Seeing this was like meeting an old friend.....I've logged thousands of miles with an Aries and found it to be a loyal crew who does not need sleep or food. If you want to know what it is like WITHOUT one, I had a windvane break a few days north of Hawaii when on passage to Seattle, in 1976, doublehanded. So with only two on board, it was watch and watch for the next two weeks. One week we were in 40kts wind, in the Westerlies, long period swells that were big enough the bottom of the sails luffed in the troughs. The first day, we were averaging about 8.5kts, but my nerve failed at sundown and we handed the mizzen, so missed out on that 200 mile day by about 10 miles. I won't say were were tired, but on one of my watches a piper showed up in the cockpit and was taking requests. As it happened, a 12-meter America's Cup boat left Hawaii the same time as we did and only beat us to Seattle by half a day, 18.5 days total. The boat was a Herreshoff Marco Polo....55', three masts, 10' beam. "Valkyrie" (I'd sure like to know where she is now!)
So the windvane helps the wheel, and there for the main rudder to steer the boat. At same time the windvane contributes very little to steer the boat directly. Am I right? Thank you.
Thanks. One question, how does the apparent wind not effect the system. Maybe I’m overthinking this but seems as you start moving forward, it would add new wind force dynamics?
Cool!! So would you feel comfortable sleeping for an hour on auto pilot. If there's a big change in wind direction and you've got to change your course or sails, does the vane signal that?? Anyway, thanks for the vid. Glad to see your 30-year-old vane still works fine.
The vane only steers a course at the same angle to the wind - if the wind angle changes, the vane alters course to follow the wind. You should never leave your boat without someone keeping watch - no matter what kind of autopilot you use.
@@STSGuitar16 Single handing is a different discipline. Here you need to get some sleep, so you will leave the boat to sail itself - but that can (will) be dangerous. I've done it, but don't like it (there really should always be someone on watch) and certainly don't recommend ti to anyone - certainly not when sailing passages. We've met a fair number of single-handers over the years, but I still done think it is a safe way to sail
My lift up is almost the same as yours. However the oar/paddle has no section in front of the stem. My aeries will not work with the wind aft of 90 degrees. & is very poor at holding a course unless upwind. Your steering oar seems to show a certain amount of the blade in front of the stem. Is that correct & if so roughly what % is in front? I am making a new oar & am wondering if this will solve the issue. My model is a Franklin one
Not sure what you mean. Our vane blade is adjustable via a screw at the base allowing us to move the blade from verticle to horizontal. Moving the blade like that increases/decreases the sensitivity of system. Our vane steers well with the wind aft the beam. Best at up to 175 degrees but will steer even with wind direct from aft
@@sailing-distant-seas Sorry for the confusion. I am talking about the part that goes in the water NOT the vane. I have experimented with several types of vane as well & now have what I think is the best. However The boat still does not hold its course The reaction of the aeries is far too slow. The boat rounds up long before the aeries reacts. So I want to improve the response time.
@@grahamlongley8298 move the wand blade further to verticle. Tighten up on the lines from the aries to you helm. Do you have some kind of superstructure on the aft end of the boat that disturbs the wind flow?
@@sailing-distant-seas Tried that & I certainly have nothing obstructing the flow to the vane. The boat is a hanse 311 & i do not even have spray dodgers or a spray hood. . I have tried all angles of the vane. I have found a stif vane best to avoid flex & the current one is partialy reinforced with GRP for the bottom 1/3 It is light & thin above this . I have even installed an adjustable weight sytem to the vanes to see if vane balance helps. I have done everything I can to reduce line friction to the tiller & I am aware of the effect of moving the tiller along the chain when hooking on. I think that you ( probably you) & I discussed this at the London boat show years ago. I even tried fins on the back of the vane, I have a streamer & I have tried "parachutes" on wire frames on the trailing edge of the vane as well to get the vane to respond better.
I don't know if it is still therer - there was a 54 foot Choy Lee without masts lying in Taiohae Bay on Nuku Hiva last year - you might contact Nuku Hiva Yacht Services and see if it is still there - probably get it for free
If the wind changes direction, the vane will continue to keep the same angle to the wind, meaning the boat will make a new course - keeping the same angle to the wind as the vane was adjusted for. SO the short answer is "yes" you will need to adjust the vane to keep the same course
@@sailing-distant-seas Thanks for the explanation, i realized a bit late the fact that sails won't turn on their own to correct the wind change. But how some people sail solo for days , i mean what if the wind direction changes when they are sleeping?
@@jeb123 if the wind changes while they sleep then they will wake up some nautical miles off course. That is generally not an issue if you ate on a long passage a long passage will take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks. A day more or less is not important.
Seeing this was like meeting an old friend.....I've logged thousands of miles with an Aries and found it to be a loyal crew who does not need sleep or food. If you want to know what it is like WITHOUT one, I had a windvane break a few days north of Hawaii when on passage to Seattle, in 1976, doublehanded. So with only two on board, it was watch and watch for the next two weeks. One week we were in 40kts wind, in the Westerlies, long period swells that were big enough the bottom of the sails luffed in the troughs. The first day, we were averaging about 8.5kts, but my nerve failed at sundown and we handed the mizzen, so missed out on that 200 mile day by about 10 miles. I won't say were were tired, but on one of my watches a piper showed up in the cockpit and was taking requests. As it happened, a 12-meter America's Cup boat left Hawaii the same time as we did and only beat us to Seattle by half a day, 18.5 days total. The boat was a Herreshoff Marco Polo....55', three masts, 10' beam. "Valkyrie" (I'd sure like to know where she is now!)
