good one, you will wonder how you ever managed without it!

Try asking the question on the live aboard forum, or the Jester forum. I have no experience of what would be best for your size of boat.

PS. Ketches can be a bit awkward as the mizzen can it seems back wind the vane,, but there are others on these forums that may be able to clarify that?
 
I recall many plaudits, years ago, for the Aries system but one of our club members who recently completed a large (36ft) steel self-build sloop has installed a Monitor system which after researching the market reckons is currently the best choice to suit his blue-water plans
 
We're a centre cockpit ketch-rigged Nic39. The mizzen boom extends beyond the Hydrovane slightly.

On passage, hard on the wind, when using the Hydrovane (which was most of the time) we dropped the mizzen boom to the pushpit due to the backwinding effect on the vane. Anyway, the small amount of added speed the mizzen would have given wasn't worth worrying about IMO.

Off the wind we didn't use the mizzen, much more often than not relying on the main & genoa or twin headsails. The Hydrovane coped admirably.

The Hydrovane is terrific & has the advantage of no lines going to the wheel in the cockpit (eg Aries). We had the remote adjustment option which is a single continuous line which adjusts the Hydrovane's angle of attack. This was tethered adjacent to the cockpit so you just had to reach out and pull the line one way or another to adjust the heading.

On any ocean passage, windvanes (whatever make) are a huge asset & I wouldn't be without one. I think most of the popular makes can cope with boat lengths up to 50ft (conventional hull & performance).

As you can guess I would recommend the Hydrovane but then that's all I've used.
 
Well, we have a Monitor which has served us well on long and short passages, as the OP said I wouldn't be without it.

The lines from the back are no big deal just a couple of turning blocks to get from gear to wheel.

The makes that usually get recommended are Monitor, Hydrovane and Aries. All of the systems, thoough work best when the sail trim is set up so that you hardly have to touch the wheel. Monitors and Aries are more forgiving but you'll pay a price in speed and yawing.

I believe that the Hydrovane has been re-engineered in te past 5 years or so, as it used to have a poor reputation for keeping a course in a following sea (some friends in 42 footer couldn't get it to set but this was 12 or so years ago) but increasingly you read, as above of people being dleighted with the performance. So be a bit wary of older models if you are going into the second hand market
 
There are two kinds of windvane, called the Servo Pendulum type, and the Auxiliary Rudder type. They work in entirely different ways.

Both are visually similar, bot use a rigid vane or sail to sense the wind, the difference is the way they steer the boat.

The Servo Pendulum uses a smallish blade in the waterflow that is turned at an angle by the windvane when the boat comes off the preset wind direction. The blade therefore swings forcefully to one side, pulling on lines that route via a pulley system to the wheel/tiller which is adjusted until the correct wind angle is recovered, and the blade lies straight and neutral in the water again.

The Aux Rudder system uses a similar wind-sensing system, but employs it's own rudder to steer the boat. (Boat's main rudder is locked in neutral position) It is therefore much, much bigger, haevier and more solid than a Servo Pendulum system, but has the advantage that it effectively acts as a spare rudder if the main one fails. Disadvantages are weight, bulk, the strain it puts on the transom which was never designed to take steering loads like that (and can be huge) and may - I say again may, require some beefing up of the transom and surrounding structure.

The disadvantage of Servo Pendulum is that you have 8mm rope-runs from the unit to the wheel/tiller that may clutter the cockpit and decks, so may not be ideally suited to a centre cockpit. As suggested above a Ketch rig may provide a confliction between the vane and the mizzen boom - depends on how mch overhang there is, and the height of the vane. Nonetheless, many ketches are so equipped. Your mizzen boom appears to be nice and high so I'm sure yioud cope, though Millie may not approve of the major modifications you'll need to make to the swimming platform.

Some are made of casy aluminium alloy, some of cast stainless alloy, some tubular alloy either welded or bolted together. You've lots of research to do to determine which one suits. All the info is easily available on the internet from the manufacturers websites. Just search for self steering and windvanes.

Some are big, some compact, some huge and look like bridge engineering. Few demount easliy and although blades are removable more or less easily the structure can add a couple of feet to LOA which Marinas love. They are also expensive and don't like being bashed into quays...

None of them can work (someone correct me if I'm wrong) with hydraulic steering. That requires an electric autopilot.
 
We have a monitor on our 39ft / 12ton Laurent Giles. It's fantastic and can be used on bigger boats (I forget up to what size). We had an Aries on our previous boat, but I would definitely recommend Monitor over ARies. I don't have experience of Hydrovane.
 
I have a Monitor on my Fulmar,fantastic bit of kit.Never have to touch the tiller in any kind of weather.They go up to 50ft according to the literature.
 
I've spent a long time thinking about this and also have a centrecockpit boat which pushed me towards an auxilliary rudder system such as the confusingly named Autohelm form Scanmar.
However such a device makes Med stern mooring and reversing problemattical. So I have decided instead to buy a second tiller pilot to fit the auxilliary tiller in the rear cabin, to complement the wheel pilot in the cockpit.
I attended two lectures at the CA recently by well known long distance yachtsmen who confided they rarely used their windvanes anymore, saying they required constant attention, and the newer electric pilots were much more user friendly.
 
I scarcely ever use my Navik, so I think you might be spending a lot of cash unnecessarily.

I would recommend a back-up electric autopilot, I have two actuators for my 4000ST and have found them invaluable.

If you do go ahead with the wind-pilots:- Aries, Monitor or Windpilot are three good ones to start with - but don't expect much change out of £7k fitted.
 
I use my Monitor everytime I have more that five miles ahead of me .It can be set up in a matter of minutes and on long trips I hardly ever have to give it attention unless the wind direction changes wich doesn't happen often offshore anyway.And when it does it usually stays put for a long time.
Not having to rely on expensive ,fragile and power thirsty electronics is more than just about convenience it's a matter of safety.
 
I totally agree. Life at sea without my Aries would feel like "3 wheels on my waggon!". However, if I had a centre cockpit config the Hydrovane would probably be my first choice.
 
With a centre cockit boat you'll struggle to install a simple servo-pendulum system, which leaves those set-ups with their own rudder. Some of these use the servo-pendulum principle, some (such as Hydrovane), do not.
I'd urge you to visit www.windpilot.com/en/Ra/raseren.html where you can download (for free) Peter Forthmann's excellent book covering all types of self-steering. Forthmann is the owner of Windpilot, but his treatment is pretty even-handed. Windilot's Pacific Plus system would suit your boat, but there are several others you should also consider. My own boat has a Windpilot Pacific (actuating the tiller by lines) and I love it to bits.
 
We've just got back from a weekend sailing in Fethiye and I have trawled through the replies. Very interesting...

Today we were told of a Windpilot Pacific Plus for sale in Marmaris for less than half price and in good condition. We've gone ahead and agreed. Did we do the right thing?

Does anyone have a Pacific Plus and if so would you recommend it?

Our Autopilot works very well into wind (in fact into wind Esper practically sails herself once the sails are set). We need a self steering system for when the wind is on the beam and behind us. How will it cope in these conditions?

Any further comments gratefully accepted.
 
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