Windvane Steering Necessary for Long Ocean Passages?

[walt123]

WINDVANE YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

[thomasstone]

Jack, my windvane comments verses auto-pilots are based my own experience,with my own boat,as well as crewing on other boats. I agree that todays auto-pilots are alot better, but for offshore on a small boat (40 feet and under ),a wind vane is required crew. BTW I use a Cape Horn. Is to the azores and back a book?-thomas

[WHOOSH]

Thomas:

"...for offshore on a small boat (40 feet and under ),a wind vane is required crew."

I''m not sure it''s that simple, altho'' in our case we certainly put more of our limited ''self-steering budget'' into an expensive Sailomat vane than we did in the cockpit-mounted CPT a/p. Both vane & a/p can fail (vanes can fail for numerous reasons), the ease of use and even interfacing capability of the a/p seem important to some sailors, and vanes are definitely less effective in more variable conditions (e.g. around the Azores High or along the SoCal/Mexico coast & Baja. Let''s not overlook that one''s cruising intentions and the size of the crew should in part shape the self-steering choices made. The power demands of an a/p may be more or less a concern, depending on how the under-40'' boat is set up. These days, the panels, wind gen and even aux generating capacity on many under-40 boats used offshore make the (now lower) power demands of an a/p less of a driver in the decision-making process. And to throw in another variable, some of today''s boats are designed & built to be extremely fast by conventional standards (e.g. Beth Leonard''s current HAWK, a commonly chosen VandeStadt design), where vanes are more problematic in use since boat speed can more directly affect relative wind direction.

Having said all that, I think the biggest single advantage offshore with a vane is its relatively high degree of operational reliability (assuming regular servicing) and ability to function independent of other (e.g. electrical) systems. But there are numerous variables operating (boat, crew, systems, cruising plans) and the ''required crew'' claim just seems a bit too ''absolute'' in my mind.

"Is to the azores and back a book?"
Yes, East to the Azores was written by Henderson to - IMO - capitalize on his growing name recognition at the time rather than any extensive offshore sailing experience. But since it''s linked directly to preparing his Ohlson 38, you might find it helpful in learning more about the boat you''re considering.

Jack

[WHOOSH]

I meant to include in the above comment that a new bulletin board on designing & building wind vanes, plus the use of commercially produced vanes, might be very useful to folks reading this thread. See http://cruisenews.net/cgi-bin/windvane/windvane.pl

When we read comments like Jeff''s about simple/effective set-ups capitalizing on a trailing trim tab and horizontally-pivoting vane, it reminds us that inventiveness and thoughtful consideration of options for our own individual boat go much further than reading brochures in understanding what''s possible today in vane selection & use.

And Thomas, sorry about the bum referral earlier in the thread - the book''s title is East to the Azores. It was written in the "relatively primitive" 70''s. <g>

Jack

[thomasstone]

Thanks Jack, I will check out the book.. I cleaned out my closet and found Singlehaned Sailing by "Henderson" I agree with you on every case is different. I will be picking up a new(used)boat in the next couple of years and like I said very interested in the Ohlson. Merry Christmas-thomas

[paulk]

The Ohlson 38 was a great boat to sail. Reasonably fast, commodious, and comfortable in all weathers. We ran into three storms, with waves up to about 20'', winds over 40 knots. (That''s as high as the anemometer went.) We went four hours on/four off for the four crew, with the captain and his wife (the cook) on call if needed for reefing or spinnaker jybes. The Ohlson 38 handles well (and I grew up sailing a Soling) with nothing squirrelly under any point of sail. She also looks good under way and in any harbor. The skipper, Arthur Chace, went on to write "Precision Cruising", (Norton Publishing/NYC- now out of print) which outlines some of the approaches he took that fit the boat well. If you can find one- buy it!

[sailingdog]

I think that a wind-vane is a necessity for long ocean passages. Unlike an autopilot, the windvane doesn't use any electricity. Also, as the wind increases in strength, so does the force the windvane can apply to the tiller. This is not true of autopilots.

One very established bluewater sailor i know has said that long ocean passages without a wind vane are like a preview of damnation...

[haffiman37]

I think 'Sailingdog' perhaps is a bit outdated and drastic.
I just finished 20.000 across Atlantic and Pacific using autopilot, and would not be without. particulary with no wind for 4 days in Pacific and 8 days from Darwin to Bali. Mainly I would say it depends on bot type and crew. My way of looking at it: Do I need a wind vane in addition to the autopilot? As for power consumption, my pilot took less than 1/2 of the fridge!

[ughmo2000]

Two W-E crossings, one with one without.

While it's not needed, it's sure nice to have!

[Eric!]

You might be interested in our trim-tab design guides. We've tried all different kinds of designs and tested them at sea.

http://www.sailsarana.com/selfsteering.htm

We've used our trim-tab for about 7,000 miles and it's worked great with the autopilot. Hardly any power use, there's no load on the tiller pilot and it has built in feedback which keeps the boat on course without the autopilot having to fight the motion.

Eric