Wireless wind indicator

[biniberg]

Does anyone have an opinion on wireless wind indicators? We have an existing 15 year old B&G system which is broken. Wired replacement will be difficult and expensive. The boat is a Beneteau 411 .

[stevensuf]

stay away from tiktack... not good

[Cavalier]

Originally Posted by biniberg

Does anyone have an opinion on wireless wind indicators? We have an existing 15 year old B&G system which is broken. Wired replacement will be difficult and expensive. The boat is a Beneteau 411 .

Had exactly the same situation except the previous owner had "relieved the vessel of its B&G burden" (aka stripped the boat) prior to sale. They'd left the previous B&G transducer cable in the mast so I simply chinese-fingered the new transducer cable to the old one and used it as a cable-pull (down the mast) to install the new one. No more cost than the new transducer and some harness imprints on my thighs!

[Reefmagnet]

I've got a Nexus wireless wind indicator on my boat. Been on about 1 year now and never had an issue with it. Although the spinny thing is a bit big and funky compared to other systems, I'd certainly recommend it, although I have heard you need to make sure to test the location of the receiver in relation to the wind indicator before screwing everything down as a precaution to prevent communication problems.

Mine's even survived abuse by this hitch hiker...

[Hudson Force]

I've been relying on the same wireless wind indicators since 1970. Actually, two wireless indicators, one on each upper shroud. I rely on two pieces of red yarn, each about six enches long and tied to the shroud well above the deck.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by CaptForce

I've been relying on the same wireless wind indicators since 1970. Actually, two wireless indicators, one on each upper shroud. I rely on two pieces of red yarn, each about six enches long and tied to the shroud well above the deck.

OOhhh, but Captain... ain't them shrouds WIRES??

Hee,hee...

Jim

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

OOhhh, but Captain... ain't them shrouds WIRES??

Hee,hee...

Jim

Damn, you're right!...and here I thought I was free from the wireless technology. What do I have to do,- feel the breeze on the back of my neck!

[Jake Tanley]

Opinions vary, but we like our Tackticks a lot. 4 seasons in and aside from a lightening storm that took out a bunch of electronics at our marina, no problems at all (wind, speed and depth). Raymarine covered the strike out of warranty too (only lost the wind transmitter, not the control heads). Ours are full solar, so we can bring them down below when not sailing.

Wired/wireless, if there's something at the top of the mast you'll need to go up at some point.

[D2D]

Originally Posted by Jake Tanley

Opinions vary, but we like our Tackticks a lot. 4 seasons in and aside from a lightening storm that took out a bunch of electronics at our marina, no problems at all (wind, speed and depth). Raymarine covered the strike out of warranty too (only lost the wind transmitter, not the control heads). Ours are full solar, so we can bring them down below when not sailing.

Wired/wireless, if there's something at the top of the mast you'll need to go up at some point.

How high is your mast? Our wireless wind instruments on top of our 70 ft mast stopped working after day 2....

[ReMetau]

We have Tacktick, but the cups hardly spin anymore in lighter winds. We have had the unit before Raymarine bought it, and now we can't get a replacement for it without replacing the whole unit.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by ReMetau

We have Tacktick, but the cups hardly spin anymore in lighter winds. We have had the unit before Raymarine bought it, and now we can't get a replacement for it without replacing the whole unit.

We're in the same boat . We have an old TackTick (not sure how old ... came with the boat). The windspeed sensor -- the cups -- get stuck every once in a while. I took the mast down three seasons ago, and pulled the windy off. I cleaned it up a bit, and kinda worked the bearings. The following season it worked flawlessly. However this past season we're starting to see it get stuck again in low winds. So perhaps a simple cleaning might help ReMetau.

[Jonna]

We had TackTick on our previous boat. We bought them and used them for 7 years. I know the current owner is still happy with them. We had log, depth sounder, wind indicator, compass... Full system for a 31 foot racing boat. It was very good system.

-Johanna-
www.sailfaraway.net

[cwyckham]

I really like my tacktick unit. Had to replace the mast top unit when I bought the boat and they were very helpful and gave me a good deal. I really like being able to bring the indicator down below so I know how scared I should be by the howling in the rigging. I can also move them around depending on where guests are sitting so I can actually see the darn thing.

[StuM]

Another vote for Tacktick. We installed a system on a Wharram cat 5 years ago and everything is still working perfectly.

[blakeney]

Can't believe you have a tack tic that works.mine worked one day.then here & there.this stuff is junk.my tech refuses to install any more or them.too many issues.