Who uses a NAVIK?

[webcraft]

Just fitted ours and played about with it a bit (out of the water)

The manual recommends removing the water vane/paddle while motoring,but I found it a real hassle trying to get it to drop down through the swinging alloy bit that joins the air vane and water paddle together. Do people bother or not?

- Nick

 

[Scillypete]

I fitted and used a Navik on a Halcyon 27 we had for a couple of years it worked like a dream. I never bothered removing the water paddle as you say it was a hassle and I found that even under engine given enough breeze it would still work.
A bit of antifouling helps to keep the paddle nice and clean although it may say not to do this.

 

[clyst]

I use one all the time . Yep it is a bit of a barsteward to fit together as per instruction manual as it tend to have a mind of its own and can catch your fingers if you are not careful with it.

I keep it down all the time but have fitted a "lock" ,just a wooden bar which folds down from the quadrant accross the two SS support bars so it cannot move hence the paddle remains in the vertical .

hope this is of some help , if not feel free to PM me .

Cheers

Terry

 

[Lee_Shaw]

I use one all the time (H27) and I'll motor fora few hours with the paddle down, it actually says in the book to motor with it down when setting it up so it shouldn't cause problems.

I see yacht Piper, a CO26 thats been in PBO, about the place a fair bit and her skipper really knows his onions and he has her paddle in the water when motoring, or at least it's still in place when i see the boat berthed. I also sometimes use mine to motor into the wind. Goes without saying if it was a really windless day I wouldn't bother lowering it and just use the tiller pillot.

They're a pleasure to use and really simple to set up. Some peeps name their windvanes but for me the navik isn't cantankerous enough and is so easy to use and effective that I consider it an integral part of the boat, it'd be like naming the mast or the forestay something.