Windy 31 Zonda video

snooks said:
For your viewing pleasure, here's the latest offering from Windy, and what a stunner she is.
Click to expand...
She does look pretty indeed, but I couldn't help noticing the totally useless compass.
In a boat that's meant to go fast(ish), a compass like that looks like a practical joke...
 
Compass: I've recently taken a liking to my electronic compass. I have a KVH Azimuth 1000. Would that be any good on a fast boat?
 
MapisM said:
She does look pretty indeed, but I couldn't help noticing the totally useless compass.
In a boat that's meant to go fast(ish), a compass like that looks like a practical joke...
Click to expand...
Pretty standard on Windy, Mapis-at least it is line of driver's sight!
Cant say I've used it alot, and it seems reasonably dampened- but its no worse than xte or pointy boaty icon on the plotter, surely? Guess if your plotter blows up, you might be pleased its there - at least you know where NESW are at worst!
 
benjenbav said:
Compass: I've recently taken a liking to my electronic compass. I have a KVH Azimuth 1000. Would that be any good on a fast boat?
Click to expand...
You must be joking: that is THE fast boat compass - see mine below (albeit covered).
Btw, in response to gjgm: actually it's neither a matter of dampening the magnetic compass, nor looking at the plotter. When helming at high speed, you have no time for anything else than some quick looks to an immediate "off course" indication.
With the KVH, you just push the "set" button while pointing at the desired route. From that moment onward, you'll see one small diamond whenever exactly on course, or some line segments either to the right or left of the diamond. Each line segment means a 2° off course, and all you have to do is correct slightly whenever those segments pop up.
For any boat which demand to be really driven, that's just the ticket!
Dashboard2.jpg
 
MapisM said:
You must be joking: that is THE fast boat compass - see mine below (albeit covered).
Btw, in response to gjgm: actually it's neither a matter of dampening the magnetic compass, nor looking at the plotter. When helming at high speed, you have no time for anything else than some quick looks to an immediate "off course" indication.
With the KVH, you just push the "set" button while pointing at the desired route. From that moment onward, you'll see one small diamond whenever exactly on course, or some line segments either to the right or left of the diamond. Each line segment means a 2° off course, and all you have to do is correct slightly whenever those segments pop up.
For any boat which demand to be really driven, that's just the ticket!
Dashboard2.jpg
Click to expand...
Well I dare say the Zonda with twin V8s might well be faster than I am used to, but I find the compass of use on longer passages, especially if wind and waves are knocking you to one side all the time.
I dont spend all day with the throttles all the way forward anyway, so perhaps I find more use for the compass than others.
 
gjgm said:
I find the compass of use on longer passages, especially if wind and waves are knocking you to one side all the time.
Click to expand...
Hang on, the KVH gizmo we were talking about IS a compass. Just an electronic one, allowing different display modes which a magnetic compass can't offer, as the off course mode I previously mentioned. But even when set in that way, you still see the actual course in big digital numbers, under the line segments which give the course deviation.
Arguably, as any electronic equipment, it might fail (though I've not yet heard of any KVH which did). But on a speedboat, unless always used in dead calm waters, a magnetic compass is even more prone to mechanical failures.
And in case of a major electrical fault affecting the whole boat, the compass is the last of your worries, 'cause with modern engines you're likely to be stuck anyway...
 
MapisM said:
Hang on, the KVH gizmo we were talking about IS a compass. Just an electronic one, allowing different display modes which a magnetic compass can't offer, as the off course mode I previously mentioned. But even when set in that way, you still see the actual course in big digital numbers, under the line segments which give the course deviation.
Arguably, as any electronic equipment, it might fail (though I've not yet heard of any KVH which did). But on a speedboat, unless always used in dead calm waters, a magnetic compass is even more prone to mechanical failures.
And in case of a major electrical fault affecting the whole boat, the compass is the last of your worries, 'cause with modern engines you're likely to be stuck anyway...
Click to expand...

Ah, p'haps I misunderstood you earlier then.
You comment was that the specific compass they fitted was useless, not that any compass fitted was useless?
Either way, having used them on a few Windys, I do find them of use, but only as an eyeball that I havent drifted off course on a longer passage. I wouldnt use it as the main navigation tool from A to B when a plotter does lots more.
 
gjgm said:
You comment was that the specific compass they fitted was useless, not that any compass fitted was useless?
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Yup, precisely! :)
Particularly when compared to other tools like the one benjenbav introduced.
Highly recommended.
 
MapisM said:
Yup, precisely! :)
Particularly when compared to other tools like the one benjenbav introduced.
Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

A funny story: the KVH compass as well as a magnetic one was already on my Aquastar when I bought her, but the previous owner said the KVH didn't work. As I hadn't managed to get too badly lost in the intervening three years or so, fixing the KVH was still on my pending list right up to the day when someone said "what does this switch do?" After a certain amount of banter along the lines of "don't press the red button" we tried it and it turned out to be the KVH compass. Since discovering it I have been completely won over for all the reasons mentioned even though she's hardly a fast boat.

There's a Fountain I see every now and again near my berth. They do look the business.
 
Yes the Zonda is a cool boat but the fact that there's nowhere to mount a radome or even a radar reflector means it just a toy IMHO which is a shame because its obviously capable of distance cruising
 
benjenbav said:
There's a Fountain I see every now and again near my berth. They do look the business.
Click to expand...
Are you talking of S'hampton by chance? I've seen a 42' poker run edition there - gorgeous machine indeed.

As an aside, if you're interested in the PDF version of the compass manual, I can email it to you.
For God knows which reason, it's not dowloadable from KVH website (or it wasn't some years ago when I looked for it, anyway).
 
My boat's in Lymington. The Fountain I often see isn't as big as 42'.

Thanks re the KVH Manual. But I have a pdf copy of the manual. Likewise, I'm not sure if it's on their website because a friend emailed me a copy after we had been talking about the compass.

It's quite fun calibrating the compass. Although I need to do mine again: I only have an "8" because the day I did it the water was a bit too rough.
 
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