Self-steering

a simple vane…

Hugh Howey making sense, some scary space mirrors, and today in the “never truer words” department… I’ve always been enamored of the sheer simpleness of the Moitessier-style wind vane self-steering gear. Especially as exhibited at its evolutionary peak on the Trismus design. A simple vane can be seen here. That said, it’s a little less …

a simple vane… Read More »

frugal workarounds…

Some first contact musings, a boat book you need to read, and today in the “more reasons not to do a cruise ship” department… Yesterday, I saw a very cool bit of gear for my cinema camera. What was especially nice was that instead of costing eighty-bucks, it only cost $25. This appeared to be …

frugal workarounds… Read More »

design and evolution…

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 …

design and evolution… Read More »

a couple of thoughts on windvane steering design…

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 »

What about the Navik?

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 …

What about the Navik? Read More »

a DIY windvane…

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 …

a DIY windvane… Read More »

Scroll to Top