Installing a Monitor Windvane

[SteveT]

I've bit the bullet and bought a new Monitor wind vane designed to fit my boat. Scanmar have provided a detailed set of installation instructions but what I would like to know are there any specific pitfalls that others have encountered installing this system?

Note - I already have the Monitor so don't need advice that I should have got X, Y, Z instead!

Thanks in advance for any info.

[keepondancin]

Measure, measure, then measure again. Then, check the measurements. Use tape, cable ties, anything else you can think of, before drilling and mounting blocks for control lines. Think it all out, then you will discover the bulk head where that bolt has to go. When that happens, punt.

[jmackay]

Congratulations, I love my Monitor. Keep the phone number for Scanmar handy, they are the largest data bank of experience and I have found them very willing to help. This will soon become the most valued piece of equipment on your boat. As you set up your control lines visualize cockpit traffic and any area that you used to store something on deck that might interfere with them.

[senormechanico]

For best performance, keep friction on the lines from the wheel clutch to the oar to a minimum.
The fewer changes in direction, the better.
On our Lord Nelson 35, the wheel clutch lines went straight down to a couple of turning blocks at the base of the pedestal, then back through a watertight tube exiting the hull at the lower end of the Monitor legs.
It took a lot of measuring and eyeballing to get the tube just right before drilling out the hull, but it worked wonderfully.
I had an extra block welded there to allow one of the lines to cross to the other side.
We never had to step over lines, or disconnect anything when the vane was not in use, and the vane worked down to 4 knots of boat speed through the water.

[delmarrey]

Read the instructions a couple times before the install and just follow them to the T. All will be well.

.

[xsboats]

Check for pics of installs of Monitors on sisterships to your boat on the Scanmar website. You may see a variation on the install that suits your needs.