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Group: Forum Members
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Hello,
I am looking into a self steering mechanism. After reading the websites of Hydrovane (http://www.hydrovane.com) and Monitor wind vane (http://www.selfsteer.com), I would like to hear what OCC members use specially in heavy boats, over 20T.
I noticed that there are at least 5-10 products to consider so it would be nice to hear other self steering product opinions.
I appreciate any info (the good, the bad and the ugly).
Thanks,
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Group: Forum Members
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+xThe original post starting this thread asked about what OCC members use for self-steering on heavy boats. My 50' Damien II schooner is about 25 tons fully loaded. The boat is used for living aboard and long-distance cruising much more than for coastal cruising. No autopilot (the boat came with an old one, which I got tired of fixing and removed it about 30,000 miles ago). I hate motoring, and don't do a huge amount of coastal cruising, so it isn't very hard to do without an autopilot. A home-made windvane built from plans in a french sailing magazine (--it came with the boat--I don't have the plans or know the name of the magazine), drives a trim tab on the back of an auxiliary rudder. The auxiliary rudder also has a detachable tiller. The vast majority of the 110,000 miles that the boat has sailed have been steered by this windvane. Sheet-to-tiller self-steering is used when the wind is too light for the windvane. The bearings in the homemade windvane have more friction than bearings in commercially-available windvanes, so it does not work as well in light winds as commercially-available windvanes. I use sheet-to-tiller self-steering in winds too light for the windvane. If you're not familiar with sheet-to-tiller self-steering, I suggest looking at some youtube videos about it (there are several, including one of mine). Rope, blocks and bungy cords are all the equipment required--it is absolutely the lowest-cost method of self-steering. Sheet-to-tiller is the hardest way of self-steering--it takes quite a bit of time to learn, and then every time the sails are reefed or the course is changed, it takes me 2-10 minutes to get it adjusted correctly. Sheet-to-tiller is more demanding of getting the sails balanced than the windvane is (and windvanes require getting the sails balanced more than autopilots do). So that is what I use for self-steering my heavy boat. Keep in mind the usage profile--if I was doing a lot of coastal cruising, and had frequent time pressures that made me motor often, I'd want an autopilot as well. Hi Richard, A really lovely report bringing a wealth of experience to bear on the question. I particularly enjoyed your bringing some “historical” practices into present day life. It is good to be reminded of skills long forgotten, or never imagined, in this world of technology and automation: in part, because those skills still can have a place in a boat where something unfortunate has occurred and, also, because it is always good to know the antecedents of the equipment being used today. Casual observation of trim tabs leads me to think they are smart and seaworthy and, unfortunately, out of fashion, much like tillers are. My best, Dick Stevenson, s/v Alchemy
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