Wind anemometer for Mobos - worth it or not?

[Deleted User YDKXO]

So, I recommend one of these
http://www.navis-anemometers.com/wir...nemometers.php
Get the Windy - don't bother with the wind direction version - it won't do you any good - the boat turns underneath.
Just the speed sensor version.
Wireless so no complicated wiring.
Battery lasts years (literally)

On your recommendation I got one of those and it is useful to be able to set the alarm for overnight anchoring. A couple of caveats though. First my iPhone battery won't last the night when connected to the Navis so I need a 12V charger in our cabin. Second sometimes the bluetooth connection between the Navis unit and my phone is lost, I guess because of the distance between the radar arch where the Navis unit is located and the midships master cabin and third the display is very bright which is irritating at night.

Not sure an anenometer is that useful when berthing. You only have to look at the flags on your own boat and on others to gauge the strength and direction of the wind and in any case what would you do differently if you knew the precise direction and speed?

 

[Hurricane]

On your recommendation I got one of those and it is useful to be able to set the alarm for overnight anchoring. A couple of caveats though. First my iPhone battery won't last the night when connected to the Navis so I need a 12V charger in our cabin. Second sometimes the bluetooth connection between the Navis unit and my phone is lost, I guess because of the distance between the radar arch where the Navis unit is located and the midships master cabin and third the display is very bright which is irritating at night.

Yep agree with most of that.
So, I have a couple of 12v cigarette lighter outlets under the bed in our mid cabin so it doesn't flatten the phone's battery - drain on the ship's battery when charging a mobile is negligible.
I then place the the phone under the mid cabin windows to get the best GPS signal (the phone doubles as an anchor watch).
I've never had an issue with it loosing the Navis anemometer's signal but I believe that the new ones have a stronger signal.

As far as the bright screen is concerned, doesn't your screen switch off to save its battery?
Maybe you should use a proper phone - an Android for example
BTW - the anchor watch I use is this one - written by a yachtie - very accurate.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.slimjimsoftware.anchoralert&hl=en

Here is an example screen from my phone - this with the Navis help me sleep at night - both have alarms and run concurrently on the same phone.

So, that said
Would I fit a wind input into Nav kit?
I don't really see the point.
What good information can it give you?
I certainly wouldn't need it when docking - as you say - you can read the wind strength and direction from other boat's flags etc.
To know that it was (say) 12 knots or 20 knots wouldn't change any decisions - just looking around is enough.
And at sea, the only use would be to monitor the weather, if you were expecting a wind change to happen and you can do that just as easily by looking around.
So, no, not necessary to have a fixed wind input - IMO.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

So, I have a couple of 12v cigarette lighter outlets under the bed in our mid cabin so it doesn't flatten the phone's battery - drain on the ship's battery when charging a mobile is negligible

Yup so do I now again following your recommendation

As far as the bright screen is concerned, doesn't your screen switch off to save its battery?

No, when the Windy app is selected on my iPhone SE, if you then switch the phone to standby the app stops working so I have to keep the app page open and hence the need to keep the phone on charge

 

[Hurricane]

No, when the Windy app is selected on my iPhone SE, if you then switch the phone to standby the app stops working so I have to keep the app page open and hence the need to keep the phone on charge

See - I said you should have had an Android.
Both the Windy and the Anchor Watch software run in the background.

 

[Deleted User YDKXO]

See - I said you should have had an Android.
Both the Windy and the Anchor Watch software run in the background.

Maybe I should get one anyway. I was thinking about getting a handset to leave on board permanently to work with the remote monitoring facility of the Anchor Alarm app. Stupid question time. Would there be any reason why the Anchor Alarm app operating on an Android left on board would not communicate with the same app running on my iPhone?

 

[Hurricane]

Maybe I should get one anyway. I was thinking about getting a handset to leave on board permanently to work with the remote monitoring facility of the Anchor Alarm app. Stupid question time. Would there be any reason why the Anchor Alarm app operating on an Android left on board would not communicate with the same app running on my iPhone?

The Anchor alarm I use sends an SMS to any phone so as long as they both have a GSM card fitted and are connected to the mobile phone network, I don't see why you can't have one Android on the boa and an iPhone (if you must) for other stuff.
You would need to use an anchor alarm that runs on the Android - I'm not sure which app you use at the moment.
As I posted above, this is the one I use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=uk.co.slimjimsoftware.anchoralert&hl=en
You would need to check that the Android phone has a good GPS input and can handle Bluetooth for the Windy.
Currently, I'm using a Samsung S4 but thats a bit out of date right now.

Hey - if you get one, you could load OpenCPN and join us charty geeks!!
Actually, no scrub that idea - you still have an iPhone and thats not allowed in the Android geeky world!!

 

[prv]

First my iPhone battery won't last the night when connected to the Navis so I need a 12V charger in our cabin.

It's 2016 - every bunk should have a USB socket nearby for phone charging

Pete

 

[MedMilo]

For me it would depend on how often you anchor overnight. I spend about 50 nights a year on the anchor and found it quite hard to know if the wind had picked up until I fitted an anemometer - particularly when sleeping a mid-ships cabin rather than a forward one. I have wind alarm repeater fitted next to my bed and set it to 25knots. That way I KNOW I can sleep soundly until and unless it goes off! To reduce the burden on the domestic battery bank you just need to turn the brightness down on all the plotter screens etc and the draw becomes pretty negligible.

