LONGTERM ARTIC SAILOR COMMENTS THE WINDVANE REPORT
Again a very clear explanation with excellent diagrams by Peter, to tell us high latitude long-distance sailors on how things work. It tells you all the detail that goes into the design of modern WSS systems.
Having developed from huge appendages hanging of the back of transom by way of medium sized systems to an efficient, compact, light, strong and powerful pendulum concept.
As high latitude sailors it is even more important that one does not have to hang down over the transom to sheer in new lines or replace shear pins or worse. Without gloves your fingers would be stiff in minutes. We sailed the Arctic, the NW passage and crossed the Drake Passage to Antarctica 22 times.
We never worried if the Windpilot would get through the ordeal when hit by bad weather. The pictures of Abhilash Tomy’s boat after the knock down say it all. And if the Windpilot needed any tweaking or new steering lines things could be done easily from the aft deck without any Houdini acts.
If the innovative Dutch designer of boats like the Maltese Falcon, Gerard Dijkstra, chooses a Windpilot for his own 53 footer then one can be sure there is no better WSS around.
Mark van de Weg
SY Jonathan