Thanks Carsten.. simply and clearly explained .. FINALLY ,I get it!! Lol ..I am a Sailor in training.. Maggie
That was a great explanation and video. Thank you!
Thx for sharing. I was clueless as to how those worked.. Very good detailed explanation and description !
So the windvane helps the wheel, and there for the main rudder to steer the boat. At same time the windvane contributes very little to steer the boat directly. Am I right? Thank you.
This type of windvane is called a "servo-pendulum" It does not steer the boat directly but uses the boats own rudder to steeer
Superb video, thank you
Thanks. One question, how does the apparent wind not effect the system. Maybe I’m overthinking this but seems as you start moving forward, it would add new wind force dynamics?
Apparent wind does affect it. The system steers to apparent wind. Which does not matter since you simply adjust it
Cool!! So would you feel comfortable sleeping for an hour on auto pilot. If there's a big change in wind direction and you've got to change your course or sails, does the vane signal that?? Anyway, thanks for the vid. Glad to see your 30-year-old vane still works fine.
The vane only steers a course at the same angle to the wind - if the wind angle changes, the vane alters course to follow the wind. You should never leave your boat without someone keeping watch - no matter what kind of autopilot you use.
@@sailing-distant-seas What about when you're sailing by yourself?
@@STSGuitar16 Single handing is a different discipline. Here you need to get some sleep, so you will leave the boat to sail itself - but that can (will) be dangerous. I've done it, but don't like it (there really should always be someone on watch) and certainly don't recommend ti to anyone - certainly not when sailing passages. We've met a fair number of single-handers over the years, but I still done think it is a safe way to sail
With wind.
My lift up is almost the same as yours. However the oar/paddle has no section in front of the stem. My aeries will not work with the wind aft of 90 degrees. & is very poor at holding a course unless upwind. Your steering oar seems to show a certain amount of the blade in front of the stem. Is that correct & if so roughly what % is in front? I am making a new oar & am wondering if this will solve the issue. My model is a Franklin one
Not sure what you mean. Our vane blade is adjustable via a screw at the base allowing us to move the blade from verticle to horizontal. Moving the blade like that increases/decreases the sensitivity of system. Our vane steers well with the wind aft the beam. Best at up to 175 degrees but will steer even with wind direct from aft
@@sailing-distant-seas Sorry for the confusion. I am talking about the part that goes in the water NOT the vane. I have experimented with several types of vane as well & now have what I think is the best. However The boat still does not hold its course The reaction of the aeries is far too slow. The boat rounds up long before the aeries reacts. So I want to improve the response time.
@@grahamlongley8298 move the wand blade further to verticle. Tighten up on the lines from the aries to you helm. Do you have some kind of superstructure on the aft end of the boat that disturbs the wind flow?
@@sailing-distant-seas Tried that & I certainly have nothing obstructing the flow to the vane. The boat is a hanse 311 & i do not even have spray dodgers or a spray hood. . I have tried all angles of the vane. I have found a stif vane best to avoid flex & the current one is partialy reinforced with GRP for the bottom 1/3 It is light & thin above this . I have even installed an adjustable weight sytem to the vanes to see if vane balance helps. I have done everything I can to reduce line friction to the tiller & I am aware of the effect of moving the tiller along the chain when hooking on. I think that you ( probably you) & I discussed this at the London boat show years ago. I even tried fins on the back of the vane, I have a streamer & I have tried "parachutes" on wire frames on the trailing edge of the vane as well to get the vane to respond better.
@@grahamlongley8298 well i don’t know and am running outt of ideas. You might contact aries in holland and see if he can help
Hi guys I'm looking for cheoy Lee ketch 45 to 53 project is okay to if you know any please let me know thanks 👍🙏
I don't know if it is still therer - there was a 54 foot Choy Lee without masts lying in Taiohae Bay on Nuku Hiva last year - you might contact Nuku Hiva Yacht Services and see if it is still there - probably get it for free
Ummm where is the link for the test ;-)
working on getting one ready :-)
What if the wind changes direction? Do you need to correct it?
If the wind changes direction, the vane will continue to keep the same angle to the wind, meaning the boat will make a new course - keeping the same angle to the wind as the vane was adjusted for. SO the short answer is "yes" you will need to adjust the vane to keep the same course
@@sailing-distant-seas Thanks for the explanation, i realized a bit late the fact that sails won't turn on their own to correct the wind change. But how some people sail solo for days , i mean what if the wind direction changes when they are sleeping?
@@jeb123 if the wind changes while they sleep then they will wake up some nautical miles off course. That is generally not an issue if you ate on a long passage a long passage will take anywhere from 2 to 6 weeks. A day more or less is not important.
@@sailing-distant-seas thanks again sir
@@jeb123 if it intetests you you can read about our travels ( we have been at sea for 6 years) at
svcapri.com
Can’t hear it
hi Weli - just replayed it and can hear it fine - maybe yhour volume is turned down?
@@sailing-distant-seas maybe