PaIn In ThE nEcK

[seafox]

My apparent wind indicator has packed up and as a result I spent the last few days craning my neck looking up at the windex indicator. Now that I am home my neck is real stiff and sore (like I slept on it wrong).
Do any of you have this happen? It is not good

[irwinsailor]

I am having the same problem with my B&G gauges. I will be replacing them with Raymarine!

[Alan Wheeler]

When the head unit fails, Tie a little length of plastic bag or ribbon to the shroud and look at that instead.
Get Paula to rub your neck.
By one of those new indicators that don't have moving parts.
That should solve all your worries

[cat man do]

Cassete tape work's a treat.

yeah I know, what's a cassete?

Dave

[seafox]

Yeah, but you just don't get the same accuracy with a bit of tape. The windex is very good. And the wind gauge was awsome. It is out by around 30deg on some angles but then it is not out at all on others. Sometimes it reads correctly for a few tacks then diverts back.
Could it be some dirt or something inside the head unit where the arrow is?
It is one of the old Mariner type gauges. With a couple of pictures of the boat plan and a large needle.

[seafox]

Buy one of those new indicators that don't have moving parts.

What sort are they?

[cat man do]

Done many thousands of miles of racing and cruising on mono and multi.

Never had an electronic indicator on any of them.

Had a $30 windex though, worked a treat.

Dave

[seafox]

Yeah my windex is good, but man you get a sore neck from lookin up for a weeks sailing in the Sounds. I am not a very fit bugger and it is showing.

You have to look up at it a whole lot in the Sounds as the wind changes direction faster than a woman changes her mind in a clothes store.

[Alan Wheeler]

Awwwe common Darryl. It won't be the head unit, it'll be sailing in the sounds. You should know that by now. Mate I regularly have wind one direction at the top of the mast and a totaly different direction at the bottom. I've even seen 180 opposing. The unit is probably fine, just get back out into those fresh airs of the straight. ;-) :-)

Seriousely, I suspect the sender unit in the vane has come to an end of it's operating life. I don't know if you will find another Mariner now. I think it maybe a change out. At least worth a pull down and check, but if it is a cable that can not be pulled from the mast without dropping the mast, and I expect you don't want to do that now, I would suggest you look at the Ticktack unit. No cable to worry about.

[Boracay]

Com'on. You're with friends here.
Do we relly need that expensive, vulnerable masthead unit or can we go cruising without it?

[seafox]

I've cruised with and without one and they certainly are easy to sail to.
Where do you get the tick tack units Alan? Is that the brand name?

[Alan Wheeler]

Look on page 96 of Febs Boating NZ mag. They are supplied by Kiwi Yachting and I know David Oddie is stocking them. They are a very cool piece of gear, but not cheap. However, the saving in not having to run wires anywhere will soon bring the expense into a more level feild. And you just add on what ever when ever you want. They originaly had a few issues in the early days of strong RF signals blocking them. But it seems they have got that under control now. Plus you need to be rather close to a powerful transmitter, like a radio station or a military ship.
The really cool part is they are currently working on a MOB alert system that ties into the package.

[seafox]

The head unit just unplugs on my one. I noticed when the mast was being re rigged that it was unplugged and the mast was left out in the open air (it rained at the time). I wonder if some water got in the terminal and is making it play up?

[Boracay]

TickTack looks expensive.

[Sunspot Baby]

My old Raytheon wind gauge quits working from time to time. I have found that shutting down all instruments and restarting followed by going through the calibration procedure for the gauge resurrects it.

I don’t have a windex and wish I did. Maybe the next time we go up the mast, I will install one. My catamaran has a hard dodger and when at the helm I can’t feel the wind, something I really miss.

Bits of tape or yarn are fine for tell-tales on the sails, but are so affected by windage of the boat that they do not do a good job of indicating what the apparent wind is really doing.

Thanks to the Internet, I was able to get on-line and download the instruction manual for my old Raytheon gauges. Perhaps your problem is similar. See if the gauge responds to cycling the power and then recalibrating.

George