Help aries windvane broken connecting rod

[captshaggyseas]

I have broken the connecting rod from pendulum to the rudder gear. its about a ft long a ball swivel connector on each end. cant find a replacement, any ideas? I took it to one machine shop he had no idea. it is the aries #5. anybody had this problem? thanks Russ

[Kudu]

I believe there is a company in the Netherlands making spare parts.
https://ariesvanegear.com/

[Bellinghamster]

Doesnt' sound like much of a machine shop to me. Try another.

Any decent fabrication shop should be able to either weld the old one back together possibly reinforcing it in the process, or fabricate a new one from scratch using the broken one as a template to get the length correct, maybe re-using the ball joints if they're something special.

Got a picture of it? Maybe I'm thinking too simply.

[wolfpv]

I've been trying to obtain some connecting rod ends for my Aries #5 for some time now. The rod itself is just 20mm aluminum rod, but the ends are custom. Here's a photo:



I have an autopilot set up using the vane with a small actuator, and it works incredibly well (recently sailed & motored us 2000 miles from Mexico, and the plotter track has barely a waver)
If anyone has any idea where a complete connecting rod or just the ends may be found, please reply to this message! -Thanks

[skipperpete]

Try Bunnings in Australia... they have em for gas struts.
The 4wd equipment suppliers have stainless steel ones.

[Celestialsailor]

I have a full machine shopo in Northern California. I have built numerous pendulum gear and repaired others. Currently rebuilding and redesigning a Windpilot. I have owned 3 Aries and 1 Monitor. PM me