Wind Speed indicators - Do we really need them?

twisterkai said:
I'm intrigued. How does one use an electronic wind speed/direction gizmo to optimize the 'set' of their sails? I thought tell-tails did that. In terms of sailing on the wind I've always found that wind instruments react to any shift a few seconds after the shift.

Over the years I've sailed with and without them and in all honesty I'd rather put the money towards a heating system.

See? No comments about blonde/female etc! And you're certainly not alone in your methods - I just don't understand why.
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Going to windward i prefer not ti be hanging out of the cockpit all the time squinting at tell tales which in all probability are either wet and stuck to the sail ir rolled up inside the sail somewhere.
 
Wind speed indicator helps correlate abstract wind speeds with actual experience on the water.

Before having a wind speed indicator I never exactly knew what any forecast wind speed would feel like. When I read 'I always reef at X knots' I have a proper comparison, knowing exactly when I reef.

So though having sailed happily for years without one, if the next boat didn't have one I would fit one.

(What's so bad about resurrected old threads?)
 
A monohull will tell you when you're overpressed without danger, a multi may not, so an anemometer is helpful for those cat sailor who think flying a hull is a bad idea. Those who don't are either nuts or they're racing someone else's boat and they don't mind getting wet
 
My burgee and 70 years experience tells me all the same information that the wind instrument covers. The only time that GPS would have helped me, when I didn't have it, was in sudden thick fog of Cap de la Hague. The echo sounder did help me to tell me I should and could anchor til it cleared.
 
It is perfectly possible to sail well with just a Windex, or even a burgee, but a wind meter is more fun and easier on the neck. On our last boat I invested in a Ventimeter for a few quid. This was reasonably effective in its own way but only really useful at higher wind speeds. One thing that only a meter will do is tell you what the wind is doing when you are motor-sailing and wondering if the wind is increasing enough to make it worth stopping the engine and doing some proper sailing. Another unique function is in giving you VMG, which when not racing is not something I use much except for practice.

A wind meter also makes tales in the club much more believable. I wish I had a pound for all the people who claimed to have made it across the North Sea with a F9 on the nose in a 28' boat. At least I can say with certainty that I had a record of sitting through 58 knot winds, even if that was when we were tied up in the marina with the cockpit tent up.
 
Each unto their own.
I have always made sure If I have a wind indicator that it is working. Sometimes this involves spending time and money replacing tiny parts that fail at the top of the mast.
I never had one on a dinghy. If it fell over more times than I could count then it was time to go home or get towed home usually with something broken!

My first dinghy with a lid had tell tales, Hawk wind indicator and Wife. The indicator told me wind direction the wife told me if it was too little or too much. ( Usually Vociferously).

My last boat had a windy O meter and a hawk at the top of the mast. Like my wife it told me which direction and how much but was silent most of the time.

The first time it sqweeked vociferously was under a scrap of rolled up jib top of Arran running down wind for cover. Wife was hoarse by now and praying to the porcelain God! I had no clue what this alarm was for!

I found it a lot easier to see my instrument than crane my neck to the mast head to check for the accidental jibe whilst hanging on to the tiller and surfing down wind.
The alarm sounded 10 times between Arran and Portavadie followed shortly by the whole rig shaking violently.
I hated that alarm by the time we berthed.
The next morning I found out the high wind alarm setting was triggered in a sustained wind 45 knots.

So yeah they are great for bragging rights and if set right for a happy marriage.

Since then we have celebrated 50 years of togetherness and found out "Windy George" can sail the boat better than its elderly owners.*
 
Having salted both with and without wind instruments, I'm firmly in the camp that they make sailing better. I like to see a number.
I'm sure everybody is different.
When you're on night watch on day three of a passage, it's great to be able to take some of the subjective interpretation out of it. Also very useful for passing instructions to crew- 'wake me if it hits X knots'.
 
No one needs to buy an anemometer, but I like to have one on my motorboat. I find it useful for harbour manoeuvres and generally nice to know the wind speed and direction just for fun.
 
New technology is great for safety and efficiency . The only problem is that it can take you away from being part of nature and lesson the "away from it all "experience. It would be nice to have it all but out of sight until you need it.
 
I use Echo-sounder most ... I really do not like being without. sailing in non-tidal waters that rise and fall due to pressure only ... have a high pressure move though and water can be 20cms lower ... strong rains can push levels up ... direction of wind in Baltic pushes levels north - south etc.

Speed through water / GPS speed next ... I do like to know when I'm getting to the Pub !!

Compass - should be - but like most people (most wont admit it) are watching GPS Plotter for direction ...

Wind Speed ? I have full B&G Network system - but the wind speed and tactic does not work ... needs guy to do diagnostics / repair ..
BUT has it really been missed ?? No. What it does is annoy me intensely ... staring back at me with needle pointing in some ridiculous direction .. then moving to another ... speed showing 0.0 ...
What I have missed far more - is the Windex at masthead was broken - most likely by some fat Seagull perching on it ... THAT is annoying !!

