Windvane advice please.

I

ianwright

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A bit of luck with a forgotten insurance policy means that I can afford to ignore my old QME and/or very second-hand Hasler gear and get a new, shiny, impressive self steering gear.
So the question is which one?
The boat is a Vertue, five ton, long keel and pretty with a transom hung rudder..

IanW


<hr width=100% size=1>Vertue 203, Patience
 
The best is Windpilot pacific i had navik and sold it and bought the windpilot pacific light and it is super my boat is 8 meter and 4 ton its a long keel

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hello Ian

I have a hydrovane and find it a magical bit of kit; very heavily built in Nottingham although the company is now owned by a Canadian. A number of friends also use it with much success.

It works with a balanced auxiliary rudder so that no cockpit lines to tiller/wheel are needed. As an extra benefit; this can double up as a spare rudder should the main steering fail.

In common with all other windvanes the hydrovane performs well on all points of sailing bar on a run.

Regards,

Vincent

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Well, to add to your list, I'd include a Monitor. I've had one for three years now and am completely happy with it. It will keep a course on all points of sail....and as a product priced in dollars, you'll probably get a very keen price.

I ought to add that their pre- and post-sales help has been very good.

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Your boat will be controlled by the lightest vanes on the market.

Those are the Windpilot Pacific Lite and the Navik. The latter is probably slightly the cheaper but, IMHO, not as robust.

If you want to go up a category (in both boat size and price) the Monitor is an excellent vane, comparable to the Pacific standard. Hans, who makes and sells the Monitor still refers to "St Aries", as the greatest of all servo-vane pilots.

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Re: Transom hung rudder,,,,

Have you looked at the <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.autosteer.com>Auto Steer</A>.. this I think should work well as you can fit directly onto the Transom hung rudder.. (Trim Tab gear) Works directly on the rudder and alleviates all those pulleys and lines that Servo Pendulum gears require.

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