Windex...

[Rockter]

I ordered another Windex today.
Damn it there guys, why do these damn things keep failing 45 ft above my head at the mast top.
One lost its wires, one began rotating its vertical pole (locked by a stud in plastic), one flew off without sailing a single mile, and now the current one is rotating the wires.
Am I not capable of tightening a nut and lock nut (mine) this far into the game? Do I need a Windex course on that one?
It's a Windex 15.
They are $60 each here.

I can strip the top end of my motor, and did, and it runs and has done for 10 years since, but I cannot get a Windex to stay at a masthead, or work when it gets there.

[RickQuann]

Rockter,

I can sympathize, replacing a windex is not the easiest of tasks, or rather, it takes a fair amount of effort. The only time I've ever had problems with mine is when birds use it as a perch. Do you think that might be your problem also? If so, there's a model of Windex with a spike extending from the top with discourages birds from landing.

[Rockter]

Rick...
Thanks.
I have ordered another Windex 15.
Next time, I suppose.

[SEMIJim]

Rockter,

I know it's not the manly thing to do, but have you been reading the instructions? You're supposed to put a dab of the included sealant/adhesive (I think it's just silicone sealant, actually) on the threads of the top bit to make sure it stays tightened-down. If the top bit is properly tightened and stays that way, ISTM there's no way in hell those wires can rotate. The one where the vertical bit started rotating: Well, perhaps a bit more torque when you tighten the set screw for that? Not too much, as that whole assembly doesn't strike me as all that robust, but perhaps a bit more? (If you want to get really ambitious, you could remove the screw and give it a dab of that sealant, or use a small dab of nail polish or LocTite low-strength (purple) to help it stay put.)

Yeah, those wind indicators are a PITA. We put a brand-new one up this spring. (Last one up and disappeared in the middle of a race.) As luck would have it: Cable from the gin pole caught one of the flags when we were raising the mast and bent it up just a bit. Now the arrow catches on that. So we're going to haul a buddy's youngest daughter up the mast to adjust it.

Jim

[sailhog]

The tabs on mine were beaten to death in a hail storm a few months ago. Bought a new one for $50, went up the mast to install it, and then dropped it into the water once at the summit. It sank. I haven't put the snorkel and mask on to find it. Might do that today.

[TrueBlue]

A couple years ago, my wife dropped her Maui Jims off the boat late one night while moored in Cuttyhunk Harbor. We were returning from a party on a friend's boat when her retainer snapped on the railing.

I never did find them the next morning, but was amazed to see so many broken bits of Windex vanes on the silty bottom, during my scuba expedition.

[sailingdog]

Rockter-

You've obviously annoyed one of the Wind Dieties.. You must make a sacrifice to Aeolus immediately...

[Idiens]

Keep the bits of the old one, they may prove handy as spares.