Wind instrument recommendations

[Sailing newbie selsey]

I am looking to replace my wind instrument on my new to me, old stag 28. The wind instrument is very old and the gauges are half full of water, hence its time to upgrade, especially as the high winds a few weeks ago blew off my windex. I will look to upgrade bits as they stop working, but as depth and speed are still fine, no replacement needed there. I have no plotter and have been using charts and navionics on an iPad, one day I will look to add things such as a plotter, radar, AIS etc. but for now it’s just about getting out on the water and enjoying sailing locally.
so my question is a vast difference in cost between makes such as NASA and B&G etc. am I best to go for the higher end range or are the basic NASA garages and MHU ok?

thanks

 

[chris-s]

I guess it somewhat depends on what you really expect from the instrument and the type of sailing you do. We have the nasa clipper wind and find it perfectly good enough for sailing around in our little 24 footer. I really doubt anything else more expensive would make us significantly better sailors given our use. If you are looking for something to plug into a chart plotter and plot wind courses or control an auto pilot then something different maybe required.

 

[V1701]

I'd have a think about spending money on other things that could increase your enjoyment of the boat before things like radar & chart plotter - standing rigging, sails, tiller pilot, new sprayhood, bunk cushions? New windex & a hand held anemometer perhaps?

 

[PetiteFleur]

I've never had one on any of the four boats I've owned, one soon finds out what strength it is - in my opinion only...

 

[Tranona]

As already said If you only want wind information then NASA is perfectly adequate, but if you want to integrate it with other instruments then you need to go down the NMAE 2000 route. However, unless you enjoy squeezing the last bit of speed or are racing then to my mind wind is low on the list of priorities for cruising instruments. The core now for most is a chartplotter MFD to which you can then add a whole range of functions of which wind is only one. Replace the Windex as this gives the most useful information and spend the money on other things that will enhance your sailing experience.

 

[William_H]

As said do without. You are letting yourself in for a world of disappointment and frustration trying to keep wind instruments working. ol'will

 

[Neeves]

You wind instrument, if you were to buy one, would tell you wind speed and its direction, apparent and true. The heal of your yacht will also tell you when the wind has become too strong and you need to reef. You can 'feel' the apparent wind and make a reasonable guess on true direction. Much of this is not critical - what is, in my opinion, are keeping the tell tails flying and checking sail shape. A basic lesson on how well you sail is to join a local sailing club with yachts similar to yours and take part in their local races - sadly you quickly learn - you have much to learn. Accpeting you might not be interested in racing - but leisure sailing with well trimmed sails is a pleasure.

If you have cash to spare, as has been said, there are better things to invest in.

Jonathan

 

[ghostlymoron]

I agree with what's been said - wind instruments aren't very useful and often troublesome. Better to spend your time learning how to feel the wind and trim sails to suit.

 

[MJWB]

As a boy we learnt to sail dingies without wind instruments. When I went to sea we made judgements based on sight, sound, how the ship felt etc. Had a year on my boat with a knackered wind meter. Fine and satisfying to work the old way. Then replaced it and tbh, still hardly looked at it. Don't worry about replacing until the important things are done.

 

[neil_s]

I enjoy having my NASA Wind. They last well if you look after them - that means don't leave them up the mast all winter!

 

[fredrussell]

I enjoy having my NASA Wind. They last well if you look after them - that means don't leave them up the mast all winter!

That’s interesting, why’s that then?

 

[Graham376]

As said do without. You are letting yourself in for a world of disappointment and frustration trying to keep wind instruments working. ol'will

Our Stowe lasted 30 years before the display packed up. Anemometer seized once sailing in 40+ knots but a drop of sewing machine oil cured the problem. Replacement NASA wireless has been working OK for 3 years now.

