An important message, some Coast Guard changes of note, and in the “not surprising but still” department… Let’s say I have an idea or innovation for a sailing related product. We’ll use a self-steering gear as an example. Windvane self-steering is an interesting design problem because there are really only a couple of design envelopes …
A timely read, some pettiness of note, and in the “well sure he does” department… The other day I saw a Trismus self-steering gear selling for $350 Euros/Dollars. It’s a windvane that is as simple as you can get. Hundreds have been built and hundreds have crossed oceans. It’s a very good design. This item …
This, sorta/kinda, made my head explode, the struggle continues, and in the “help a senior pet” department… As it happens, I’ve never thought that the Hydrovane was a particularly good design compared to other auxilliary rudder windvane systems. The RVG or Auto-Helm, in my opinion, make a lot more sense. I base this opinion mainly …
a couple of thoughts on windvane steering design… Read More »
Some current situational reports, a spot on read, and in the “who’d have thought?” department… The hydrovane clone is apparently still working with some refinements in the pipeline. Think about it.
A billion dollar suck up, a surprising cover of Louie Louie, and a book some folks seem to need… An interesting DIY wind vane, self-steering gear which seems to be based loosely on the Hebridean. For what it’s worth, I’m pretty sure that the Hebridean just might be the best wind vane, self-steering gear available …
Some Caribbean history, a podcast of note, and in the “just like a really bad movie” department… As someone who keeps a weather eye out for the cost of self-steering gears, I find the current resale value of the Navik gear somewhat surprising. Not that long ago, the average price of a Navik ranged from …
A needful read, regarding AI/audio books, and the stupid, it burns… I’ve never been a fan of the Hydrovane self-steering gear as I feel they are overly expensive and prefer trim tab auxiliary rudder systems. That said, this guy seems to have built a hydrovane type gear for somewhere around $50. Which, judging from the …
I keep noticing that the cost of used self-steering gears continue to rise. For example, the Navik windvane which used to sell somewhere between $150- $500 dollars is now selling for somewhere between $400-$1000 dollars (check here for a price spread on used Naviks). While it still might be the best deal going for a …
You might want to check out. Sensible, simple, and cheap. Better yet, it should cost you less than $60 or so in materials and a couple of days of work. Considering that the cost of used vane gears (Aries, Navik, Windpilot, Atoms, Hasler, etc) are getting more expensive and hard to find, this gear makes …
