50 YEARS OF WINDPILOT – HOW DID WE GET HERE?
Half a century is long enough to make a real difference, not just in life but in the manufacture of transom ornaments, steering aids and mechanical rudder wagglers of the type a crew needs if it is to enjoy the pleasures of a comfortable bunk and the soothing gurgle of water past the hull even when there is hard work to be done at the helm (hard work for which the crew can safely take the credit later on – embellished as desired – even if the boat largely sailed itself).
Windpilot systems have evolved considerably over the decades. At first we built everything by hand in stainless steel. Later we moved to series production in sand-cast aluminium before eventually adopting full industrial manufacturing methods (gravity die/permanent mould casting) in 1998. We use the highly corrosion-resistant AlMg5 aluminium alloy. Read on to find out more.
THE FIRST WINDPILOT
NORDSEE I – WINDVANE ONLY – 1968 – 1970
A concept borrowed from model yachts, just a few dozen of this hand-built stainless steel system for small boats up to about 7 m were produced.
NORDSEE II – AUXILIARY RUDDER SYSTEM – 1969 – 1982
Around 500 of this hand-built stainless steel system for small boats up to about 8 m were produced. The windvane measured 145 cm at the trailing edge and the rudder blade was 55 x 28 cm
ATLANTIK III – AUXILIARY RUDDER SYSTEM – 1969 – 1984
Around 1,200 of this hand-built stainless steel system for boats up to about 9.5 m were produced. The windvane measured 174 cm at the trailing edge and the rudder blade was 70 x 30 cm
ATLANTIK IV – AUXILIARY RUDDER SYSTEM – 1975 – 1984
Around 900 of this hand-built stainless steel system for boats up to about 11 m were produced. The windvane measured 196 cm at the trailing edge and the rudder blade was 90 x 30 cm
PACIFIC V-VANE – SERVO PENDULUM SYSTEM – 1970 – 1978
Around 200 of this hand-built stainless steel system for boats up to about 11 m were produced.
PACIFIC H-VANE – SERVO-PENDULUM SYSTEM – 1973 – 1979
Around 200 of this hand-built stainless steel system for boats up to about 12 m were produced.
PACIFIC H-FAHNE – TRIM TAB – PENDELRUDERSYSTEM – 1973 – 1977
Around 50 of this hand-built stainless steel system for boats up to about 12 m were produced.
CARIBIC – PACIFIC – PACIFIC PLUS – 1984 – 1998
This family of systems was mass-produced in sand-cast aluminium
CARIBIC – AUXILIARY RUDDER SYSTEM – 1985 – 1987
Designed as a successor system to the ATLANTIK series, the CARIBIC was only in production for two years.
PACIFIC – SERVO-PENDULUM SYSTEM – 1985 – 1998
PACIFIC-PLUS DOUBLE RUDDER SYSTEM – 1985 – 1998
PACIFIC LIGHT – PACIFIC – PACIFIC PLUS – SOS RUDER – 1998 – PRESENT
Today’s modular platform is manufactured on a large scale using a permanent mould casting process and CNC machining.
PACIFIC LIGHT
PACIFIC
PACIFIC PLUS
SOS RUDDER
