Webb Chiles' 6th Circumnavigation Launching Today

[gonesail]

yeh well done sir !! pretty sure i would have freaked a bit with 40 knot winds in a 24 foot boat. glad you saved a bit of laphroaig scotch for your arrival in opua.

[barnakiel]

I think she is less than 24' actually. And not a world record freeboard either ;-)

b.

[Boatguy30]

I guess the only question at this point is East or West. He has arrived with plenty of time for a quick bit of refitting and then off to the East later this year??

[Glenn.Brooks]

Been following Mr. Chiles voyage with great admiration. I must admit I don't understand at all Web's reluctance to add a wind vane self steering gear to his boat. He prefers to depend on highly unsuitable tiller pilots (8 breakdowns with four units in 6500 NM across the Pacific). Says he will return to the boat in the spring (fall in NZ) with an additional 4 units to make the next leg of his voyage. I dont understand why he wold depend on inherently unsuitable equipment for an ocean passage.... He has explained on his web site that he doesn't like the look of them(wind vanes) and the cost. Unless he is getting them for free, 16 or 24 tiller pilots (prorated out to cover the entire trip) required for one circumnavigation certainly will cost more than a $3500 Cape Horn Wind Vane! They are a bit odd looking, I admit, but when circumnavigating, aren't esthetics usually a secondary issue? Overall, it seems an odd choice.

[DeepFrz]

I think part of it might have to do with the fact that his transom would have to be strengthened in order to support a wind vane. He did mention lately that he didn't want to just add layers to the outside of the transom and couldn't see any way of doing it from the inside.

[hooligan6a]

Why would the transom have to be strengthened? I have installed Monitor vanes
On five boats and have made a circumnavigation and five trips to Hawaii. Never
Did a thing to the transom. I do agree that they are not the prettiest piece of gear on my boat but what the hell they get the job done. Auto pilots are not to be trusted by solo sailors. Not for crossing Oceans by ones self.

Ok, bring it on. But only if you have crossed an Ocean in a small boat alone.
All my boats were under 29 ft.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by DeepFrz

I think part of it might have to do with the fact that his transom would have to be strengthened in order to support a wind vane. He did mention lately that he didn't want to just add layers to the outside of the transom and couldn't see any way of doing it from the inside.

I too am curious about this worry. It isn't like having to support a transom hung rudder... with a servo-pendulum vane, the loads transferred to the transom are just enough to push the tiller back and forth (plus frictional losses and so on), not to actually steer the boat. Even an ultra-light like the Moore should be able to manage such stresses.

And I must agree that having myself made long ocean passages in a 30 foot boat with a tiller pilot, I wouldn't choose to ever do that again! Ended up using sheet to tiller steering most of the way from Kauai to SF when the Autohelm 2000 died.

Cheers,

Jim

[hooligan6a]

Well Webb has done this before so I guess he knows what he is doing. But I'll
Stick with my Monitor and leave the auto pilots for the more adventurous souls.

[olaf hart]

With any luck he might have found a reliable tiller pilot by the time he gets home.

[barnakiel]

Originally Posted by Glenn.Brooks

(...)

I must admit I don't understand at all Web's reluctance to add a wind vane self steering gear to his boat.

(...)

Do we see wind vanes on Minis?

He is sailing an ULDB. Off the wind, down the wave, the apparent wind shifts dramatically and may drop off to less than a wind vane needs to tip the vane.

Etc.

Still, I too think an UL wind vane like the small Windpilot or a Navik could help Webb heaps (reaching, which he had plenty from Cal to NZ)!). Windpilot can quickly be removed when not in use too... Much as mounting one on Gannet could pose some serious fitting challenges (the vanes would be too low if he placed them on the transom).

Then again. We could email him and ask?

b.

[Glenn.Brooks]

No, know much about Minis. Maybe the apparent wind thing is an issue. Although my Cape Horn vane works in less than 2 kts - when I have enuf patience. Still, there must be something more dependable



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[olaf hart]

I would try to fit a 4000 type tiller drive below decks, and use the latest computer control with a gyropilot.

Much less load on the drive, the new controllers use the drive much less, use a lot less power.

[DeepFrz]

Why would the transom have to be strengthened? I have installed Monitor vanes
On five boats and have made a circumnavigation and five trips to Hawaii. Never
Did a thing to the transom. I do agree that they are not the prettiest piece of gear on my boat but what the hell they get the job done. Auto pilots are not to be trusted by solo sailors. Not for crossing Oceans by ones self.

I think the best thing to do if it worries you is to email Webb and ask him directly. I'm just guessing after reading something on his blog about strengthening the transom.

[Glenn.Brooks]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

Do we see wind vanes on Minis?

He is sailing an ULDB. Off the wind, down the wave, the apparent wind shifts dramatically and may drop off to less than a wind vane needs to tip the vane.


b.

No, haven't seen a vane on any Minis, but also don't much pay attention to Minis, other than one of many skiff's people race around bouys. Just looked at various pics on the web, and just realized the boat is truly tiny. More than I imagined. The whole boat weighs less than the keel on my alberg 30.

Still, the early day windvanes were routinely mounted on deck and/or rear struts supporting the backstay, for example see Blondie Hasler wind vanes on Vertues and folk boats. So I suppose it is possible to rig one on a Moore 24. I think the Cape Horn is a modern production vane that might work also- mine certainly works well right down to 2-3 knots. Although I don't have any experience with sailing so fast the boat leaps off the wave. New dynamics there!

In any event, At the present rate of tiler pilot consumption, shall we call it TPC, (or maybe TP/1000NM- Tiller Pilots per thousand miles of travel ) Web will need approximately between 12 and 24 more units to sail across the Indian Ocean, round Cape Horn, voyage across the south Atlantic and return across the Pacific to make San Diego.

[Boatguy30]

He'll really need a bunch if he sails all the way across the Indian Ocean and then around Cape Horn as you suggest.