The 1970s called and want to know if you still have a windvane

[hpeer]

Aries windvane, and a pelagic tiller pilot to drive it, and. CPT for the wheel.

[Suijin]

I have a Monitor and a modern AP. I have 350 watts of solar, and can’t really fit more on the boat without some gymnastics.

For long trips off the wind, the windvane is great. The AP is better, performance wise, but obviously uses energy which can be precious depending on latitude, weather, and season.

As a single hander having a backup to the AP is great. That said, when people ask me if I think it’s required my answer has evolved from “yes” to “it depends”. It comes down to how your boat is equipped and how you use it.

[Tayana42]

I have old technology, sails. And they still work. Maybe they are becoming less popular that the newer propulsion methods but for some reason I still like them.

[sailorboy1]

I don't plan to even go windvane. Our autopilot Ray is our best passage friend.

[thomm225]

I would like to have a windvane autopilot as backup to my electric autopilots, but I have limited space on the stern so I may have to go the Webb Chiles Route if I decide to sail long distance and use some sort of sheet to tiller steering method as backup.

I think he had 4 tiller autopilots fail during his last ocean crossing on his Moore 24.

I have repaired my Simrad Tiller Autopilot 2X and my Raymarine Tiller Autopilot 1X.

https://www.cruisingworld.com/simple-self-steering

[cyan]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I don't plan to even go windvane. Our autopilot Ray is our best passage friend.

Old Ray used to be my good friend too, until I realized he was trying to steer a 7 ton boat using his wimpy little nylon planetary gears. What a dumb friend. Ray also makes his scariest noises when he poops out at night in the middle of a passage.

Whoever designed him probably also built a house with Legos just for fun.
(we have a conspiracy theory that a wind vane company designed that thing)

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by thomm225

I would like to have a windvane autopilot as backup to my electric autopilots, but I have limited space on the stern so I may have to go the Webb Chiles Route if I decide to sail long distance and use some sort of sheet to tiller steering method as backup.

I think he had 4 tiller autopilots fail during his last ocean crossing on his Moore 24.

I have repaired my Simrad Tiller Autopilot 2X and my Raymarine Tiller Autopilot 1X.

https://www.cruisingworld.com/simple-self-steering

steering sail sheet to tiller its fast easy reliable and best part is it uses 0 electricity.
Honestly in my opinion every one should know how to rig it in an emergency.

[rosatte]

Good post I’m as we speaking ordering a new Cape Horn windvane for my new to me 32ft union cutter so yes windvanes are a nessary piece of gear at least in my eyes

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by cyan

Old Ray used to be my good friend too, until I realized he was trying to steer a 7 ton boat using his wimpy little nylon planetary gears. What a dumb friend. Ray also makes his scariest noises when he poops out at night in the middle of a passage.

Whoever designed him probably also built a house with Legos just for fun.
(we have a conspiracy theory that a wind vane company designed that thing)

Sounds to me that you befriended the wrong Ray.

Besides having the right Ray I have found that some people don’t provide the proper support and guildness to their Ray and then blames him for getting tired.

[svJasmine]

I have an Aries that I Love!!!!! I also have an electric tillerpilot, but I have gone through several of them and they aren't as reliable.

[Cpt Mark]

Unfortunately, electric AP's have a reputation for early deaths. For this reason I have my main AP and a backup old wheel pilot that you have to tell it where to go by pushing buttons, left or right. On my cat I've read/been told that wind vanes just can't work. Well, at the Seattle Boat show I saw one that certainly works on cats and am seriously considering it. No energy usage, an extra rudder just in case and the rudder is easily removed in the water so I can beach my cat. I think the "modern" cruiser is too heavily dependent on electrical things. Not saying I'm not guilty of this by any means but for the most important thing to me as a single hander is some form of working AP.

[michaelratinter]

Heart inverter? Check
Hydrovane? Check
Sextant? Check
Russian navy mechanical 24 hr pocket watch? Check
D400 wind generator? Check
Watermaker? Check

Yep. Good to go.

[toddster8]

Odd, I was just idly wondering about this as I was fitting my newly-restored Sail-o-mat. I wondered if growth in boat size has contributed to decline in wind-vane self-steering. At least of the auxilliary rudder type.
And... now I need to find a place on board to store the foils when not in use.

[hellosailor]

They are a mess of expensive stuff that totally destroys access to the stern for dingy davits or tying stern-to a dock or seawall, so for sailors who don't actually NEED them, they're on a par with having your feet each jammed in a bucket.

OTOH if you're doing ocean miles, I'd guess the reliability of them is more than 100-1000x higher than that of an electrically controlled autopilot (counting electrical issues).

Leaving new buyers to ask "Do I want to spend all this money on this collection of pipes and stuff...when I would get more use out of a conventional autopilot that I could use more often?

And I think the installation of an autopilot is less intimidating, no holes in the hull, less worry about where all the pipes go.

It comes back to whether (and how many) folks really are going to plan and invest for robust [read: power failure expected] offshore steering, as a priority. I think that's always been a niche market within the niche market.

[Morequestions]

I have about zero experience but do enjoy reading. I read an article by an author who tested Wind Vane vs AP. He was on a long ocean crossing. For a period of time say 24 hrs he would use one then the next period use the other. He found that the wind vane usually got him closer to his goal on average. He surmised that by using the wind better in the sails his boat may not go in a straight line as it did when using the electric auto pilot but it went faster.