Reasonably-priced Wind Vane?

[BozSail]

Is there such a thing as a good working and reliable wind vane that will function well on a 37 ft., 20,000 lb. displacement sailboat?

[Paul Elliott]

Can you clarify this? A "windvane" could mean:
* A windex-type mast-top wind indicator
* An electronic wind direction sensor and display
* A self-steering system such as a Monitor windvane (there are other brands and types).

If you mean the self-steering system, I have a Monitor on my 44 ft 27,000 lb boat. It is reliable and works well, and I'm glad I installed it.

[BozSail]

Sorry about the wrong terminology... I meant a self-steering windvane system.

[roverhi]

Most should work but the interface with a wheel could be an issue. Have a WindPilot Pacific Plus on my 35', 13,000# boat that worked all the way on a DDW sail to Hawaii. The Aries on our Westsail 32. 22,000# sailed the boat flawlessly for over 10,000 miles and then went another 20,000 miles with the subsequent owner.

Did have a problem with the Monitor on my current boat but it was probably caused by a faulty idler sheave in the wheel steering system. Pendulum Servo vanes work best with a tiller because of the direct, no loss nature of the tiller. Have seen boats as large as 50' with wheel steering and Pendulum Servo vanes that report excellent performance, however.