 

[Hambleite]

I think it depends how 'wind aware' someone is. If you've spent a lifetime on boats you get to know what 5 kts, 10 kts, 25 kts, 45 kt gusts actually feels like. With this experience you can pretty accurately predict the sea state too, if you're cruising in familiar waters. As someone becomes more experienced they can also interpret the probable differences in forecasted wind speed with the actual windspeed likely to be encountered.

However, if you feel you don't have this experience then I would say that having one could be very useful.

I've done over 10 years of inshore yacht racing and probably look at the windex every 10 seconds or so downwind and a heck of a lot before starts. We're always checking the windex upwind too as we know that this will affect the hoists/drops at the upwind mark. Anyway, what this taught me was to be able to fairly accurately estimate the wind speed, as the estimate was based on a lot of actual wind data, gained over a long period.

So, the same level of 'wind awareness' could be gained from having this kit on a mobo. What the worst that can happen????

 

[Sailorsam101]

If you need an instrument to tell you that its windy and can't do it by looking at the sea maybe you should not be on the water.

Personally i have a small burgee flying from my pullput. This tells me direction and strength all in one and cost £5.

If i get to a marina and i want to knwo what the wind is doing i stop outside and see what effect it is having on the boat..

Mike

 

[Hurricane]

If you need an instrument to tell you that its windy and can't do it by looking at the sea maybe you should not be on the water.

Personally i have a small burgee flying from my pullput. This tells me direction and strength all in one and cost £5.

If i get to a marina and i want to knwo what the wind is doing i stop outside and see what effect it is having on the boat..

Mike

You can do all this at night in your cabin whilst asleep, can you?

 

[Hardmy]

Following the recommendation of some member of this parish, I also bought the Navis anemometer and I do not regret it. From the 46 nights spent on the boat last year, half of them were on anchor. And me too, I find it convenient being able to check the wind during the night from my bed.

The piece of kit is deadly easy to install, no cables needed whatsoever:

 

[Portofino]

If you need an instrument to tell you that its windy and can't do it by looking at the sea maybe you should not be on the water.

Personally i have a small burgee flying from my pullput. This tells me direction and strength all in one and cost £5.

If i get to a marina and i want to knwo what the wind is doing i stop outside and see what effect it is having on the boat..

Mike

95% of the thread has drifted ( no pun untended ) into anchor watch scenarios .
Feels to me everybody's forgot the Op,s boat has a major USP re berthing -where I suspect the percieved need for windage instrumentation has arisen ?

IPS ----- joy stick parking ----- what is having a digital wind instrument going to bring to a IPS berthing party ?

Is there anything wrong re Volvo Penta IPS joystick berthing we need to know that a wind instrument might solve ?

 

[henryf]

Given the relatively modest investment it would seem a no brainier integration into your electronics suite particularly at the build stage.

Yes, when close quarters manoevering there are always lots of things to use, flags, tell tales atop yacht masts, etc. What isn't so easy to get is historical data so you can track the weather. We are lucky in the Solent, there are several wind stations transmitting 24 hour data but that isn't always the case.

I use Windguru to track wind speed and weather which is generally really accurate particularly as we use the paid service, but occasionally things happen ahead of time or are delayed and you can gauge this by the wind direction if it is due to change before or after an event. If you know the wind is going to veer North prior to picking up for instance it's reassuring to know where you are in the scheme of things.

Ultimately yes, when close quarters manoevering you subconsciously know what the wind and tide are doing using visual clues but I think the historical data record could be a real bonus.

Henry

 

[Sailorsam101]

You can do all this at night in your cabin whilst asleep, can you?

Why do i need to know what the wind is doing while i am asleep?..I'll be asleep and won't care what the wind is doing!

If i want to know what it's going to do the next day i will find out online...i don't see your point!

 

[henryf]

I think it was to alert you so you could check for a dragging anchor / someone else's dragging anchor should things freshen up unexpectedly.

Henry

 

[Hurricane]

Why do i need to know what the wind is doing while i am asleep?..I'll be asleep and won't care what the wind is doing!

If i want to know what it's going to do the next day i will find out online...i don't see your point!

Sorry, I was a bit rash.
Yes, it is all about having a good night's sleep.
You set a wind alarm and you can then sleep peacefully, knowing that it will wake you if the wind strengthens during the night.
In my experience, it is always a strengthening wind that comes first - a good indicator that something is about to happen.

 

[Magnum]

I'm thinking about an anemometer for Magnum but I'll probably go with a Raymarine unit. If it's windy enough at anchor to be of concern I'll be up and about anyway, so the wireless system isn't for me.

I am concerned about where to mount it though. The aft section of the hard top is pretty crowded already.

 

[vas]

I am concerned about where to mount it though. The aft section of the hard top is pretty crowded already.

For the same reason I'm mounting mine on the front edge of the HT. Not sure how easy is to route cables up there in your case though...

 

[ianc1200]

Of those who have the Navis, did you get direct from Poland or is there a UK supplier?