 

[doug748]

I am looking to replace my wind instrument on my new to me, old stag 28. The wind instrument is very old and the gauges are half full of water, hence its time to upgrade, especially as the high winds a few weeks ago blew off my windex. I will look to upgrade bits as they stop working, but as depth and speed are still fine, no replacement needed there. I have no plotter and have been using charts and navionics on an iPad, one day I will look to add things such as a plotter, radar, AIS etc. but for now it’s just about getting out on the water and enjoying sailing locally.
so my question is a vast difference in cost between makes such as NASA and B&G etc. am I best to go for the higher end range or are the basic NASA garages and MHU ok?

thanks

I use my Windex a lot and would be a bit lost without it. In fact it is a Great Hawk branded thing, I have found these last very well.

I sometimes think full instrumentation is a bit of a vanity project on a small boat unless you race. On larger boats the expense is more in proportion and less of a misery when you sell on. For that and other reasons, I would think very carefully about putting Radar on a small boat, for example.

Having said that my Raymarine i40 has worked ok for 20 years, just needed one new vane and a bit of lubrication. It's a simple yet sophisticated idea but does not give you the level of information or accuracy needed for sail trimming:

Complete Systems - RAYMARINE i40 Wind Pack c/w RotaVecta Txd

I agree with the others though, if it fell off tomorrow I would not worry or replace it.

.

 

[MJWB]

I enjoy having my NASA Wind. They last well if you look after them - that means don't leave them up the mast all winter!

It was one moment of seagull madness which damaged mine. Just can't legislate for that.

 

[Daverw]

Don’t look at the wind much but do use it to feed into autopilot to use Wind input

 

[LONG_KEELER]

Windex. Excellent for keeping neck muscles in tip top condition.

I have managed with half a Windex for the last two seasons due to wildlife perching issues.

 

[Stemar]

Apart from bragging rights - I was doing 8 knots in 6 knots of wind in my Stag (Liar ) or it was a bit bumpy - the windex gave up at 55 knots (been there. 1/10, would not recommend) - on a monohull, I don't think a wind instrument will tell you anything the boat won't be telling you. If you're going nicely and not heeling too much, you've got the right amount of sail; if you're heeling more than is comfortable or the boat keeps rounding up, you've got too much.

It's a nice toy, but if you're restoring an elderly boat, you'll have plenty of more urgent things to spend your money on.

 

[johnalison]

Apart from bragging rights - I was doing 8 knots in 6 knots of wind in my Stag (Liar ) or it was a bit bumpy - the windex gave up at 55 knots (been there. 1/10, would not recommend) - on a monohull, I don't think a wind instrument will tell you anything the boat won't be telling you. If you're going nicely and not heeling too much, you've got the right amount of sail; if you're heeling more than is comfortable or the boat keeps rounding up, you've got too much.

It's a nice toy, but if you're restoring an elderly boat, you'll have plenty of more urgent things to spend your money on.

I agree. My last boat was a Sadler 29, and like previous boats had no wind instrument. With my current boat the chief advantage of a wind instrument is that I don’t have to look up as often. In other respects it is most useful when working in True mode, which needs connection with the speed, usually now through a plotter. I mostly find this useful when motor-sailing or motoring. Other uses such as wind graphs and maxima are fun but hardly essential. For assistance when beating, a Windex is just as good if not better, and for recording wind speeds a hand-held device may suffice, at a much lower cost.

 

[Fr J Hackett]

Of all the available wind instruments the one to definitely be avoided are the bagpipes.

 

[reeac]

I agree. My last boat was a Sadler 29, and like previous boats had no wind instrument. With my current boat the chief advantage of a wind instrument is that I don’t have to look up as often. In other respects it is most useful when working in True mode, which needs connection with the speed, usually now through a plotter. I mostly find this useful when motor-sailing or motoring. Other uses such as wind graphs and maxima are fun but hardly essential. For assistance when beating, a Windex is just as good if not better, and for recording wind speeds a hand-held device may suffice, at a much lower cost.

We have a hand held Kestrel 2000 which we bought over 20 years ago. Remarkable bit of kit. ... still on its original battery, sensitive enough to record your walking speed and temperature reading agrees within 0.1 C with our house central heating thermostat.