Wind Vain

[LottieLou]

Hi I dont want to sound thick but ! Can you use a wind vain on a Catamaran
Thanks for your help

[Cheechako]

A wind Vane would be in Vain on a Cat.

[roverhi]

Because of the rapid acceleration and speed with a wind aft of the beam, self steering vanes are not as useful on a multi. They will work after a fashion on certain points of sail but an autopilot using all that acreage for solar panels to power works better.

[Meandercp]

It depends on your cat. Most production cruising cats accelerate at rates not much different than monohulls. Also depending on design, you may have difficulty getting clear wind to the vane due to the height of the cabin. You may also have to think about how to structurally mount the rudder/pendulum if there is a long distance from bridgedeck to the water.

My cat has a low bridgedeck clearance. I have an Autohelm auxiliary rudder wind vane that works well. It is not as responsive as on my monohull, but does fine holding a course. In general, cats do have the advantage of tending to hold a stable course. That means the vane does not have to work as hard.

[Montanan]

Yes indeed you can use a cat on a wind vane. It will indicate to you the apparent wind.

Yeah, I know I'm being a smarty cat.