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Natasha13 · 07-10-2019, 17:47

Life has caught up with us. We are taking a break from cruising for awhile and are lightening ship. This wind vane is in excellent condition, freshly rebuilt, and ready to install. Comes with a wheel adaptor, braces, rebuild kit and spare parts. New is double the cost, so save the money for your cruising kitty and buy this one.

Pick up preferred, but willing to ship at your expense.

Roniszoro · 08-10-2019, 12:15

Can you please provide the year of manufacturer and the serial number? Did you buy it new?

Thank you.

SEA_sailor · 08-10-2019, 15:02

The last four digits of the serial number will tell you the month and year of manufacture.

Orion Jim · 08-10-2019, 18:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by SEA_sailor

The last four digits of the serial number will tell you the month and year of manufacture.

With the complete serial number you can call Scanmar and get the history of this windvane.

pdxsailordiver · 08-10-2019, 20:05

Price?

RLaird · 09-10-2019, 12:03

Location for pickup, unless I missed it...

Natasha13 · 09-10-2019, 13:11

Sorry, all. I was having difficulty loading pics and was sure I’d added a link to the Craigslist post to make up for the lack of photos.

In the meantime, I’ll share what I know. First, this is an amazing piece of gear that was nothing short of 100% reliable. The unit was built mid 80s and is an early model. The previous owner was meticulous about his boat and upgraded everything regularly including the windvane. He told me that as the design changed over the years he made sure to keep the unit. Up to date . I think the most notable is the additional crossbrace. It was professional installed (by scanmar according to him). I took it to Scanmar when I purchased it in 2009. It was checked over by Ron and Hans and was given a clean bill of health,. I purchased the recommended spares and correct tube extensions for my boat and that was that.

From what I understand the major differences between the earlier and later models are 304vs 316 stainless, bronze vs stainless gear sets, and the aforementioned crossbrace.

I don’t see the 304 as much of an issue, there’s no corrosion on the unit despite tens of thousands sea miles. If I can get the pics to post you’ll see the lack of corrosion. Yes, I polished it, but it was a once over with Flitz and a terry cloth rag. No wire wheels were required.

Ron (the manager) told me that they changed to stainless gears as the bronze casting process had become cost prohibitive. He claimed it was a lateral move since the stainless offered no real performance difference and though stronger, bronze was already more than sufficient so the stainless in some ways was overkill - but less expensive to produce . There’s no performance difference that I noticed between the bronze gears vs stainless. (I also sail a friends boat with a late model unit.). In fact I didn’t notice much difference at all other than how his lines were led to the wheel vs mine.

The cross brace was added (looks like it’s always been there) and the welds are good and had been polished well to prevent surface corrosion. The welding pattern is so similar to the rest of the unit that it looks factory - so I don’t doubt that it was done correctly. Not to mention the decades and miles that have passed over it’s steering rudder.

That’s all I know about the unit other than it works really really well. I’m loathe to sell her but I can’t justify keeping gear around just in case I have another shot at continuing the dream. I’m sure you can understand.

I’ll get the serial number posted soon. Please call scanmar for more details . I’m going off memories that are 10 years old. Once I bolted it to the stern, I never thought much about the details other than making adjustments underway.

The wheel adapter is included, as is a second vane that has a crack but could be easily repaired or used as a template to make another.

It is located in San Francisco Bay. Richmond, Ca to be more specific.

$2500 obo