Placement of Windvane Steering System.

[GILow]

Hello Cruisers,

I have all but settled on a home made trim tab driven auxiliary rudder style windvane for our canoe stern Swanson.

Now I find myself looking at the placement of various windvane steering systems and noting that most seem to be stuck on complex brackets that bring the rudder/blade very well clear of the rear of the boat.

I can understand the need for a pendulum system to be clear of the stern to move freely from side to side, and I can see the advantage of the extra leverage, but I would really rather tuck ours up against the hull, nice and snug, so it does not get in the way when not in use.

I was thinking that if I mounted it on pillow block bearings about 9 inches to 1 foot (edit, per Rebel Heart's post, Inboard or Forward)from the pointy bit of the stern (is there a name for that part of the boat?) it would be out of the way when not in use, while still being well aft of the rudder, and not more than about 6 inches from the centreline of the boat itself.

I see the advantage of the pillowblock mounts as being that they can keep the whole assembly in nice and tight to the side of the boat, eliminating leverage problems and keeping the rig out of the way when not in use plus they can be self aligning, saving a bit of complex engineering and measurement.

BUT, I cannot find examples of people doing the same thing.

When this happens I consider two options:

1. I am a genius making a quantum leap of design improvement on a system that has been around for hundreds of years.

2. I am missing something.

Guess which option I am worried about.

Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

Matt