Does anyone else have one of these that can give me some
advice? I stupidly bought one second hand for a fairly large amount of
money and it seems to be pretty awful - I really wish I'd just waited for a second-hand
hydrovane to turn up. This seemed to be good because it had the auxiliary
rudder like a
hydrovane while also having a servo-pendulum and being able to fold up.
My main issues are
- there appears to be no way to lock the auxiliary
rudder central to the
boat center line. This means when sailing/motoring and NOT using the
windvane, the auxiliary rudder swings to one side, creating a TON of drag.
- this means I have to take the rudder out of the
water everytime I'm not using it which is an almighty pain.
- when I DO want to use it, getting the auxiliary rudder and servo rudder all lined up so I can lock them in place seems almost impossible, especially in any kind of seaway. If the vane isn't held exactly straight so the servo-pendulum is straight and the auxiliary rudder isn't straight when you tighten the
clutch, it won't
work correctly. This, unfortunately, involves 3 hands and leaning over the back of the transom, almost impossible.
- when I think I do have everything lined up, it doesn't seem to even track that well. Maybe because I had to build my own vanes and they are unbalanced?
Unfortunately, the maker seems to have gone out of business so I have no way to mention any of this stuff to him - does anyone else have one and figured out the issues I mentioned?
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