RVG Wind Vane

[Steve A]

I bought an old RVG rig and it's missing the sail. Nothing in the manual about the size!! Any one got pics and/or measurements. THANKS

[gjordan]

Steve, I am not sure on this, but I think the RVG was popular with the multihull crowd. You might try posting on that part of the forum and see if you get results. Good Luck._____Grant.

[builder dan]

We used one around the pacific 32 years ago it steered the boat well pain in reverse though as invariably the rudder turned the opposite way you wanted to go,there should be info on the internet on sail size,The sail and counter weight were a one piece unit and the sail was cloth,if this piece is missing from your unit you may have trouble getting it going as it was the right size for the clutch good luck

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Steve A

I bought an old RVG rig and it's missing the sail. Nothing in the manual about the size!! Any one got pics and/or measurements. THANKS

I may have one around here somewhere. Are you missing the frame for the sail and the counterweight too or just the cloth part of the sail?

[Steve A]

The cuonter weight is there,just need the frame and sail.

[SkiprJohn]

Originally Posted by Steve A

The cuonter weight is there,just need the frame and sail.

Ok. Give me a little time and I might be able to come up with something from my collection of antiques (just kiddin'). Right now I'm doing a lot of limping around due to a healing broken foot so be a bit patient please.

kind regards,

[SkiprJohn]

I surprised myself and found the frame. I may have a sail somewhere but that would be a lot harder for me to put my hands on and I don't even know if I have it. I'd recommend you make the sail out of the lightest fabric available. The lighter your frame and sail will be the more responsive your windvane will be.

[SkiprJohn]

Have you checked out this link?

http://allaboutboats.blogspot.com/20...tructions.html

The frame is made of very lightweight aluminum. The bottom two photos above are oriented incorrectly. The bottom photo is of the top arm of the frame which you can see is a bit longer than the bottom arm.

Whatever sail you sew up should stretch taught on the frame to make it more effective.

[Steve A]

John, Do you want to sell that? Looks like a lot of work to build one.

[SkiprJohn]

That might be a possibility depending on the offer I can't refuse. - - - : )

Do you want to send me a private message and we can start a dialog?

kind regards,

[FanofAlMason]

I found this old thread when I was looking online to see if anyone would can use a factory new RVG wind vane sail, which I purchased in ~1987 as a spare. We loved this bit of gear, which was invaluable in an Atlantic crossing the year before.
New to the forum; ok to DM me if you know how.

[Katapult Mike]

Welcome aboard FanofAlMason!

This is like a trip down nostalgia lane for me. I used an RVG vane crossing the Atlantic in 1989. Worked great for me. I loved having a completely separate back up rudder and steering system.

I bought mine used, and it came with a frame for the sail but no sail. As I recall, I stitched up a sail rather easily from some lightweight fabric that was laying around. Might have been a blown out spinnaker of something.

The frame that came with mine looked completely different from the one in the photo, so it might have been after market. It was made from two continuous loops of very lightweight aluminum in a wedge shape. If you don't have access to an original frame, that shape might be easier to fabricate for a DIY're.

Maybe we should start a FansOfRVG forum?

[Hillbillybuddha]

Originally Posted by FanofAlMason

I found this old thread when I was looking online to see if anyone would can use a factory new RVG wind vane sail, which I purchased in ~1987 as a spare. We loved this bit of gear, which was invaluable in an Atlantic crossing the year before.
New to the forum; ok to DM me if you know how.

Hey FanofAlMason, I'm actually looking for an RVG Wind Vane, but I'm looking for the whole thing. My boat came with the brackets on the transom for an RVG so I figured I'd look for the vane before I order a new system.