Any idea what model and Manufacturer my windvane is?

[Southernbliss]

Hi this windvane came with my Ericson but no information on model or type. It needs a few repairs but would love to know Model and Manufacturer? Any help would be appreciated.

[nuku34]

No idea what make or model. There are a lot of odd ones out there. This one has a broken casting; the starboard arm is broken off and hanging down. Unless that’s somehow fixed, the thing is never going to work. Alloy castings can’t be welded so you would have to try to bolt the arm back on.
I suggest you scrap it and get another windvane.

[Southernbliss]

Cheers for that. Yeah I know its got a few cracks ect.... my son recons he can machine a few replacement parts. I'm guessing there was some form of sprocket mounted on the helm wheel to take the line's. Was hoping it was a old X factory model so I could track down a schematic. Appreciate your response.

[Jim Cate]

[QUOTE]Alloy castings can’t be welded so you would have to try to bolt the arm back on.[/QUOTE

Sandy, where did you get that? I'm only an amateur TIGer but I've successfully welded broken aluminium castings several times. A pro should have no difficulty with such IMO.

Jim

[esarratt]

Big city. Good, old machinist. Fixed!

[Cpt Mark]

[QUOTE=Jim Cate;3304999]

Alloy castings can’t be welded so you would have to try to bolt the arm back on.[/QUOTE

Sandy, where did you get that? I'm only an amateur TIGer but I've successfully welded broken aluminium castings several times. A pro should have no difficulty with such IMO.

Jim

The issue with castings is that you have no idea what metal was used. It might be all aluminum or some bizarre form of pot metal. I agree you could try and weld it but success is not guaranteed.

[roverhi]

The vane might be weldable but if there is more than one broken part or cracks wouldn't want to depend on it for a passage. Somebody put a lot of effort into all the patterns for castings but looks like it wasn't a good design.

Castings can sometimes be welded but it's very hit and miss. Don't know how close the welding rod has to be to the alloy of what's being welded but that may be a key. Assume the aluminum is some form of corrosion resistant alloy and would start there to get a possible rod match.

[CassidyNZ]

Looking at the port arm (stbd one broken), it wouldn’t take a whole lot of engineering to fabricate a new one from SS. And if it were me, I’d make both new in the interests of preserving symmetry (assuming of course that I wanted such a monstrosity on the back of my boat in the first instance ).

No reason however to assume the broken one is a dodgy casting - reversing the boat into a dock with that arm as a 1st point of contact would almost certainly break it. More a case of poor boat-handling than poor quality casting.

[nuku34]

Hi Jim,
Re welding alloy castings: I stand corrected; it is possible, but as others have pointed out, it is not a 100% thing. In the case of a heavily loaded part like the arm on the OP’s vane, I personally would not depend on it.

[Maver]

Originally Posted by Southernbliss

Hi this windvane came with my Ericson but no information on model or type. It needs a few repairs but would love to know Model and Manufacturer? Any help would be appreciated.

Hi,

This vane looks like an Aries (Hydrovane) one of the earlier versions!

Regards,

Martin Versteeg

[GordMay]

Perhaps some historical pictures might help.
Aries and Hydrovane were the first two windvanes on the market (circa 1968).
➥ https://hydrovane.com/hydrovane/compare/

➥ https://hydrovane.com/the-story/

As of recently, Aries units are built in Holland. Similar systems have been produced for years by perhaps a dozen other companies. The main brands still produced today are Aries, Cape Horn, Monitor, Sailomat, South Pacific and Wind Pilot.