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Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Wed Apr 25, 2018 9:37 am
by seadago
Hi AlanK, Cataway.
Many thanks or your input, particularly pics! After a protracted assessment, I've decided to go with the Hebridean. This is a DIY job, mostly wood. I had good reviews of performance once tuned correctly; it's light, very easy to fix if it breaks, and requires a modest bracket on the transom. It is also a fraction of the cost to that of commercial models, not counting my labour to build. Quite a carpentry job though. I just got the kit a couple of days ago and clearing out my workshop now to start the build. Will keep everyone posted on progress.
Thanks again for your comments.
Rafa

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:06 am
by seadago
Right! here it is, at last.
This is The Hebridean (http://www.windvanesflsteering.co.uk)

I purchased the kit containing all metal pieces, licence to build, and blueprints for the timber. The timber itself I already had - Indian teak - and I built it on my (domestic) garden workshop. Build instructions are fairly clear, and it is not very difficult to build, but a good set of medium duty tools is required, as the build tolerances sometimes are less than 1 mm. I had to equip the workshop with several of such tools (mainly wood working stuff, vertical press drill, etc) specifically for this project. Lots and lots of patience and fiddling around to get it right though, particularly on the turret adjusting mechanism.

This is a servo wind vane; i.e. the vane itself picks the signal from the wind and transmits it to an oar trailing in the water. The oar picks up energy from the water flowing by it, amplifies the signal from the vane, and transmits it to a pendulum, which in turn turns the rudder through control lines.

The mounting frame supporting the vane on the transom is my own engineering, and it is not particularly elegant. In my defence, design constraints were determined by the need to accommodate the turning rudder stem within it, and the fact that it is constructed strictly with standard OTS components available over the internet.
T
he philosophy of the whole project, both vane and mounting frame, was to have something that, in case of accidental breakage, or wear-and-tear, could be replaced with ease anywhere in the world, and with minimum access to tools and/or workshop. The only components which, if broken, needs to be replaced from origin (rather than fixed) are the black plastic bits in the adjusting mechanism of the vane’s turret. Everything else can made by cutting, bending, and drilling SS sheet material.

Now, the most difficult part starts. I’ll be sea-trialling this contraption over the next few weeks. Will report progress if of interest to others

Cheers
Rafa

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:12 am
by seadago
....one more pic of the turret vane adjusting mechanism

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 6:43 pm
by Castaway
Very smart, Rafael! Where did you run the lines to the wheel?
Gerald

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Tue Jun 04, 2019 10:15 pm
by seadago
Castaway wrote:Very smart, Rafael! Where did you run the lines to the wheel?
Gerald
Directly to the trailing edge of the rudder. Will take more pics this w.e. if of interest.
Cheers
Rafa

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 7:12 am
by VeloFellow
There is a Freedom 28 ck still on sailboat listings ,though sold, that has a photo of their Aries vane. It was sold fairly quickly and I never tried to contact owner. https://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/74012

I bought a ev100 raymarine autopilot four years ago, but have never installed it.
I really wanted a vane system.
My wife steers a great course and will stay at the wheel for hours on end. Not sure it is the least complicated choice.

I still think a trim tab system would seem to be the most effective. Some days without much wave action you can balance the rig and sail for quite a while just locking the wheel. Power required in wave action will be considerable..

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 9:02 am
by JohnReinagel
VeloFellow, I purchased a EV100 system for my Cal 29 and transferred it to my F32 for it's third summer now. It works very well on the boat once you get the tweaks right (true for any boat you add an autopilot to). Since you already paid for it you may find it very useful when you need to leave the tiller. IMO this will not interfere with a vane system should you decide to include one. I am not a Raymarine fan, but once I sent the device in for updating it's been stellar. It was not very good out of the box, Raymarine wrote a new program for it which made all the difference. Good luck.

Re: self steering vanes on barn door rudder boats?

Posted: Tue Aug 13, 2019 11:14 am
by SFBaysailor
My 28CK has a Monitor vane that apparently worked fine for a San Diego-Hawaii-Washington voyage with the previous owner. I spent a couple hours this weekend removing a plywood storage platform that was U-bolted to the framework, and although long, the strut system seems quite stiff and sturdy. If anyone is interested in photos, I'll be happy to take a few and post them here.

JD