Wind instrument recommendations

Just adding to those who say "...don't bother with a wind instrument".

Unless you are a VERY serious racer and have quality calibrated instruments in order to "sail to polars" or if you want to get an autopilot to steer to wind angles they are completely unnecessary. About £1,000+ worth of wind gubbins came on my boat and I really don't use it much if at all. I sail to the feel of the wind, the heel of the boat, and telltales on sails.
 
I use our wind instruments a great deal - but can obviously sail to the tell tales, guess the wind speed from a look around, make decisions on when to reef based on the heel of the boat etc. So why do I still use them:
1 - looking at the tell tales means sitting on the leeward rail, which is fine when racing but not very sociable otherwise, when everyone is sitting in the sun on the windward side :) Looking at the wind instruments and sailing to 37 degrees apparent works for me and the boat.
2 - the autohelm needs the wind data when sailing, and it does a pretty good job too
3 - guessing the wind speed and direction when sailing down wind is harder than it looks, as you don't feel it the same way. How much wind will you have when you round the navigation mark and start a new heading. Can you even make your new heading? The instruments work it all out for you.
4 - its always nice to understand trends. Is the wind really increasing or was that a one off gust that you felt? Is it worth taking that reef before or after lunch?
So if they broke it wouldn't be a disaster, but I would be getting my son up the mast to fix/replace it at the first sensible opportunity.
 
reeac said:
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.
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My Ventimeter never ran out of batteries either. It was one of those jobs with a disc that rose inside as the wind increased. It was very effective, if less sensitive than yours. I would add about 30% to my reading from the cockpit to get the wind at mast height.
 
I'm not a serious racer (though have done quite a lot, sometimes sucessfully both in dinghies and cruisers). I really don't "get" the fascination with windspeed. I also worry if I get onto a sailing yacht with an inclinometer - the most useless device ever fitted to sailing yachts.

The only time I would have REALLY liked to know what the actual windspeed with an actual accurate instrument was, was around the time I was inverted in a very seaworthy 34-footer off Iceland whilst running under bare pole. Academic interest only though really. We were writing F8-9 in the log, but the nearest weather station recorded over 60 knots mean for 48 hours.

Back to the OP's qustion: I really think that if you are running a 1970s/80s Stag 28 on a budget (as is everyone these days) I'm sure there are many much better things to spend money on than replacing a dead wind dial.
 
I have been sailing for 64 years, starting with dinghies of several racing classes, sailboards & cruisers from 1968 onwards. I never felt the need for any instrument other than echo sounder & grid steering compass. Circa 1974 a log was an absolute revelation & could actually find Ostend first go ( well sometimes)
When I had my second Stella in 1999 I felt no need for a wind instrument. However, the family bought me a NASA one as a present so I installed it. It was a revelation in instrumentation again for 3 reasons.
1) It was great for telling me the direction & speed of the wind without getting a crick in the neck, looking at a flag on a bamboo cane at the top of the mast.
2) It proved that instrument reliability ( Of NASA anyway) had hardly improved since the days of the Seafarer echo sounder.
3) It demonstrated how useless bits of wool on the shrouds are

In my current boat the supplied Simrad gear lasted 3 years. (Echo, log, wind) I tried NASA again & another useless make whose name I cannot recall. Both a waste of time.
Finally I bought a Raymarine package & so far it works ( fingers crossed)
I would not be without the wind instrument. It is not just about wind strength. It is direction as well. At night I cannot see the windex ( yes I still have one & look at it the minute I step aboard & often thereafter) Running down wind in a big sea on a cold dark night can be dangerous if one is getting tired & cannot see the wind direction at a glance. I do lots of night trips. Knowing wind speed then can be useful, as tiredness etc can lull one into making mistakes
It is not the only instrument. One uses the package as a whole & the brain processes the info as it needs. Log, compass, GPS all get displayed on different instruments. Not just a single one. I would find that irritating.
I do have a chart plotter but that is NOT integrated,( I tend to use it for the AIS) neither is the Raymarine autopilot. I have had far too many electrical failures over the years to risk integration crashing the lot.
So on a small yacht (I am east coast based) I would rate - Compass, Echo sounder, GPS, autopilot, log, wind.
As for radar etc- forget it. AIS is nice, but only if going offshore & most small boat sailors do not do that. In my 26 ft Stella I used to cross to Ostend 4 times per year & never needed AIS. I have it now though, as I have the transponder so the wife can track me. If I did not have it anymore I would possibly miss it.
If i want to sail to wind I set my Aeries & that does need any electrics. I would definitely miss that.
 
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I have the raymarine version -it packed up showing speed after about 6 years -I guess the cups at top of mast have clogged up maybe -it still shows direction though which is main use Does not seem very reliable and I suspect if it’s like the water speed log at least £100 for new cups once you have got the offending part down. I suspect it’s the last on my to do list - certainly the least useful is speed and a lot of cash I suspect if buying new.
 
Most anemometers spend their entire life at the top of the mast whirling away come hail or shine winter and summer alike with out a thought to their maintenance until the bearings decide to have a rest then the owners blame the manufacturers for the failures when taking them off the mast and a gentle clean and inspection would give them years of additional service.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
Most anemometers spend their entire life at the top of the mast whirling away come hail or shine winter and summer alike with out a thought to their maintenance until the bearings decide to have a rest then the owners blame the manufacturers for the failures when taking them off the mast and a gentle clean and inspection would give them years of additional service.
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The NASA comprises a pin on which the cups rotate. It is not an expensive operation to just replace the cups. They only cost a few £s. However, it is a real pain climbing the mast, removing the 1mm nut & then trying to replace it afterwards, without dropping it. Are you suggesting one should climb the mast twice a year?

The construction is very poor & a simple refinement would solve the issue. The plastic wears & the cups start to wobble. Mine was damaged by the yard & I replaced the pin with a 2mm one epoxied in place. That worked OK but it has to be said that the instrument always read the wind strength inaccurately in the first place anyway. The deck display filled with moisture & the idiot at NASA said that it was most unusual for their instuments to get moisture in them. So I sent him a picture of the other displays with moisture & one with a puddle in it.
 
Sailing newbie selsey said:
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?
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I had Stowe kit onboard for wind and water, a Garmin Chartplotter and a Rathon radar. The wind and water speed sensors failed - replaced with Garmin sensors, now have the wind and water data at the helm. The radar failed and replaced with Garmin, data available at the helm.

Look at the system that you want to get to and stick with the one manufacturer.
 
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