Auto-Helm
Rudder Trim Tab
Wind Vane Self Steering for Sale
$1800 obo
For Sale: Auto-helm
windvane self-steering
equipment. See the full details here:
http://www.selfsteer.com/products/autohelm/index.php
This system uses a horizontal axis
wind vane to control a trim-tab on its own fully independent
rudder. No connection to your boat’s
steering system is necessary. Great for a
boat with
hydraulic steering or a
center cockpit, or as a way to add an
emergency rudder and
wind vane at the same time.
It came off a 24 000lb 36 foot long ferro-cement cruiser and I’m sure it could steer something larger.
Note, the
gear is not new. The mounting brackets are heavily corroded and need to have sections of pipe replaced. The anodized
aluminum piping is not too hard to come by. There is a little tiny bit of cracking in the
aluminum aero-foil. Building a spare aero-foil out of
plywood should be easy, a spare vane is always carried by
offshore sailors anyway.
The
price reflects the fact that a bit of
work is required; however, it’s not much more than would be required to adapt any wind-vane to a
new boat. Adapting to any different
boat would require new pipes in the mounting because this bracket was custom made for my old boat.
I believe the
gear is about 10-15 years old and spent most that time in
storage. The
corrosion I’ve mentioned here is all galvanic caused by using stainless-steel fasteners and washers without isolating the stainless from the aluminum. The
corrosion is not from age and time at sea. The rudder and trim tab (being all
fiberglass and stainless steel) are in remarkably good shape.
The gear was taken off the boat to be re-built, but then the boat was
sold. Some small
parts (nut, bolts etc) likely got misplaced. However; the key valuable components are all there and in good shape.
PM me an
email address and I will send a few high-res photos you can zoom in on.
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