Ditch the Aries Wind Vane or Not?

[Dulls]

I think that if you sum up the posts here it seems that having a wind vane and auto pilot are the way to go..i dont think it is either or but they are complementry in use. Wind vanes in some circumstances are better then APs and in other circumstances are not. I must admit that i never see them as oil derricks but as beautifull and functionable and a nod back to another era of sailing while still having a place in this era.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by surfmachine

Thanks guys. Not only have I ditched the Aires, but also the pacific wind pilot as well. Where I sail...or motorsail, most of the time, in the ITCZ. There are no relaible winds and the wind shifts 180 degrees in a few minutes, nearly every hour!!

The dingy on the davits is the best thing for me.

Now have the Raymarine below decks elctro-mechanical auto pilot. Plus a whweel mounted autopilt and a tiller pilot for the emergency helm, as backups.

All the best from Keith.

I've had 3 windvanes, two monitors and one Aries, and had them on 4 boats. Unless you are crossing the pacific or other very long legs, with predictable winds, i would never have one again. I'd invest in a gen set with the money ....to helprun the AP if I thought I needed it. To each his own though!

[rebel heart]

One thing I dig about my hydrovane is that you can rig a cheap tiller pilot to it for motoring. So that's windvane + autopilot for $7K, including a spare (fitted and fully functional) rudder.

[hpeer]

I did the same to my Aries. Unfortunately I have had some issues with the Raymarine tiller pilot. When it works it is fine.

The only issue I have with this set up is you need a bit of boat speed to make it work so it is not great for helping me set the main.

Just bought a CPT as can't figure out or afford a below deck unit. Have not installed yet.

[dugout]

Originally Posted by hpeer

I did the same to my Aries. Unfortunately I have had some issues with the Raymarine tiller pilot. When it works it is fine. The only issue I have with this set up is you need a bit of boat speed to make it work so it is not great for helping me set the main. Just bought a CPT as can't figure out or afford a below deck unit. Have not installed yet.

There en lies the rub... those of us with tillers seldom have a choice. Vane gear and/or Tiller pilot. TPs alone just can't take it, period. I have a Aries MK5 and will probably never give it up. It's almost family and certainly the best helmsman in the family.
The comments about weight between vane gears is silly. My Aries is 10# heavier than a Monitor. I do not consider that significant, others might, right after they dump 300# of chain in the bow.
I did deliver a boat with a Norvane and was impressed by it.

[JeffH]

You should ditch it. I'll give you $100 for it. 8^)

Seriously, no one should take a long (in a sailboat - 40 miles, in a Cigarette - 120 miles) trip in a boat without some kind of self-steering gear. From your posts, it sounds like you don't feel that you need much in the way of on-board backups. Maybe you don't need a wind vane to back up your autopilot. Me? I have 3 bilge pumps & carry a sculling oar in addition to the outboard & (of course) sails & tiller on my Catalina 22. & I an doing only coastal cruising.

Your mileage may vary.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by dugout

There en lies the rub... those of us with tillers seldom have a choice. Vane gear and/or Tiller pilot. TPs alone just can't take it, period. I have a Aries MK5 and will probably never give it up. It's almost family and certainly the best helmsman in the family.
The comments about weight between vane gears is silly. My Aries is 10# heavier than a Monitor. I do not consider that significant, others might, right after they dump 300# of chain in the bow.
I did deliver a boat with a Norvane and was impressed by it.

Buy a good tiller pilot... for instance... many under deck AP's are actuated with a heavy duty ram to a quadrant. Just eliminate the quadrant and use the ram on your tiller. Unless you want fancy integration an Alpha 3000 will handle anything thrown at it with aircraft mechanical ram....Now you're talkiing power and reliability!