Aries No#4 Questions Windvane

[bazzer]

Here are a couple of pictures of my wind vane">Aries wind vane as installed!

[philiosophy]

So I see Sewing Machine oil is best to lubricate my Aries. Definately so as I have gunked it up. All clean now. So does anybody have a source for larger cans of sewing machine oil?

[bazzer]

Originally Posted by philiosophy

So I see Sewing Machine oil is best to lubricate my Aries. Definately so as I have gunked it up. All clean now. So does anybody have a source for larger cans of sewing machine oil?

The Aries was designed to not need any oil. Oil will just attract dirt, dust and salt water crystals. I never lubed mine, just gave it a good cleaning. If you must lube it try a dry Teflon spray such as you would use on your sail track.

[Mike OReilly]

My Aries (version 3 I think) is greased, especially in the control gear box area, but also on the other main gears. I’ve been thinking about re-greasing it, but not sure how to remove the old, and then which to re-apply.

… but now you’ve got me wondering bazzer. Is this wrong? I inherited the vane. I’ve used it for going on eight years. Works fine, although I wonder if the grease is getting old and needs refreshing. In low winds the response time is slow.

[bazzer]

Can you post a picture? Mine was the very robust series 4. The earlier models had plastic bearings which are prone to swelling which might cause a slow response in light winds. The only fix for this issue is new bearing which might mean getting a machine shop involved. Either way they are great winvanes and will last for ever!

[Mike OReilly]

Sorry it took a little while. I’m away from my boat, so had to dig through the general pics to find any that showed the vane. Here are a couple. The main grease load is in the covered area that houses the port/starboard ratchets. There is also grease on the main gears.

[gjordan]

For a little better response in light airs (the hardest time for a windvane) you might want to spend a few extra dollars on roller bearing blocks for the steering lines with the ones doing the 90 degree turn larger diameter. Any reduction of friction helps make light air sailing a joy . My third Aries is sitting , waiting for a refurbish before mounting. I think they are wonderful. ____Grant.