I will have the B&G sorted - but it really is not a priority ... TBH - Flag Halyards are more important along with replace the Windex ...
 
BrickSailor said:
There's a wind speed indicator in every copy of the almanac - called the Beaufort scale. That's what it was invented for. I'm finding it amazingly useful for confirming my worst fears in my first boat without an indicator, after fifteen years of fancy racing boats with every gadget..

BTW, my worst fear is confirmed by the mirror like smoothness of the surface!
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Into wind / waves looks vastly different to running WITH wind / waves ...
 
Clock, yep fully digital radio controlled watch, the start line uses a radio controlled clock... it's a darn sight easier than setting a stopwatch during the warm up.

Wind speed indicator, nope don't need one, if the boat heels to much, I'll reef.

Wind direction? Pointless where I sail, the wind angle at the top of the mast is different from wind angle at the bottom .

Tell tails, I sail using them on the jib in one boat , but on my boat I can only see the bottom 2ft of the jib while sailing, so have to go by feel . I'm considering a window in the main so I can see higher up on the jib next time I need a new main.

Echo sounder, one looking ahead would be good, directly below is too late.

I have taken a GPS tablet computer with me during sailing, it's interesting seeing the tracks used, but if I'm racing I don't have the time to look at it..
 
In the 70s I sailed for 10 years with just a compass & an echo sounder. On the east coast a sounder is an excellent aid to navigation. A lead line is useless to a yacht travelling at 5 kts in a blow, heading towards a sandbank. More so if single handed, or short handed. One can judge one's position quite well by following a contour ,or when crossing a channel knowing when one has crossed it.
In my current yacht I find the wind indicator very handy. As well as speed it shows direction. At night running down wind it makes it easier to avoid a gybe. Also it helps on other sets of sail. In daylight it saves my neck from constantly looking up at the windex that I have attached to my VHF aerial. Knowing wind speed is very useful to gauge changes & help to decide when to reef or not. Sea state is another deciding factor. Harder to do on a dark night, so the more info to hand the better.
 
Daydream believer said:
In the 70s I sailed for 10 years with just a compass & an echo sounder. On the east coast a sounder is an excellent aid to navigation. A lead line is useless to a yacht travelling at 5 kts in a blow, heading towards a sandbank. More so if single handed, or short handed. One can judge one's position quite well by following a contour ,or when crossing a channel knowing when one has crossed it.
In my current yacht I find the wind indicator very handy. As well as speed it shows direction. At night running down wind it makes it easier to avoid a gybe. Also it helps on other sets of sail. In daylight it saves my neck from constantly looking up at the windex that I have attached to my VHF aerial. Knowing wind speed is very useful to gauge changes & help to decide when to reef or not. Sea state is another deciding factor. Harder to do on a dark night, so the more info to hand the better.
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It is certainly useful downwind as you say, and, depending on the boat, easier on the neck. I have only occasionally sailed a boat with a centre cockpit but I imagine the need for a wind indication at eye level is even greater. A few years ago I had a boisterous sail back from Ijmuiden with a F6 from the starboard quarter. Starting in the dark I found it hard to strain and read my course from the compass, and with nothing outside the boat to see I ended up by sailing to the apparent wind mainly, occasionally checking it against the compass.
 
johnalison said:
It is certainly useful downwind as you say, and, depending on the boat, easier on the neck. I have only occasionally sailed a boat with a centre cockpit but I imagine the need for a wind indication at eye level is even greater. A few years ago I had a boisterous sail back from Ijmuiden with a F6 from the starboard quarter. Starting in the dark I found it hard to strain and read my course from the compass, and with nothing outside the boat to see I ended up by sailing to the apparent wind mainly, occasionally checking it against the compass.
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A compass should be easy to read & in a sensible position. I have a Sestral grid steering compass. It has helped me get lost for over 50 years & I would not be without it. It sits just under the tiller so is easy to look straight down on top of it. Setting the grid means that I do not have to remember the course & I do not have to stare at numbers rolling in front of tired, sea sick eyes.
If I move away from the tiller then autopilot, or Aries, takes over and then I can check against the compass mounted on the coachroof. But I would never use that for general steering.
 
Daydream believer said:
A compass should be easy to read & in a sensible position. I have a Sestral grid steering compass. It has helped me get lost for over 50 years & I would not be without it. It sits just under the tiller so is easy to look straight down on top of it. Setting the grid means that I do not have to remember the course & I do not have to stare at numbers rolling in front of tired, sea sick eyes.
If I move away from the tiller then autopilot, or Aries, takes over and then I can check against the compass mounted on the coachroof. But I would never use that for general steering.
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With a tiller-steered boat such as mine, the only obvious place for a compass is central over the companionway, though my old Cirrus back in the '70s had one on a bulkhead to one side. Ordinarily, my current compass is no problem, but a combination of the dark night, my aging eyes and wind and spray across my face made it very hard.
 
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