Windvane Installation on Cape Dory 30

[dasneilanator]

Spent 3-4 days installing the wind vane and it looks beautiful! Will post more with how it operates.





http://seachangessailing.blogspot.com/2 ... oject.html

[moctrams]

What dimensions did you give to Norvane?

[Steve Laume]

You are going to love your wind vane. I put a Monitor on Raven a few years back and it is the best money I ever spent on her.

I noticed you hadn't finalized the control line run as yet. I am not sure where the lines lead from your vane so it may not be the same as the Monitor. Most people run them to one side of the boat and then bring them across the cockpit to the wheel. This seemed all wrong to me. What I did was to run them both to the center of the boat with two small blocks mounted to the bottom of the lower stern rail. From there they angle down to a block directly below the wheel and then straight up to the wheel adapter. This puts them low in the cockpit and directly between my legs when I am standing at the wheel. This makes it much easier to move around the cockpit. It also makes for a very direct run without much friction. At least take a look at this option.

I also noticed the inspection port in the aft end of your foot well. I did this a long time ago and it makes getting to things back there a whole lot easier and even pain free at times, Steve.

[SV Tatyana]

looks great! I just ordered a norvane a week ago and am anxiously awaiting the arrival, certainly can't beat the price compared to other brands.

[nosara]

I'm looking at a Norvane. Any installation pictures would be great. I like the idea of running the lines centered.

[dasneilanator]

I think the dimensions I gave from the top of the transom to the water was something like 33inches, they recommended Norvane model #18. I measured it while the boat was in the water during the winter, so it was not loaded for summer cruising and now the rudder sits lower than I expected in the water. If you are going to take the measurement I would top off the water tanks, fuel tank and put too people in the cockpit to make sure you get the right dimension for the quote.

I will see if I can get some pictures of the the control line setup. I attached a double-block to the stern-rail stancion and then built a small block to support a deck organizer and lead the line to the wheel drum. I tested it in Vineyard Sound with one line, it worked fine, but I need to adjust the position of the blocks on the windvane rail to get more purchase on the wheel from the pendulum. I will also see how it works with 2 lines attached to the wheel. Looking forward to doing some longer passages with it.

[dasneilanator]

So, we haven't been using the windvane as much as I'd like. A lot of downwind sailing with some following seas. We did give it a good run from Chincoteague, VA to the Chesapeake and it worked well. Had to take the wheel every 10 minutes or so and put the boat back on the right heading. Need to make a few more adjustments and call Norvane for some more guidance.

[dasneilanator]

Just an update to the Norvane post... previously (6 months ago) I had difficulty getting the windvane to operate. After working to balance the boat with sail trim and getting down the windvane setup procedure, I would have to say that it was the best item I installed before our cruise to the Virgin Islands. It's steered on a number of passages on the east coast, across the gulf stream and down to the DR. Most recently it covered us at the helm the 30miles from St. John to St. croix without a glitch.

One of the most memorable instances was our 3 day passage from Georgetown, Bahamas to the Turks & Caicos. The windvane did most of the steering when we weren't motorsailing, but the last morning when we were exhausted after celebrating New Years on the water, we were running on fumes and the windvane was holding a course due south for the Sandbore Channel into Providenciales with Sarah going 6knots covering the last 60 miles in 10 hours. Sarah could have kept on going if the crew was strong enough.

I've been very happy with it to date and am looking forward to letting it steer for our trip back to Boston.