TRANSON HUNG RUDDER SELF STEERING

[rickpyne]

Dear Members
i am considering making my own Vane Steering System for my stern hung rudder on a Miller & Whitworth 32FT Sloop.
There is plenty of details and data for vessels with wheel and under hull rudders but none I can find for vessels with stern hung rudder, tiller steering. Any information regarding this will be appreciated. Thank you
Rick

[GILow]

Easiest sort of boat to convert to windvane steering.

Just put a trim tab on the trailing edge of the rudder and control it with a horizontal axis wind vane.

[El Pinguino]

This is my aux rudder with trim tab but the principle is the same.

Lots of info on mine has been posted here on CF over the years... seek and ye shall find....

[El Pinguino]

a better shot...

[Frank 101]

Not sure what number video, but “Sailing waverover” on YouTube has a pretty good clip on how to make one.

[bobs]

Frank ,

would you be willing to document ( photo's ) en post this enterprise ?
For sure an added value to the list of possibilities .

Regards

[El Pinguino]

The Youtubes are here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYOuJP0VagA

not sure which one of the series documents his design...

His is horizontal axis ...mine is vertical.... his is probably more relevant for the OP.

I have seen remote vanes on centre cockpit boats with davits... anything is possible..

A major issue is damping... same same when steering by hand ... no more than a few degrees of helm should be required.

[Wotname]

Welcome aboard CF, Rick.

I found Bill Belcher's book Wind-Vane Self Steering extremely helpful when I made one about 10+ years back

[Alan Mighty]

And there's the fine Freehand Steering System, designed by Larry Pardey and manufactured by Mike Anderson of Anderson Boat Works: Freehand Steering System - AndersonBoatworks

[Benz]

Also try John Letcher's "Self Steering for Sailing Craft," Which I found more useful than Belcher. I should warn you that doing your calculations most carefully is paramount: It is really easy to get your trip tab too big and powerful, like I did, and mess up the whole system. All the parts worked well, but in heavy following seas, the trim tab strut, which happened to be too long, would vibrate abominably. I wish I had simply added a tab to the rudder rather than hanging one further astern. Letcher describes the pitfalls of this, and I didn't listen.
I wound up eventually buying a used Sailomat servo-pendulum, which has the advantage of being able to pull everything out of the water when not in use, so there's less hamper.

[bobs]

Originally Posted by bobs

Frank ,

would you be willing to document ( photo's ) en post this enterprise ?
For sure an added value to the list of possibilities .

Regards

My apologies , this post is intended to the TS/OP ...rickpyne , not to Frank .
I don't seem to be able to edit my first respons anymore .

Regards

[Ramona]

Originally Posted by rickpyne

Dear Members
i am considering making my own Vane Steering System for my stern hung rudder on a Miller & Whitworth 32FT Sloop.
There is plenty of details and data for vessels with wheel and under hull rudders but none I can find for vessels with stern hung rudder, tiller steering. Any information regarding this will be appreciated. Thank you
Rick

Having a stern hung rudder is no different. Go straight to a servo assist self steering gear and mount it just clear of your rudder blade. I have an Aries now I bought second hand and that will suit the MW32 well.
If you want to build your own then I would suggest something like my previous gear I built in stainless steel. It's similar to a monitor with a few good ideas stolen from aries and flemings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isw529SdN8s

Another way is to build a USD windvane, this was designed a few years ago by Jan Alkema specifically for stern hung rudders. Plenty of youtube videos about it.
https://www.ayrs.org/catalyst/Catalyst_N23_Jan_2006.pdf
Another choice is to search through some of Walt Murrays designs and try them. They use the Z crank instead of bevel gears and take some effort to tune properly but it's a cheap alternative. I used one on my old MW26 years ago. This is the same gear on my Currawong.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U66-R0i2c20&t=3s

Apologies for the degraded qualitity of that video.

[CarinaPDX]

I have a special reverse-hand Hydrovane that drives a trim tab. Trim tabs are very powerful, and don't require control lines to the tiller in the cockpit. But I question building one's own if one can be bought at a reasonable price. Take a look here: https://windyselfsteering.com/selfsteering/ ; for 1200 EUR it would be hard to justify making one's own.

Greg