Windvane unable to recover from full deflection

[Kenatsea]

Thanks for all of the tips and info.

[lifemiles]

I am not familiar with your type but I remember when I had problems with my Aries it was because the windvane was actually too heavy. gears not running smoothly is just adding to that same problem. I jimmyrigged underway by adding weight to the pendulum to counter the problem. I guess a variable set bungee could indeed do the trick for you too. if reaction too little set looser, reaction too strong (stays out of balance soo long the boat starts to zigzag tighten it up a bit.
either way these things really only work properly if gears are well maintained and problemfree, and vane is cut and weighed to specs

[Ryban]

Now that I have internet again, I just wanted to provide a quick update.

I've been using my Navik during all my passages thus far from St. Martin to Dominica, and will continue using it to Grenada. Once the sails are trimmed, it works wonderfully. It tacked me once while I was sleeping during the passage from St. Barts to Montserrat, but it was probably a result of a large wave or a change in the wind.

I'm still using my preventer line to keep the paddle-to-vane joint on the 90-degree plane, but I'm not sure if it's strictly necessary. I keep it there for peace of mind.