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Blue Water Supplies Limited. Jersey, Channel Islands  Tel.+44(0)1534 739594

Blue Water Equipment Specialists

Committed to Value and Service...

ALL PRICES EXCLUDE VAT & Jersey GST

Individual prices may not always be competitive... please contact us with your shopping list for a extremely competitive quotation.

IMPORTANT

Blue Water Supplies is based in Jersey in the Channel Islands.  We do not charge VAT although VAT or a local sales tax may be payable on delivery.* (Orders with a value of £18 or under are VAT exempt).

Goods collected from Jersey after 1st May 2008 may be liable for Jersey GST(General Sales Tax) at 3%

*An administration surcharge may sometimes be added by the postal authority or company.

Blue Water Supplies Limited reserves the right to change prices at any time without notice.  Although every effort to ensure prices and other details are correct, Blue Water Supplies accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.

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© Blue Water Supplies Limited 2002-2008

 Windvane Steering 

Whilst some Blue Water yachtsmen still rely on electronic autopilots, it has long been recognized that mechanical wind vanes are generally more reliable, maintenance free and of course consume no power.  They have developed a reputation for being over complicated and a bit of a black science.  They can take on many formats, but generally result in a clumsy looking lump of scaffolding on the stern of the vessel which has come to symbolize a true Blue Water yacht.

Most windvane systems consist of the vane itself and some means of altering the yachts direction. Modern vanes operate on a more or less horizontal axis.  Although this may sound unusual, in fact it is incredibly simple.  As long as the boat is pointing in the right direction the vane remains upright.  As soon as it deviates from its course the side of the vane is presented to the wind and it effectively blows over.  This in turn triggers the course correction device to bring the vessel back on course.  Once back on course the vane returns to an upright position. 

Whilst other systems exist, the majority are now auxiliary rudder, servo pendulum or a combination of the two.   

An auxiliary rudder system is very simple.  Movements on the wind vane are directly transferred to a small rudder to change the direction of the vessel.  The main rudder is locked off.  This system can also be used to provide an emergency rudder.

 Servo pendulum steering involves a suspended paddle, which is linked to the wind vane.  The paddle is centralized until it s attitude is changed by the windvane.  At this time a slight deflection will result in the far greater force of the flowing water deflecting the paddle far further and with significantly increased force.  This then gives the power to turn the vessel’s primary rudder via what is normally a rope linkage.  Sometimes an auxiliary rudder is used in place of the main rudder.  The main disadvantages of this system are that it cannot normally be used for hydraulic steering and it generally results in a clumsy system of ropes around the cockpit. 

 Mounting Complications 

All windvane steering systems are designed to be mounted on the transom of the vessel.  This can sometimes present problems for unusual transom shapes, but brackets are now available for most systems to fit to most hulls.  Similarly, we are often asked whether an overhanging mizzen boom will prevent the installation of a vane steering system.  The answer is ordinarily no as most manufacturers have overcome these problems in the past.