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Old 03-02-2014, 20:36   #1
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Airies windvane self steering for boat

Hi there,
We bought this for $3000 and paid an extra $2000 for the guys at Cammeray Marina to reburbish and fit it to our boat which is a 36 foot ketch with a 7 tonne displacement. We have their receipt for the work if required.

We then replaced some of the nylon bushings with new ones from the UK and the vane has been working very well. A big thanks to the guys on the forum here for suggesting to replace the bushing and for their tips on setting the vane up.

The vane does however hinder the use of our davits a little more than we hoped so we are fitting an autopilot would like to sell the vane for a fair price. We're currently asking $2,750 and will be leaving Sydney in a few weeks. If we can't get close to that we'll keep it and sure we'll use it at some point on our trip.

Airies are renowned for making the most reliable and toughest vanes, our vane is the older more sturdy lift-up Airies model.

The vane is on the back of our yacht in Middle Harbour (Sydney) and comes with the foam filled fibreglass rudder, wheel clutch, all running lines and original Airies swivelly blocks.

Please call if you wish to discuss - 0488 667 881
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Old 04-02-2014, 00:15   #2
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Location: Brisbane
Boat: Roberts Spray 36
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Re: Airies windvane self steering for boat

Left Brisbane 2004 on a circumnavigation that ended up taking 9 1/2 years and covering 37000 miles. Bought an old Aries before leaving for $800 and this amazing piece of equipment has tirelessly steered our 36' steel Spray on all ocean crossings. The bushes are very worn and it rattles a bit but all I've ever done is give it a daily dose of sewing machine oil. Many times during gale conditions we've been hunkered up down below while 'Harry' has taken care of the boat.
If I was you I definitely would not get rid of your Aries. Ours also interferes with the davits and dinghy hoisting but that's a small price to pay.
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Old 04-02-2014, 07:24   #3
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Re: Airies windvane self steering for boat

Like the other poster if I had a like new vane mounted and I was just getting ready to cross oceans I'd keep the vane. Just the electrical power savings on a passage is worth it alone, also quiet and the stronger the wind and bigger the seas the better it works.
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Old 05-02-2014, 10:22   #4
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Re: Airies windvane self steering for boat

Watch that Abbie Sutherland documentary and then see if you still want to ditch your vane. That's with a ground crew that goes to meet her and troubleshoot her multiple backup autopilots in several locations and they still keep failing.
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