self steering windvanes

[sanuk]

Has anyone fitted a windvane self steeringto a th25? I am building a belcher ogt2. Any advice?

[Troppo]

Hi Sanuk, the only advice I have is do you have another name for it? 'Belcher OGT2' just does not sound appealing. : )

[Rod]

Hi,
memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=599

Rob has a Fleming on his TH. Located in Melbourne. Also see a couple of snippets on youtube for the same person.

[steve]

Hi Sanuk,

I have recently built a windvane. It certainly makes sailing singlehanded much easier, and it is almost magical to watch it working.

I looked briefly at some of Belcher's drawings, but not specifically at the model you are making. I looked at all the commercially made models that I could find details of, and incorporated their principles in my design using components that I could buy on the internet while avoiding any welding.

All the servo pendulum models use the same principles. The main difference between the better ones and some of the cheaper ones is the bearings. The better ones use ball bearings on all the wind driven axes. It seems that without ball bearings they perform poorly in light following winds.

So I think it may be worth you trying to modify Belcher's design to include ball bearings if it does not already have them.

My windvane is working well now, after overcoming some teething problems. I have only used it in winds between 10 and 20 knots so I do not know how well it will work in light winds.

Below is a link to a video of it working.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADNiM1sZL50

Steve

[Phillip]

Steve, That is brilliant!


Is there any possibility of getting a copy of the plans so I can build one?

Just did an audit of my power consumption and found the Autohelm
is the worst sucker of battery power.

This would solve the problem.

[KJD13]

I have recently purchased a "Mister Vee" windvane, built from a kit by a former Top hat owner, PaulG.
I have yet to fit it to my toppie, but thought it might be a good investment. I greatly appreciated the fact that it was fully constructed, as this meant that I would not need to undertake this delicate piece of work.However, the drawings supplied look fairly straight forward, so i believe that anyone could build one. there is also a good parts supply, via the designer.
Paul stated that it worked well on his Toppie, so once I have settled on the form of attaching it to my boat, I am hopeful that it will prove to be real bonus for my singlehanded sailing.
Hope this helps,
Kevin
Wayward Lady (Mark 111)
Williamstown, Vic

[steve]

Phillip,

I would be happy to share my design with you. However, it might be better for you to buy a commercially made one.

I spent over $600 on components, and that excluded timber, nuts and bolts, etc that I already had. The Norvane windvane costs US$1900 and appears to be an excellent design, using the very best materials. By the time you pay for delivery, tax, pulleys and mounting brackets, I suspect that the total cost would be over $2500 but you would end up with a windvane which would last a lifetime and have a good re-sale value.

I have used mine for only 40 miles so far, so it is far from proven and might fall apart next time I use it.

If you (or anyone else) are still interested in using my design. let me know and I will get some drawings and photos together for you, and will up-date you on my progress with testing it.

I will be interested to hear how Kevin gets on with his Mister Vee windvane. I almost bought one, but am glad now that I did not. I would not encourage you to buy one until Kevin has fitted his and confirmed that it works as it should.

Steve

[Phillip]

Steve,

Yes I am interested, I have been hovering around building a windvane for some time but felt that the plans I have seen were rather bulky, were very vague or there was no immediate contact to ask those detailed questions to complete the project.

I also like the idea of the $2000 still being in my pocket!


Look forward to getting some plans and photos when you have completed them.

[storm petrel]

I have been looking at the Soith Atlantic S-301. Seems a bargain at 950 euros even with the shipping cost. Does anyone have any info on them?

Mark

[steve]

Hi Mark,

I do not know anything about the South Atlantic windvane, except for what is on their website.

It might be worth considering how the SA differs from top class windvanes such as Monitor and Fleming. The main differences seem to be:-

The top class ones are made from stainless steel. The SA is made from aluminium. I do not know whether this is a problem. Certainly aluminium masts last for decades, but they are not dipped in salt water regularly.

The top class ones use ball bearings. The SA uses plastic sleeves. Some people say that the absence of ball bearings prevents windvanes operating in light winds. However, the SA website has video of a windvane working OK in quite light winds. SA claim that it works well in strong winds but makes no claim about its light wind performance. They emphasis that the windvane can be linked to an electronic autopilot, which may be what they expect you to do in light wind.

The top class ones have bevel gears to translate the up-down motion of the vane link rod into rotational motion of the pendulum rudder. The SA uses a bent rod passing through a slot. I would expect this to have significant friction, which is detrimental to light air performance. Cape Horn, which is a manufacturer of fairly up-market windvanes, use the same arrangement but it seems to be the only up-market manufacturer that does so.

The top class ones use hydrofoil shaped rudders. The SA uses a flat rudder. I am not convinced that this makes much difference, but most manufacturers use hydrofoils.

The top class ones have course adjustment by handles or strings coming into the cockpit. The SA website describes its adjustment as "manual". There appears to be a device (clamp?) where the vane axis sits on its support post. I suspect that you have to loosen the clamp, then turn the vane
to where you want it pointing, then tighten the clamp. This may not be easy to do when leaning far out the back of the boat while the boat is healing hard over on a lumpy sea. The more expensive SA models have "remote control" by strings coming back into the cockpit, but not the smaller model.

I hope this is helpful.

Steve

PS Is there a website limit on how long a reply can be, to prevent people like me rambling on?